the doctor of professional studies (or sometimes awarded as doctorate in professional practice) (most commonly dprof, but also available as profd and dps) is a doctoral degree for experienced professionals who wish to undertake a programme that is applied in nature and of practical value to their career. the dprof is based on applied research of real world problems. the dprof has been available to graduate students in the united kingdom since the 1980s. the first doctor of professional studies program was started in 1972 at pace university. although some consider the doctor of professional studies to have similar academic standards and regulations as the phd, it has a more practical focus.