MRes Research Methodology for Business & Management

Apply
Back to course

Research opportunities

The programme provides comprehensive and coherent coverage of a wide range of methodological issues that arise in business research.

Your researcher training will provide you with the intellectual foundations that you will need for your journey into either the higher-level learning needed for advanced postgraduate research degrees or to work in a range of research focussed roles within organisational settings.

 

Go back

Course content

The course will introduce you to a range of research skills and specialist methods and techniques:

Semester one (* indicates core class)

  • Research Methods*
  • Reviewing literature for Business*
  • Research Philosophy*

Semester two

  • Software for Research
  • Introduction to Quantitative Methods
  • Advanced Quantitative Methods
  • Policy & Project Evaluation (Economics only)
  • Causality in Empirical Finance Research (Accounting and Finance Only)
  • Advanced Qualitative Methods

Semester three

  • Research Colloquium*
  • Writing up Postgraduate Research
  • Research Project*

Programme duration

  • MRes: 180 credits - 12 months full-time
  • PgDip*: 120 credits – approximately 9 months study full time
  • PgCert*: 60 credits – approximately 4 months study full time

The course is offered on a full-time or part-time basis. Modules can be delivered as blended or online classes and run for two to three weeks a month from October to May. Students studying part-time will be able to complete their course of study over two academic years.

* not available as a standalone qualification

Key course highlights:

  • strong practical focus including training in software and advanced quantitative and qualitative methods
  • rich and diverse learning environment where you will study with students from around the world and studying a range of postgraduate research degrees
  • opportunity to learn from academics who are leaders in their field and working at the cutting edge of business research

Triple-accredited business school

Back to course

Fees & funding

All fees quoted are per academic year unless otherwise stated.

Entrants may be subject to a small fee during the writing up period.

Fees may be subject to updates to maintain accuracy. Tuition fees will be notified in your offer letter.

All fees are in £ sterling, unless otherwise stated, and may be subject to revision.

Annual revision of fees

Students on programmes of study of more than one year (or studying standalone modules) should be aware that the majority of fees will increase annually. The University will take a range of factors into account, including, but not limited to, UK inflation, changes in delivery costs and changes in Scottish and/or UK Government funding. Changes in fees will be published on the University website in October each year for the following year of study and any annual increase will be capped at a maximum of 10% per year.

Go back
Scotland

£4,786

England, Wales & Northern Ireland

£4,786

Republic of Ireland

If you are an Irish citizen and have been ordinary resident in the Republic of Ireland for the three years prior to the relevant date, and will be coming to Scotland for Educational purposes only, you will meet the criteria of England, Wales & Northern Ireland fee status. For more information and advice on tuition fee status, you can visit the UKCISA - International student advice and guidance - Scotland: fee status webpage. Find out more about the University of Strathclyde's fee assessments process.

International

£19,600

Funding

Take a look at our funding your postgraduate research web page for funding information.

You can also view our scholarships search for further funding opportunities.

Postgraduate research opportunities

Search for all funded and non-funded postgraduate research opportunities.

Additional costs

International students may have associated visa and immigration costs. Please see student visa guidance for more information.

Please note: the fees shown are annual and may be subject to an increase each year.

Research areas

When studying the MRes you'll be based in (and have a supervisor from) one of our six academic departments:

  • Accounting and Finance
  • Economics
  • Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Innovation
  • Management Science
  • Marketing
  • Work, Employment and Organisation

In addition, students can undertake any other relevant module from Masters programmes around the faculty.

Back to course

Apply

Entry requirements

For entry onto our postgraduate research programmes, we normally look for a first-class or upper second-class UK Honours degree, or overseas equivalent, in a relevant business or social science related subject.

For PhD applications, we also normally expect a Masters degree, or overseas equivalent, although there are often exceptions. For technical social subjects, such as Accounting and Finance, in addition to Accounting, Finance and Economics subjects, we also expect decent coverage of quantitative or econometrics subjects in the undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

When reviewing your academic achievements, we're particularly interested in grades which relate to independent research (for example, a research project or dissertation). A strong score in these elements may allow us to consider entry with a lower degree classification.

Strathclyde Business School is committed to supporting a diverse and inclusive postgraduate research population. We make decisions on entry by assessing the whole person and not relying solely on academic achievements. On that basis, please ensure that your application (via your CV and covering letter) can evidence your resourcefulness, commitment and resilience as demonstrated by broader professional and life experiences. This evidence should be centred on your ability to undertake and complete a PhD and contribute to a positive PhD community.

You can prove your knowledge of English by:

  • Passing a Secure English Language Test from our list of accepted providers with an IELTS (or equivalent) score of 6.5, with no individual element below 5.5.
  • We will also consider evidence of prior study using English as the medium of instruction, if this study was in the last five years.
  • The University has an English Language Teaching unit that offers a pre-sessional course -  both on campus and online - allowing applicants to upskill in the use of English language in preparation for undertaking a postgraduate research degree. More information on the course and how to apply is available on the Pre-sessional webpage. PGR applicants should add a Pre-sessional application to their main degree application on the Applicant Portal, selecting the Pre-sessional programmes for Postgraduate students. For more information, or if you have any questions, please contact elt@strath.ac.uk.

Before you apply

Writing your research proposal

1. working title

2. Layman's summary of proposed research (max 250 words)

Give us a brief summary of your proposed research project written for members of the public, rather than researchers or professionals. Why is this research important? What global/societal issues does it solve? What impact could it have on business and management in the future.

3. research aims & objectives (or questions(s)) (max 500 words)

What’s the question you want to answer? How will you attempt to answer this question?

4. literature review (max 500 words)

Provide a brief overview of relevant literature to indicate any debates the research aims to engage with; any gaps or problems that have been identified; or what models the project hopes to explore or test.

5. methodology (max 300 words)

Provide an outline of the proposed research methodology.

6. timeline (max 300 words)

An MRes is 12 months minimum study (full time). Indicate what you think the main activities will be. This is important as we need to assess the achievability of your proposal. This should be presented in tabular format.

7. references 

Please use Harvard referencing throughout.

Notes

  • please use Times New Roman 12pt font 
  • 1.5 line spacing
  • 2.5cm margin all round
  • hard return between paragraphs

Getting a reference

Read our help on how to choose references and what the referees need to supply.

The application

During the application you'll be asked for the following:

  • your full contact details
  • a copy of an up-to-date CV
  • academic transcripts for both your degrees which clearly show the modules studied and the grades gained for each module
  • proof of English language proficiency, less than two years old, if English isn't your first language
  • two references, one of which must be academic – the references should focus on your academic and research skills, as well as your suitability to undertake PhD level study
  • funding or scholarship information
  • research proposal, clearly demonstrating the potential contribution both in theory and practice; please use our guidance above and attach this with your application

By filling these details out as fully as possible, you'll avoid any delay to your application being processed by the University.

Accepting an offer

Once you've accepted our offer, we'll need you to fulfil any academic, administrative or financial conditions that we ask.

Start date:

Accounting & Finance

MRes

Start date:

Economics

MRes

Start date:

Entrepreneurship

MRes

Start date:

Management Science

MRes

Start date:

Marketing

MRes

Start date:

Work, Employment & Organisation

MRes

Back to course

Contact us

Strathclyde Business School Postgraduate Research Team

Email: sbs-pgradmissions@strath.ac.uk

Back to course

Fees & funding

All fees quoted are per academic year unless otherwise stated.

Entrants may be subject to a small fee during the writing up period.

Fees may be subject to updates to maintain accuracy. Tuition fees will be notified in your offer letter.

All fees are in £ sterling, unless otherwise stated, and may be subject to revision.

Annual revision of fees

Students on programmes of study of more than one year (or studying standalone modules) should be aware that the majority of fees will increase annually. The University will take a range of factors into account, including, but not limited to, UK inflation, changes in delivery costs and changes in Scottish and/or UK Government funding. Changes in fees will be published on the University website in October each year for the following year of study and any annual increase will be capped at a maximum of 10% per year.

Go back
Scotland

£5,006

England, Wales & Northern Ireland

£5,006

Republic of Ireland

If you are an Irish citizen and have been ordinary resident in the Republic of Ireland for the three years prior to the relevant date, and will be coming to Scotland for Educational purposes only, you will meet the criteria of England, Wales & Northern Ireland fee status. For more information and advice on tuition fee status, you can visit the UKCISA - International student advice and guidance - Scotland: fee status webpage. Find out more about the University of Strathclyde's fee assessments process.

International

£21,550

Funding

Take a look at our funding your postgraduate research web page for funding information.

You can also view our scholarships search for further funding opportunities.

Postgraduate research opportunities

Search for all funded and non-funded postgraduate research opportunities.

Additional costs

International students may have associated visa and immigration costs. Please see student visa guidance for more information.

Please note: the fees shown are annual and may be subject to an increase each year.