Overview

The Social Research MRes programme at the University College London (UCL) will equip participants with research skills that can be used in public, private or third sectors, and provides ideal preparation for doctoral study.

Why study this degree at UCL?

The research culture at the UCL IOE is vibrant and active, with a wide variety of research seminars and events available for students each week. As a part of the IOE Centre for Doctoral Education (CDE), MRes students will have access to the wide range of research meetings, reading groups, presentations and seminars that are on offer. Students who are taking the MRes face-to-face will be able to attend any of these events in person. For online students, many events are available online through Lecturecast and/or Blackboard Collaborate.

This mixed-mode MRes Social Research programme allows you to study fully online or attend face-to-face seminars in combination with online activities. This approach means students can study flexibly, enabling them to fit their study around work and personal commitments. The course is designed around a ‘flipped classroom’ model, where module content is delivered online through video, readings and written lectures. Seminar time is spent in actively applying and analysing lecture content by, for example, using criteria to evaluate research projects, analysing research papers, or presenting group work that students have undertaken outside of the class.

The MRes Social Research programme provides students with an excellent range of intellectual and practical research skills, along with the ability to analyse and communicate complex ideas and to creatively plan and manage an independent research project. These skills are in high demand in many fields of employment.

Careers

This interdisciplinary research programme is designed to help you develop the skills required to be a professional researcher in private, public or third sector contexts, or to gain the necessary research skills for studying a PhD, a professional doctorate or other postgraduate degree.

Graduates of the MRes Social Research programme will be equipped to pursue careers in social research as research officers/analysts working for national governments, local authorities, businesses, charities, NGOs as well as large international organisations. They may also work as research officers on funded projects in higher education or research institutes in many contexts, including think tanks and policy units.

Employability

• Through the programme, participants will gain critical thinking skills and advanced skills in research design and evaluation across a wide range of social research contexts and disciplines.
• This programme enhances employability in a range of public, private and third sector national and international organisations, which increasingly value skills in conducting and interpreting social research. It also lays the foundation to undertake advanced doctoral studies.
• The MRes curriculum provides detailed engagement with topics such as knowledge production, research ethics, and the role of theory in research. It also provides a range of researcher specialisations, including various forms of qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches.