Research Training Programme
for
MRes Degrees
in the
Social Sciences
Welcome to the SS5000 Research Training Programme for MRes Degrees in the Social Sciences Home Page. These pages are primarily aimed at students who are thinking about undertaking an MRes Degree at the University of St Andrews in one of the following participating Schools or Departments: Anthropology, Geography and Sustainable Development, International Relations, Management, or Psychology. These participants run a variety of programmes that can be taken either as 'stand alone' degrees or as the first component of doctoral study in a 1+3 research training programme. Details about programmes and application procedures can be obtained from specific schools.
Prospective students from participating schools do not need to apply to take the SS5000 modules because they form an integral part of each of the ESRC recognised subject specific programmes. Just contact an "advisor" in your school and ask them to "advise" you into the modules you wish to take. If you are a first year PhD student in a participating school you can do the same (see the section on "auditing" SS5000 modules). Students not associated with participating schools need to contact the SS5000 Programme Director to seek permission directly.
The purpose of these pages is to inform you about the role that research training will play in your Masters degree.
Aims and Rationale of the SS5000 programme:
Your primary study interests will lie in your chosen disciplinary specialism, however, in order to undertake your masters research dissertation, a future PhD project and/or to obtain research related employment beyond the academy, you will need to develop a series of core research skills and competencies. These proficiencies are required within all social science disciplines, and within larger institutions would form a core element of each individual school's MRes degree programmes.
These proficiencies involve: understanding the philosophical underpinnings of research and the processes of good research design: developing the practical skills necessary to implement a programme of research: acquiring competence across a range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies: and building a range of career oriented skills that will further future research and employment within and/or beyond the academy.
St Andrews is a relatively small institution and in order to best utilise our expertise as well as enhance the learning experience of students on a variety of social science programmes, participating schools cooperate to provide a multi-disciplinary curriculum of research training. Students taking the modules are encouraged to develop a broad understanding of the nature of social research and their own discipline's position within the wider field of social science. The shared courses provide a range of opportunities for students to debate and socialise with, and learn from, peers from a variety of other disciplines.
SS5000 Modules within Subject Specific MRes Programmes:
There are four 15 credit SS5000 core modules and together these comprise a third of most 180 credit MRes degrees. In each of the first two semesters of your MRes degree you will take two SS5000 research training modules. These will parallel and complement the one to three subject specific modules you will take in each semester as part of your chosen degree. The research training modules provide an important grounding for the dissertation - on which you will focus in your third and final semester (over the summer)