Program Overview
The Social Research at The University of Edinburgh is a MSc programme in Social Sciences over 12 months, delivered On-campus. This programme equips graduates with advanced knowledge and practical skills for professional and academic careers in the field.
Students gain a rigorous grounding in both the theoretical foundations and applied dimensions of social sciences. The programme combines coursework, research components, and practical projects that develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and specialist expertise relevant to industry and research needs.
Graduates of the Social Research programme are well-prepared for careers in academia, industry, government, and the private sector across United Kingdom and internationally. The programme provides an internationally recognised qualification within the Bologna higher education framework.
Key Program Features
- Duration: 12 months
- Language of instruction: English
- Study mode: On-campus
- English requirement: IELTS 7
- Tuition: GBP 16,500 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; GBP 11,000 (Tuition (Year)) — EU/EEA students
- Location: Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Career Opportunities
Graduates of the Social Research programme are prepared for diverse careers in social sciences:
- Policy Analyst
- NGO Programme Manager
- Researcher
- Social Worker
- Diplomat
- Development Consultant
Program Curriculum
Our curriculum has three essential components, which provide a framework for your learning over the course of the year. They are:
- core courses in Semesters 1 and 2
- a set of specialist option courses
- your dissertation
Dissertation
The third element of your programme is a dissertation, an extended, independent research-based project. This is your opportunity to undertake independent research, under the supervision of an appropriate member of academic staff.
Previous dissertation topics have included:
- Do Humanitarians and Academics Differentially Construct Accountability to Crisis-Affected People?
- Climate Change, Conflict and Migration in West Asia and North Africa
- Managing Hybrid Social Media: A Case Study of Employees’ Boundary Management Strategies in WeChat
Placement-based dissertation
The aim of the placement-based dissertation is to provide you with the opportunity to work on your dissertation within the context of a workplace of your choosing, subject to Programme Director and Placement Adviser approval.
The placements generally consist of eight weeks of research with a host organisation in the UK or overseas, from our network of contacts, which includes:
- NGOs
- charities
- social enterprises
- think-tanks
- government bodies
Placements can either be in person, hybrid or undertaken remotely. You are also able to source your own placements subject to university approval.
Please note that a placement-based dissertation is not guaranteed as part of this programme and are by competitive application.
Find out more about the placement-based dissertation option on our website:
Compulsory courses
Your three core courses introduce you to:
- quantitative and qualitative data collection
- research design
- quantitative data analysis
You will learn how to design and execute research that is able to respond to contemporary social challenges.
Option courses
You are able to choose three option courses from a list of recommended courses.
Your option courses allow you to strengthen your research skills through developing further specialisation in qualitative, quantitative and computational social science research methods and analysis. In addition, your option courses also allow you to explore the connections between social theory and research methods.
The option courses are subject to change and cannot be guaranteed, but recent students have been able to choose courses on:
- computational methods
- demography
- longitudinal analysis
- social network analysis
- Bayesian statistics
- autoethnography and evaluation methods
As well as topics including:
- refugees and humanitarianism
- global environment
- queering health and social sciences
- populism and the anthropology of political processes
Find courses for this programme
Find out what courses you can
Admission Requirements
Academic Requirements
You need the following GPA score:
Applicants for graduate programs must have the equivalent of a bachelor\xe2\x80\x99s degree with a minimum GPA equivalent to Upper Second Class on the UK Honour scale. Admitted applicants typically have an undergraduate GPA of or better on the UK Honour scale. No exam grade should be lower than 4.5 (European grade scale) or D (American grade scale).
Your GPA (Grade Point Average) is calculated using the grades that you received in each course, and is determined by the points assigned to each grade (e.g. for the US grading scale from A-F).
The academic entry requirement is a UK Bachelor Honours degree with at least 2:1 or its international equivalent.
An official transcript and certificate (if the degree has been awarded) is required upon application. References are not required upon initial application but may be requested at a later stage in the application process.
Where work experience is taken into consideration, an up-to-date CV and work reference is required.
English Proficiency: IELTS 7 or equivalent.
Tuition & Financial Information
Tuition Fee
GBP 16,500 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; GBP 11,000 (Tuition (Year)) — EU/EEA students
Tuition fees: GBP 16,500 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; GBP 11,000 (Tuition (Year)) — EU/EEA students
IELTS requirement: 7
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Contact The University of Edinburgh directly for scholarship, grant, and financial aid information for this programme. Many European universities offer merit-based and need-based funding for international and domestic students.
About The University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
University of Edinburgh (Universitas Academica Edinburgensis) is a historic and globally respected public research university in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, founded in 1583, making it one of the...
University Profile- Application Deadline 2018-07-18
- Start Date 2018-09-01
- Language English
- Duration 12 months