The MSc Applied Educational & Social Research is a full-time one-year or two-year part-time degree, ideal for those looking to enhance their academic and professional understanding of research. The course looks at the issues facing educational and social researchers and offers a range of intellectual and practical resources to structure and explore these issues. Students are encouraged to identify their own area of interest for research and to explore this throughout the course, before completing their own dissertation research in this chosen area.

The course is aimed at two principal audiences:

those wishing to develop their professional understanding of applied research
those seeking to develop their research skills prior to undertaking PhD study
The full-time version of the course is available both as face-to-face attendance and as a form of blended learning involving face-to-face meetings with additional web-based content delivered by a dedicated online environment. This allows you to study at times that suit you. The classes are flexible, so you can make choices based on your own personal interests. The part-time version of the course is entirely distance learning.

The course offers an ESRC recognised route (+1) into a PhD in Education. Students following this route undertake 60 credits taught centrally with other ESRC students from across the Faculty.

International students completing this degree will further benefit from gaining an insight into the UK educational system.
What you’ll study
The programme will enable you to evaluate, design, conduct, analyse and justify educational and social research, in terms of:

underlying conceptions of the person, social relations, education and research practice
first-order principles which define valid research problems and knowledge
political and social assumptions about the purpose of research and its relationship to constituencies of practice and policy
research strategies implied by different philosophical assumptions
techniques for engaging in knowledge-gathering from different social and educational settings and sources
techniques for analysing data of all types
methods of disseminating research outcomes and emergent issues
use of research for educational and social ends
You'll study four core (compulsory) and one optional modules over two semesters. In addition, you'll complete a 12,000 to 15,000-word dissertation allowing you to carry out detailed study in an area of specific interest.
Course content:
The course is organised into Compulsory Modules (Modules 1-4, including one double module) which, together with an optional module, comprise the 120-credit coursework. The dissertation is worth an additional 60 credits.

The modules are organised sequentially and you're normally expected to take them in order.