Postgraduate Courses in Psychology
The MRes or Master of Research programme in Psychology provides research training in the latest methods used by social scientists. Students have opportunity to learn about a range of research methods; develop their practical skills in specific research methods; develop their theoretical thinking about research; and to work closely on several of their own projects with an academic who is an active and leading researcher in their field. The objective of studying a postgraduate course in Psychology is to equip students with the skills required for designing, conducting, analysing and reporting a wide range of research projects. Students also acquire communication and other key skills necessary to be an excellent researcher. The philosophy of the MRes in Psychology at the University of Bath for example, is that students will complete this programme with an in-depth understanding of the research process and with a 'tool kit' of methods from which they can draw for any of their future research projects. Students are driven by their research questions, and not by a limited knowledge or experience of research methods. If you are interested in applying for a postgraduate course in Pschology then read on to find out more.
The Economic Social Research Council recommends that all research students should have training both in generic research skills as well as those which are specific to a particular discipline. Psychology MRes programmes have been developed with these needs in mind. The MRes is both a stand-alone programme of research training and a programme that offers doctoral students high quality training to enable them to carry out their future doctoral research. Some people who want to study for Phd have a good plan for what they want to research and how they might go about it. Others however require the time and opportunity to refine their ideas and to learn more about the variety of research methodologies used within the social science. The MRes allows students to either develop their ideas into a clearer PhD proposal, or for those with a clear plan, to test out ideas using a variety of methods.
Many organisations and services (e.g. governments, voluntary organisations, public services, and commerce) rely on good quality research to provide them with the knowledge on which to plan future developments. In order to do this people need to understand a whole range of research skills to design feasible studies. The MRes in Psychology provides the opportunity to gain both breadth of experience and depth of understanding through its combination of generic and specialist study units.
There are now eight MRes Programmes offered by University of Bath, in the disciplines of Economics, Education, European Politics, European Social Policy, International Development, Management, Psychology (including a stream in Critical Social Psychology), Social Policy and Sociology.
Each MRes is located in a Department (or School) and they are all brought together by coordination at Faculty level. This structure enables students to interact with other postgraduates in their disciplines as well as students following different MRes programmes.
Students enjoy the interdisciplinary nature of the MRes at the University of Bath, where they are expected to be active learners, engaged with their subject and learn through doing. Teaching is through lectures, workshops, seminars and both group and individual projects. Teaching covers a range of research topics. In Psychology students study theoretical issues, the philosophy of social science, core skills in social science research, qualitative and quantitative methods. They may also take options in Postmodern Psychology, Gender Studies, Ecological Thinking in Management and Advanced Statistics, depending on where their interests lie. Students join us with a good degree in a social science discipline and are paired with an active researcher, to build an apprenticeship style working relationship throughout the year that culminates in an original piece of research in the form of the dissertation. In the Psychology Department researchers tend to specialise in one of three areas: applied cognition and technology (which includes cyber psychology, children and interactive technology and cognitive and cognitive processes); social, cultural and critical psychology (the example youth, consumption, gender, identity, citizenship and economic psychology); and health psychology (exploring, for example, stress and well-being, managing chronic health conditions, quality of life, substance use and pain management).
The MRes is a course in its own right and is taken by students who want to develop their research skills for a variety of careers, such as in government, education, health or market research. This postgraduate course in Psychology is also taken by students wanting to enhance their research skills before undertaking further study, such as a PhD. Last year's Psychology students left to enjoy careers in sports science, lecturing, and learning support, while one student is now travelling the world before resuming further studies. All appreciated the intellectual and personal development that they experienced while studying at the University of Bath, which is regularly in the top ten of the University league tables and is situated in a city with World Heritage status. If you want to find out more about postgraduate courses in Psychology then please follow the link below:
http://www.bath.ac.uk/psychology
