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Postgraduate courses in psychology
Psychology at Bath
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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.