The program where I got my master’s degree would take working professionals as part-time PhD students for about the first half of the program— for full-time stu

The program where I got my master’s degree would take working professionals as part-time PhD students for about the first half of the program— for full-time students, this would be the first two years where you’re primarily focusing on course work. Part-time students would take a class or two a semester, gradually completing the PhD course work requirement over the course of several years. Once you completed the required courses, passed your PhD prelim exam, and started focusing on your dissertation work, the expectation was that you would become a full-time student. There’s no way you’d complete a dissertation in anything resembling a timely manner while maintaining a full time job elsewhere. (I even know some people who had their PhD work slowed down by research assistantship work in the same area— it can be tough to hit that balancing point, especially when funding’s on the line.) (I do not know if they offer any kind of remote postgraduate program; I’ve been away from that for several years.)