MSc Research Methods with Education

Year of entry: 2020

Overview

Degree awarded: Master of Science (MSc)
Duration: 1 year
Entry requirements: A good honours degree (minimum 2:1), or the overseas equivalent, in a relevant field is required.

Full entry requirements
How to apply: Apply online (from 7 October 2019)

Course options

	Full-time	Part-time	Full-time distance learning	Part-time distance learning
MSc	Y	N	N	N

Course overview

Research-intensive master's degree, perfect if you're considering PhD study and/or a career in research.
The course will develop your research skills and knowledge of education.
It complies with the research training requirements for ESRC scholarships for a PhD scholarship (commonly termed +3), and also suitable as the master's year as part of an ESRC scholarship award that covers both the master's and PhD (commonly termed a 1+3 award).
It is ideal if you want to apply for an ESRC or School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED) scholarship, as 70% of the ESRC Core Training can be demonstrated prior to commencing a PhD.

Fees

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2020, the tuition fees are as follows:

MSc (full-time)
UK/EU students (per annum): £9,500
International students (per annum): £19,000

The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive for the course tuition, administration and computational costs during your studies.

All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of courses lasting more than a year for UK/EU students (fees are typically fixed for international students, for the course duration at the year of entry). For general fees information please visit postgraduate fees

Self-funded international applicants for this course will be required to pay a deposit of £1,000 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. This deposit will only be refunded if immigration permission is refused. We will notify you about how and when to make this payment.

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships/sponsorships

MSc Research Methods complies with the research training requirements for ESRC scholarships for a PhD scholarship (commonly termed +3). It is also suitable as the master's year as part of an ESRC scholarship award that covers both the master's and PhD (commonly termed a 1+3 award).

It is ideal if you want to apply for an ESRC scholarship or School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED) scholarship, as 70% of the ESRC Core Training can be demonstrated prior to commencing a PhD.

It will also be of interest to people who are considering a career in research in one of the pathway fields.

We also offer a number of postgraduate taught scholarships and merit awards to outstanding applicants and international students.

In addition, the Manchester Alumni Scholarship Scheme offers a £3,000 reduction in tuition fees to University of Manchester alumni who achieved a first-class Bachelors degree and are progressing to a postgraduate taught masters course.

For more information, see Fees and funding or search the University's postgraduate funding database .

Contact details

School/Faculty: School of Environment, Education and Development
Contact name: Christopher Kitchen
Telephone: 44(0)161 275 0969
Email: pgr-seed-admissions@manchester.ac.uk
School/Faculty: See: The School .

Courses in related subject areas

Use the links below to view lists of courses in related subject areas.

Education

Entry requirements

Academic entry qualification overview

A good honours degree (minimum 2:1), or the overseas equivalent, in a relevant field is required.

English language

Applicants whose first language is not English should meet the following language requirements:

IELTS 6.5 overall, 6.5 in writing, no sub-section below 6.0
TOEFL iBT overall score of 90 with a minimum score of 22 in writing and 20 in the other subsections
Pearson PTE overall score of 59 with a minimum score of 59 in the written section and 55 in all other subsections
Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE) or Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) overall score of 176 or above, with 176 in writing and no sub-section below 169 - OR - Grade C if taken before January 2015.

English language test validity

Some English Language test results are only valid for two years. Your English Language test report must be valid on the start date of the course.

Other international entry requirements

We accept a range of qualifications from different countries. For these and general requirements including English language see Accepted entry qualifications from your country

Application and selection

How to apply

Apply online (from 7 October 2019)

Advice to applicants

Please submit the following documents with your completed application form:

copies of official degree certificates and transcripts of your previous study, showing the subjects taken and grades obtained. If these documents are in languages other than English please provide official translations;
two written references, one of which should be familiar with your academic work, signed, dated and stamped by the referee and on official headed paper;
a personal statement (maximum 500 words) detailing why you wish to study the course, your experiences, what you can bring to the course and any other information that you see as relevant to your application;
your CV;
copies of English Language Certification, eg IELTS, TOEFL or Pearson test score report.

Ensure that you enclose all the necessary documents, as the delay caused in having to seek any missing documents from you might adversely prejudice your application.

How your application is considered

Once your application has been received, our admissions team will contact you. We may ask you to submit additional information, if necessary.

If you decide to accept your offer, when you arrive in Manchester you will be required to show to us the original documents which demonstrate your academic qualifications and your English language ability.

Re-applications

If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful you may apply again. Your application will be considered against the standard course entry criteria for that year of entry.

In your new application, you should demonstrate how your application has improved. We may draw upon all information from your previous applications or any previous registrations at the University as a student when assessing your suitability for your chosen course.

Course details

Course description

MSc Research Methods is a research intensive master's designed for those who wish to continue on to PhD and/or are considering embarking on a career in research. It has a strong focus on developing research skills combined with further study in education.

The MSc is designed to comply with the research training requirements for two ESRC scholarships as administered by the North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP): the three-year PhD scholarship (commonly termed +3) and the four-year scholarship that covers an eligible one year master's and a three-year PhD (commonly termed 1+3).

The course is ideal if you want to apply for an ESRC scholarship through the NWSSDTP or a School of Environment, Education and Development scholarship. NWSSDTP approved master's must meet the minimum research training requirement expected by the ESRC.

Aims

You will:

develop as a well-rounded researcher who is able to access the full range of research in relation to education;
actively and practically engage with research methods used in the context of education;
attend introductory PhD research training lectures, seminars and tutorials and get a taste of life as a PhD student.

Special features

Education has been a discipline of study at Manchester since 1890.
Our students come from all over the globe, and our qualifications are recognised across the globe.
Our research improves the quality of education across the world, with 78% of our activity defined as `world-leading' or `internationally excellent' (Research Excellence Framework 2014).

Coursework and assessment

You will conduct a small-scale piece of empirical research of relevance and use this as the basis for your dissertation. The emphasis of the dissertation will be on the use of methodology in the context of:

tracing the application of certain methods to the investigation of particular issues;
discussing how that methodology functioned in practice;
research reflexivity.

You will be expected to report on the findings of the study, although the scale of the work will necessitate modest aims and outcomes, given that you will require space to provide in-depth methodological critique and potentially also methods development as an outcome of their study.

It will also be possible you to choose to undertake a literature-based dissertation, in which case there will be an expectation that a formal review methodology will be used to conduct the review.

The form the dissertation ultimately takes will reflect the particular study conducted, and its structure will be negotiated and agreed your supervisor. All dissertations undertaken will be required to contribute to meeting the ESRC's research training criteria.

Course unit details

Core course units typically include:

Research Literacy and Design
Qualitative Research Approaches
Quantitative Research Approaches
Dissertation

You will select one from the following options:

Doing Environmental Research
Development Fieldwork
Independent Research Methods

You will also select four units from our Education postgraduate portfolio.

Course unit list

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

Title	Code	Credit rating	Mandatory/optional
Theories of Teaching and Learning	EDUC60491	15	Optional
Digital Media and Information Literacy	EDUC61712	15	Optional
Beyond Approaches, Methods and Techniques	EDUC70021	15	Optional
Educational Technology and Communication	EDUC70141	30	Optional
Education Leadership	EDUC70331	15	Optional
Leading Educational Change and Development	EDUC70352	15	Optional
Education Policy	EDUC70531	15	Optional
Language Learning and Technology (Distance)	EDUC77101	15	Optional
Doing Environmental Research	GEOG70472	15	Optional
Development Fieldwork	MGDI60502	15	Optional

Scholarships and bursaries

MSc Research Methods complies with the research training requirements for ESRC scholarships for a PhD scholarship (commonly termed +3). It is also suitable as the master's year as part of an ESRC scholarship award that covers both the master's and PhD (commonly termed a 1+3 award).

It is ideal if you want to apply for an ESRC scholarship or School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED) scholarship, as 70% of the ESRC Core Training can be demonstrated prior to commencing a PhD.

It will also be of interest to people who are considering a career in research in one of the pathway fields.

We also offer a number of postgraduate taught scholarships and merit awards to outstanding applicants and international students.

In addition, the Manchester Alumni Scholarship Scheme offers a £3,000 reduction in tuition fees to University of Manchester alumni who achieved a first-class Bachelors degree and are progressing to a postgraduate taught masters course.

For more information, see Fees and funding or search the University's postgraduate funding database .

Facilities

The course is taught by the Manchester Institute of Education (MIE), which has its own Undergraduate Hub. Here you will find all of your teaching staff and support staff. It is also a place to relax with fellow students.

MIE is located in the University's Ellen Wilkinson building, which is centrally located on the University's Oxford Road campus, close to the Main Library, Alan Gilbert Learning Commons and the Students Union.

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service.

For more information, email dass@manchester.ac.uk

Careers

Career opportunities

MSc Research Methods is ideal if you are considering PhD study and/or a career in research in education.

Manchester Institute of Education (MIE) graduates go on to shape education policy and practice through positions in NGOs and in the public and private sector. Potential careers include:

teaching;
lecturing;
research;
teacher education;
educational administration;
leadership;
consultancy;
publishing;
testing;
assessment.

For more information, see Careers and employability