Master of Science in Social Science Research Methods (Politics)

at University of Bristol - Clifton Campus United Kingdom

Our education master's degrees give you the opportunity to design a tailored program of study that suits your learning and professional needs. You will be able to specialise and receive an award in a particular disciplinary area.

This pathway is designed for those with an interest in teaching and learning and working with learners in educational settings across the sector. It is particularly suitable if you already hold master's-level credits from a teaching qualification, such as a PGCE, and want to build on this foundation for your professional development.

In common with other MSc Education students, you will take the compulsory research methods unit, Introduction to Educational Inquiry, and write a dissertation. You will also take the compulsory unit, Contemporary Perspectives in Learning, which is core to your pathway. You can choose the rest of your units from across the programs offered by the school. Your final choice of units will be made after consulting with tutors so that your choice is as coherent and useful as possible, as well as suiting your individual needs.

Researchers, research managers, policy advisers and service planners are all faced with a growing need for research that is timely and relevant. This program builds on the links between research and policy in developing the particular skills and capacities needed by policy-oriented researchers, professionals and postgraduate students who are interested in carrying out public policy, social policy and social welfare research. We believe this is vital if researchers are to maximise the impact of their work in addressing issues of real concern to policymakers.

The program provides core research training in philosophy and research design in the social sciences, along with introductions to and further approaches in quantitative and qualitative methods in the social sciences. It also offers optional units in our particular areas of research expertise, such as child and family welfare, gender and violence, health and social care, poverty and social exclusion, and policy-oriented evaluation.

We recognise that students will be joining with relevant - albeit varied - experience. Therefore, there will be opportunities for you to draw on your own experiences as researchers, managers and policy advisers and share insights with other students working towards research degrees in disability studies, social work research and health and wellbeing.

Those who have recently embarked on a career in policy research, or who hope to do so, will find the program offers a combination of academic rigour, up-to-date policy content and relevant skills development.

Core units are taught in collaboration with other postgraduate programs, providing a co-learning environment and giving you the opportunity to interact and share insights with other students working towards research degrees in disability studies, policy research, social work research and health and wellbeing. 

Econometrics is the application of statistical methods to data to estimate economic models. It is used by economists to verify or disprove theories and analyse the impacts of policies and events on the health of the economy. This course combines the study of economics and econometrics with a wide range of optional units.

Econometrics is a vital tool for economists because, unlike natural sciences, where controlled experiments are used to determine the effect of one thing on another, it is impossible to hold the economy constant while tinkering with a single variable. Econometrics provides the scientific means to overcome the issue using empirical observations.

Alongside additional mandatory modules in econometrics and the applied economics dissertation, you will be able to select from a wide range of optional modules from the Schools of Economics, Finance and Management during all three years of your degree.

The innovators of the 21st century will bring together arts, science, engineering, humanities and enterprise to deliver innovative products, services and ways of living. They will be team players with a breadth of skills and qualities that enable them to work across specialisms and cultures.

This course combines in-depth subject specialism in psychology with interdisciplinary breadth, creative teamwork and entrepreneurial skills. Alongside your psychology studies, you will apply your subject knowledge by translating ideas into plans for digital and creative enterprises, both social and commercial.

The course will equip you to use the critical, theoretical and practical skills central to psychology, allowing you to develop your knowledge and skills across a range of areas as you proceed through the course. It emphasises the experimental study of the mind and we want our students to share a sense of fun and adventure in psychological science. Our staff are experts who are enthusiastic about teaching students the latest developments in the field based on the cutting-edge research that they are conducting.

You will come together with students from other innovation disciplines, such as management and anthropology, each contributing a unique perspective on a challenge as you identify needs and develop ideas. Ultimately, you'll create innovative solutions together.

By the time you graduate you will have a portfolio of work ranging from live client projects to planning your own entrepreneurial venture. You will have learned how to evaluate the potential of your product or service and how to finance it, and you will have a network of peers and advisers who have worked with you along the way.

Our MA draws on these strengths. It is intended both for students who have a first degree in philosophy who wish to specialise in philosophy of science at a higher level, and for individuals with a background in pure science who wish to make a transition to philosophy of science or to explore foundational issues within the sciences.

The emphasis of the programme is on philosophical issues arising from specific scientific disciplines, with particular focus on physics, biology and mathematics. The history of science is studied in terms of the philosophical debate about the nature of scientific method and knowledge.

The MSci Neuroscience is a four-year degree with an extended project in the final year. The course provides an opportunity to gain in-depth understanding of how to plan and perform experimental research in a specialised subject area. The final year provides valuable experience in research and you will develop the skills required to embark on a career as a researcher.

The first three years follow the BSc Neuroscience course. In the first and second years you will explore many aspects of neuroscience, including the neurophysiology of the central nervous system; the pharmacology of drugs that affect the nervous system; and the techniques that have enabled advances in understanding the nervous system.

Alongside neuroscience, you will also learn about how other specialised body systems work and will have the opportunity to study complementary subject areas, including psychology and anatomical science, broadening your knowledge of biomedical sciences.

By the third year you will be learning at the forefront of current research, taking units such as Synaptic Plasticity; Brain and Behaviour; and Neuropsychiatric Diseases. You will also spend a total of 30 days on a research project.

This course offers you an opportunity to pursue a career in accounting, with the benefit of spending one year studying abroad. It provides access to subjects accredited by professional accountancy bodies, including the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). Alternatively, you may pursue a career in finance and investment banking through our outstanding finance-oriented courses.

This four-year course is underpinned by theory and practice. It aims to foster collaboration and creative thinking in the use of case studies. Places on the course are allocated on merit depending on first-year examination results and availability of spaces at destination universities.

The course offers rewarding opportunities to participate in a summer internship and the Bristol PLUS Award. You can also benefit from the faculty's Professional Liaison Network, which offers a range of specialist employability services, including a professional mentoring scheme with alumni, insight talks and internships.

In the past, graduates have gone on to work for the Bank of England, JP Morgan, UBS, PwC, KPMG, EY, Microsoft, IBM and many other blue-chip organisations.