MSc Education: Research pathway

This is an ideal choice for students who would like to pursue a PhD or a research career in national or international organisations.

It covers a broad range of research approaches and methods, including quantitative and qualitative methods. You will learn how to critically evaluate educational research evidence and gain the knowledge and experience to conduct rigorous research in education and allied social subjects. 

You will increase your general understanding of education, from either a philosophical or political angle. You may select two option courses to follow your specific interests. 

Key issues covered in this pathway include:  

• What are the main traditions and paradigms in educational research? How do different methodological positions affect research questions and design? 

• What are the major descriptive and exploratory statistical data analysis techniques? 

• What are the main analytical approaches to issues in qualitative research? 

• How do researchers choose and justify a suitable design to apply to their own research? 

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time studying on the MSc Education Research Pathway at Moray House. The Pathway Coordinator/Academic Cohort Lead has gone above and beyond throughout the year to support us, and I have made so much progress academically. The pathway provides a breadth of courses with a range of research skills for further study and professional work, while also offering a much more sociable and close-knit community experience than you would get without a specialist pathway. 

Ursula Cranston, MSc Education Research pathway

Pathway structure

You will take compulsory and option courses and complete a dissertation to receive the MSc. 

Compulsory courses

• The Philosophy of Education or Education Policy and the Politics of Education (20 credits)
• The Nature of Enquiry (20 credits)
• Qualitative Data Research (20 credits)
• Quantitative Data Analysis with SPSS (20 credits)
• Designing Educational Research (10 credits)

Option courses

You will select two option courses from those offered by the School. Option courses are subject to change each year but in the past have included: 

• Comparative Analysis in Education (20 credits)
• Critical Thinking, Teaching, and Learning (20 credits)
• Higher Education in the Global Context (20 credits)
• Involving Children and Young People: Research and Participation (20 credits)
• Social Inequalities in Education Worldwide (20 credits)
• The Anthropology of Education and Learning (20 credits)
• The Curriculum: Context, Change, and Development (20 credits)
• The Nature of Enquiry (20 credits)

Course Descriptions (2024-25)

Dissertation

Over the course of semesters one and two, our staff will support you to become more independent in your studies. This helps prepare you for your dissertation. Once you successfully complete your compulsory and option courses, you will produce a dissertation project. This is a piece of independent, original research of 12,000 words. 

Once you reach the dissertation stage, you will have a series of small-group and one-to-one meetings with your supervisor, who will work closely with you during the project. One of the benefits of being in a large department is that there is a wide range of staff skills to draw upon, so dissertation supervisors are more likely to be specialists in your chosen area of research. 

Examples of recent dissertation topics in this pathway area include: 

• Borrowing behaviour by young low-income students from Scotland: an exploratory study 

• The teacher quality gap between urban and rural areas: a comparative study on teacher quality in one of the Eastern cities in China 

• ‘Must try harder’: experiences of LGBT+ students in one Scottish university 

• Students’ perceptions of the expansion of the shadow education sector in Chinese private international education 

• An investigation of play specialists’ perspectives on technology  

Pathway-specific career opportunities

You will graduate with an understanding of the nature and use of research in education. You will be well equipped to transfer to a PhD programme or work in research roles in the non-academic sector; for example, as a researcher at the policy level. You can take this pathway either as a stand-alone MSc degree (1 year) or as the first year of doctoral study (1+3 years).  

Home and EU students interested in applying for studentships to undertake this programme should discuss their situation with the Pathway Co-ordinator. 

PhD programmes at Moray House School of Education and Sport

Contact us

For further information about this pathway, please contact the Pathway Co-ordinator.

Pathway Co-ordinator: Dr Adriana Duta

Apply now

Find detailed entry requirements, fees and costs, and apply for this pathway via the Degree Finder.  

Apply now