How can we better support the professional development of the professoriate? This paper reports on the proposal to introduce an integrated higher doctorate to develop and recognise expert leadership in universities. The contemporary professoriate in the United Kingdom is challenged by a multitude of pressures as a consequence of neo-liberalism and the ascendancy of performativity. Hitherto, much of the professional development for the professoriate has been ad hoc and unstructured. The proposal to introduce an integrated higher doctorate combines professional development with recognition of academic excellence and offers a distinct milestone for mid-career academics. This paper situates this discussion of a proposed integrated higher doctorate within the wider context of the traditional higher doctorate and the discourse relating to its future. In synthesising the issues of the higher doctorate and the professional development of the professoriate, this paper makes an original contribution to the literature on the future professoriate.