How To Make A Doctor Of Professional Studies Fit Into Your Schedule

You’re a mid-career professional considering a doctoral degree. You want to take the next step in your career and advance beyond your current role and duties.

But you keep coming back to one question: “Can I really do this while working full-time and maintaining my personal life?”

The answer is yes. While pursuing a doctoral degree, like a Doctor of Professional Studies (DPS) at Northeastern University, requires a significant time commitment, those who plan ahead will find the workload manageable and compatible with their schedule.

Here, we’ll take a look at how a DPS program is typically structured, the kind of time commitment you can expect, and practical strategies—backed by research and student experiences—for making it all fit into your schedule. By the end, you’ll see not only that it’s possible, but that the DPS can be one of the most rewarding investments of your career.

What makes the DPS work for professionals?

The right DPS program for working professionals is one that takes into account their already busy schedules. That means offering flexibility—like full-time and part-time options as well as an online modality.

At Northeastern University, for instance, the DPS program is a 36-month, 45-credit program that combines online flexibility with occasional in-person residencies. Students can enroll part-time or full-time, with most completing the degree in about three years.

Coursework is primarily asynchronous, meaning students can watch lectures, participate in discussions, and submit assignments on their own schedule.

As Shannon Alpert, director of the Doctor of Professional Studies program and an associate teaching professor at Northeastern explains, the program is intentionally structured to be predictable for busy professionals: “It’s about nine hours of work per three-credit class, or roughly 18 to 20 hours per week if you take two courses at a time. Most students do, because it keeps them on track to graduate in three years.”

Online learning, with residencies that add value

Though the program is predominantly online, students participate in three weekend residencies. These include one virtual session and two held on Northeastern’s Boston campus. These residencies offer students opportunities to:

• Deepen their expertise in their field.
• Build meaningful relationships with peers and faculty.
• Gain hands-on research and presentation experience.

These touchpoints ensure that students are a part of a strong professional and academic community, even while they maintain their personal and professional lives.

Applied projects that double as work initiatives

Unlike a traditional PhD, where students often join an existing research agenda, the DPS centers on a practice-based dissertation. Those in the program choose a “problem of practice” from their own field or organization and build research around it.

This means the hours invested in  doctoral work aren’t separate from a job; professionals can actively drive impact in the workplace. “You get to extend your professional practice with academic research tools, and in doing so, create change within your organization or industry,” notes Alpert.

How many hours per week should you expect?

Time commitments will vary from student to student, but on average professionals who enter a DPS program can expect:

• One course at a time: This often equals nine hours per week and extends the program to five years for completion.
• Two courses at a time: Most students find 18 to 20 hours per week, across evenings and weekends, is required. This is the most popular track amongst students as it allows completion of the program in three  years.
• Dissertation phase: This will vary as some weeks will be lighter than others. Generally, the time commitment is around 18 hours, and can be managed flexibly.

It is important to note that, even though the time commitment is outside of work, the DPS program allows students to immediately begin solving real problems that can overlap with  professional responsibilities, adding value well before graduation.

Tips for balancing work, life, and study

Set clear boundaries

Providing yourself the structure and communicating with others your boundaries is key to graduate school success. Designate certain spaces for study and ensure colleagues and family members understand your schedule and the need to stick to it.

Alpert advises that students “line up your support structures” before even beginning the program. Whether that’s a partner agreeing to cover certain household tasks or a manager supporting your academic goals, having buy-in makes the transition smoother.

Use “micro-moments” for progress

Professionals don’t have to block out hours of uninterrupted study to be successful. Rather, recent research has shown that “microlearning”—short bursts of 10 to 20 minutes of work—can be highly productive for both retention and productivity.

Where can you fit these “micro-moments” into the schedule? Students can leverage numerous opportunities throughout the course of a day, including:

• A commute on the train to review articles
• Early mornings before the family wakes up
• 30 minutes after dinner to outline a paper

These short-duration projects or study-focused moments can help students not only stay on track, but also make the weekly time commitments feel significantly more manageable.

Negotiate support at work

Framing your research as a project that can provide actionable insights for your organization can help secure flexibility or even partial sponsorship. This communicates to employers that your DPS work will deliver real-world, immediate value.

Alpert, for instance, highlights that many DPS students position coursework deliverables as workplace initiatives, creating efficiency by “killing two birds with one stone”

Build a cohort, not just a schedule

One of the strongest forms of accountability comes from peers. Alpert emphasizes the importance of finding your “people” within the program: “It’s not just, ‘I started with these 10 people.’ It’s, ‘Who are the people that are going to challenge you, support you, and be with you on this three-year journey?’”

Fitting doctoral studies into an already busy schedule can feel isolating if students allow it, so leaning on faculty, advisors, and classmates can turn the experience into one that feels more collaborative and collective. 

Planning tools and strategies that work

Time-management research confirms that structured approaches reduce stress and improve outcomes. A recent Frontiers in Education study found that practices like time blocking, prioritization, and recovery all contribute to productivity and well-being.

Here are five tools you can adapt immediately:

1. The 3-2-1 Method
   • 3 focused work blocks per week (90 minutes each for deep reading/writing)
   • 2 micro-learning bursts per day (quick article review, discussion post, or note-taking)
   • 1 boundary ritual (e.g., closing your laptop at 9 p.m. sharp, no exceptions)
2. Time Blocking
   • Schedule study sessions like meetings—non-negotiable and visible on your calendar.
3. Breadcrumbing
   • Always leave yourself a “next step” note at the end of each session so you can dive right in next time, saving several minutes of warm-up.
4. The Sunday Reset
   • Use Sunday evenings to map out your week’s study windows, ensuring you never scramble to “find time.”
5. Recovery Scheduling
   • Protect downtime. Research shows that rest and recovery are essential for sustained productivity and well-being.

Timeline for Northeastern’s Doctor of Professional Studies program

Understanding the big picture makes it easier to plan. Here’s how the journey for students in the Northeastern DPS program usually looks for working professionals:

Year 1 — Courses and foundations

Build momentum with the required core (research design, leadership/change, data analysis) while you begin shaping your “problem of practice.”

Year 2 — Courses and concentration

Continue with your concentration in Project Management or Organizational Leadership Studies and deepen your research skills.

Year 3 — Dissertation and applied research

Complete your applied, practice-based dissertation addressing a real challenge in your organization or industry, working closely with faculty and your dissertation chair.

Residencies (3 total, scheduled across the program)

Expect three weekend residencies integrated into the above timeline. Fall residencies are virtual, and Spring residencies occur in Boston. Exact timing is provided in program materials.

Don’t just fit your DPS studies in—make it worth it

Don’t look at your DPS program time commitment as something just to fit into your life. Instead, see it as an opportunity to amplify what you’re already doing in your professional career. 

The DPS integrates directly with your professional practice—every paper, project, and research milestone can feed back into your career—creating synergy between your studies and your work.

Balancing doctoral study with work and life isn’t about discovering hidden hours in your day. It’s about leveraging a program built for professionals, setting smart boundaries, and using proven time-management strategies. Northeastern’s Doctor of Professional Studies (DPS) program provides the flexibility, support, and applied focus to make it realistic, and meaningful, for working professionals.