In the UK, all doctoral programmes are expected to include some form of periodic progression assessment, with individual institutions having autonomy to design and implement their own structures. Yet, despite the potential significance of this assessment to individual doctoral journeys, the design of progression assessment processes has previously received very limited attention. This paper reports on a study which investigated doctoral students' experiences of progression assessment at one UK university, where the process involved both written and oral components. Utilising the concept of assessment for learning to support the analysis of narrative interviews with six doctoral students studying in the social sciences and humanities, the paper considers the pedagogic potential of doctoral progression assessment. The findings of the study indicated that the students perceived the dialogic aspects of the assessment to have the most significant potential for supporting learning and understanding, particularly where invitational, reflective, coaching format questions were utilised. The potential of assessment dialogue to present opportunities for reframing and disrupting thinking is explored, as well as the significance of this assessment in supporting autonomy, permission and motivation. The paper advocates careful consideration of both assessment design and practice in relation to these aspects.