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MSc/Diploma Social Science Research Methods

Programme Convenor: Professor Keith Whitfield

Length of course: Full-time: 12 months / Part-time: 27 months

Fees 2010/11

Full-time MSc:

Home and EU students - £4,500

Overseas students - £9,600

Part-time MSc:

Home and EU students - £2,250 (per year)

Overseas students - £4,800 (per year)

Full-time Diploma:

Home and EU students - £3,000

Overseas students - £6,400

Part-time Diploma:

Home and EU students - £1,500 (per year)

Overseas students - £3,200 (per year)

Please note: Fees for future years are subject to change. 

Application Procedure: 

Applicants should normally have a 2:1 degree or above or an equivalent qualification. Alternatively, they may be considered for admission if they are able to demonstrate that they have held, for a minimum period of two years, a position of responsibility relevant to the programme, or, in exceptional circumstances, be able to demonstrate equivalent skills that are sufficient to meet the demands of the programme.

Where English is not the applicant’s first language, we require an IELTS score of 6:5 or above (or an equivalent English qualification).

Please note: Potential applicants must produce an initial outline description of their intended research topic (typically 500 words, 1 A4 Page) which will form the basis for assessing the application, together with the completed application form and references. The research proposal will also be the means by which applicants are paired with potential supervisors. It is important that your writing is clear and concise, and you use size 12 font.

This can be submitted with the application form or directly to the RGS Office, RGS@cardiff.ac.uk. Sample Research proposals are available from the RGS Office.

Applications are considered on a rolling basis throughout the academic year but due the popularity of the course, places fill up quickly.  Prospective students are advised to submit their application in the spring. 

All applications must be approved by the pathway convenor before a student enrols on a specific pathway through the MSc in Social Science Research Methods.

 

Applications can be made online at through the Online Application Service. Applicants can also complete the standard paper-based Cardiff University Postgraduate Application Form. See Apply to Study for more details.

Further information is available from:

RGS Office

Phone:+44(0)29 2087 5178/+44(0)29 20 87 0284 rgs@cardiff.ac.uk


The MSc degree is a one-year full-time course, fully recognised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). It can also be studied as a part-time course, taking approximately 27 months. It is co-ordinated by the Research and Graduate School in the Social Sciences, the activities of which are aimed at supporting postgraduate students and research staff in social science disciplines, with contributions from Cardiff Business School, the Department of City and Regional Planning, the School of European Studies, the School of History and Archaeology, the School of Psychology and the School of Social Sciences.

 

Aims of the course:The programme aims to provide advanced training in research methods across the full range of the social sciences. Students are provided with a thorough theoretical and practical knowledge of the design of research studies in the social sciences, the variety of data collection methods available to the social scientist and of the principal methods of analysing social data. Graduates of the programme may go on to undertake PhD research, or they may choose to enter professional social research directly.

 

MSc Course structure: The coursework part of the programme is divided into Core and Optional modules. All modules are continuously assessed. The Core modules are compulsory and aim to provide students with a good grasp of the full range of social science research strategies and techniques. The Optional modules are intended to develop in-depth knowledge and operational capacity in more specialised areas of social science research methods. On successful completion of the coursework component, students are required to prepare a dissertation (of a maximum 20,000 words) to be submitted by the end of September in the year following registration (full-time students) and the beginning of January of the year following their second academic year (part-time students).

Diploma Course Structure: Diploma candidates follow the same modular programme as for the MSc. In order to gain a Diploma award in Social Science Research Methods students need to successfully complete 120 credits of taught modules. There is no dissertation requirement for the Postgraduate Diploma.

 

Pathways through the Programme: There are a number of pathways through this programme overseen by different Schools, and your module choices will vary according to the pathway you choose. The pathways currently available are as follows:

Part-time study: Part-time students alongside the full-time students, studying a proportion of the taught modules over two academic sessions (60 credits per session). For part-time students, the overall expected study time is approximately 17 hours per week, of which 6 to 8 hours would be lectures/seminars per week. Part-time students are given slightly longer to complete their dissertation, submitting it in the January following their second academic year.

Funding: the MSc programme has formal recognition from the ESRC.  As such, each pathway is eligible to submit one student for the ESRC's annual Open Competition for studentships.

In addition, the following pathways have a limited number of quota studentships for 2009 and 2010: Economics, Management and Business Studies, Planning, Linguistics (2009 only), Psychology, Education, Social Policy, Social Work, Socio-Legal Studies, and Sociology.

Prospective students who wish to find out more about the studentship opportunities available should contact the pathway convenor in the Academic School to which they are considering applying. Information about ESRC studentships can also be found on the ESRC website.