Professional development increasingly calls for expertise in carrying out evaluation and research in the workplace. The School of Education provides wide and varied opportunities to undertake research programmes that will support the growth of research skills and build on subject knowledge. If you are interested in postgraduate Masters programmes, please also view our Masters and Professional Development Programmes web page.
The School’s national and international standing as a centre of excellence for research in education was recognised by consistently scoring high in the Research Assessment Exercise (ranked 7th by HEFCE in the 2008 RAE). It is also scores consistently high in the anuual surveys undertaken by the university to appraise the level of support.
Level of postgraduate programme satisfaction within the School of Education, 2012. Find out more about our school support
Our strategy towards research and research degrees is centred upon three key principles:
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Research should seek to combine scholarly and empirical work on fundamental issues with a concern for development work linked to practice. A dialogue between fundamental study and development work can enrich both.
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Research should recognise the importance of professional practice and be pursued through active collaboration with schools, colleges, LEAs, and voluntary and other professional bodies in the UK and internationally.
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Research is often a multidisciplinary activity and strong links across specialisms must be encouraged and supported.
Applicants are encouraged to view the research activity within each school department as well as on the individual staff profiles. You may also download a summary of staff research interests (PDF, opens new window).
Details of current Postgraduate Research may be found on the Postgraduate Researcher profile webpages.
Taught Doctoral Programmes
To complete a taught doctorate programme you have to gain a total of 540 credits. The programme divides into two parts, a taught element made up of modules totalling 180 credits, and a research thesis which is equivalent to 360 credits.
Modules are designated as either Research or Subject Modules. You have some choice about the balance between the two. You can either take 60 or 80 credits (i.e. 3 or 4 modules) of subject focused courses but the remainder of 180 credits has to be completed through research training. In addition to the research training modules outlined, each pathway has its own specialist research module which serves to support the development of your final research plan. There are different routes through the taught doctorate programme, developed by different subject areas. Currently, we offer three routes:
In general, taught elements will be completed during the first half of the course, which then enables postgraduate researchers to focus on main data collection and the writing of their thesis in the second half.
The College of Social Sciences offers an MA Social Research, which forms the basis for all Postgraduate Researcher methods training and the Integrated Study (Social Sciences) PhD.
Research Degree by Thesis
The Educational Studies MRes is a combined programme consisting of a taught element and a research element of a dissertation of 20,000 words.
The taught element consists of a number of core modules which are taken from the research training programme. You will then complete a 20,000 words research dissertation.
The MA by Research is a pure research masters course. Students will need to complete a thesis of 40,000 words maximum and a research training programme. This programme is suitable for applicants who are interested in developing their independent research skills and many students who complete this course progress onto PhD study afterwards
A PhD requires a minimum period of study as a registered student of normally three years full-time or six years part-time. Exceptionally, the School at its discretion may in individual cases reduce at the time of admission the period of study as a registered student required of a postgraduate researchers on a full-time PhD programme by up to one academic year or its equivalent.
The PhD is by thesis only, and is examined by a work of 80,000 words maximum and an oral examination. Postgraduate researchers are required to complete the research training programme, normally in the first two years of registration. One to one supervision is provided throughout the length of the formal registration. Postgraduate researchers who are involved in similar areas may also have some group supervision.
To find out more details and to apply online view the Education PhD webpage.
Contact Details
Helen Joinson
Postgraduate Research Administrator
Telephone: +44 (0) 121 414 4847
Email: h.e.joinson@bham.ac.uk