Stirling, United Kingdom
DURATION
12 months
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 20,600 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* international (including EU) students | students from the UK and Republic of Ireland: £9,500
Key Summary
Introduction
Overview
Our Master of Research (MRes) in Business and Management is accredited by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science for the training of PhD students.
You'll learn how to:
- undertake doctoral research in business and management,
- equip yourself for an academic or research-intensive commercial career in business and management research, and
- undertake, evaluate, commission or manage research in the commercial, public, or voluntary sectors.
The Master of Research course has a strong practical focus and trains you in the advanced skills necessary for business, management, economic and policy research. Our aim is to help you to become a researcher who is:
- reflective and aware of the assumptions, strengths and limitations of your research,
- highly skilled in a multitude of management and organisational research techniques, and
- readily able to apply this knowledge in new and diverse domains.
When you graduate, you will be able to apply specialist knowledge to a wide variety of situations and will be able to:
- understand the assumptions made by different approaches to research, their limitations and their implications for answering research questions using an appropriate research design,
- use qualitative, quantitative and experimental techniques to collect and analyse data to an advanced level,
- apply this knowledge to the design, conduct and reporting of research projects, and
- critically analyse the methodologies used to conduct empirical research projects.
Admissions
Curriculum
The Master of Research in Business and Management is a one-year course that will prepare you to enter a research career that contributes to society. Your taught component will help you to develop skills necessary for conducting robust and impactful research. You will then have the opportunity to conduct your own research project, in the form of a dissertation, across the summer semester. This will be done under the guidance and support of a Stirling Management School academic supervisor.
In the Autumn semester you will be enrolled in two core modules that will equip you with the advanced knowledge and skills you need to understand what business and management research is, and how it is done. For the third module, you can choose to focus your knowledge in a specific subject area. In the Spring semester you will be enrolled in one core module that helps you develop a review of the literature in your chosen subject area and you will choose two modules from a set of options that develop advanced knowledge in methods and in a subject-specific area. Around these core modules, you will have the opportunity to select a suite of other learning that best supports your previous background and forward interests.
In the summer months you will work closely with your supervisor to complete a research project, drawing on this research to complete a 15,000 word dissertation.
Modules
Year one: Autumn semester
Compulsory module
- Flying Start Leadership Programme (MANPFSL) 0 credits
- Fundamentals and Philosophy of Management Research (MRMP001) 20 credits
- Research Methods in Business and Management (MRMP002) 20 credits
Option module - Select 20 credits from Applied Knowledge in Management list
- Bank Theory, Operations and Strategy (BFIP036) 20 credits
- Behavioural Economics I: Concepts and Theories (BSMP001) 20 credits
- The Business Context (HRMP012) 20 credits
- Managing an International Organisation (IBUP002) 20 credits
- Business Analytics (MANP001) 20 credits
Year one: Spring semester
Compulsory module
- The Evolution of Management and Organisational Research (MRMP006) 20 credits
Option module - Select 20 credits from Advanced Methods list
- Survey Measurement & Analysis (BSMP005) 20 credits
- Evidence-Based Decision Making (BSMP007) 20 credits
Option module - Select 20 credits from Advanced Applied Knowledge list
- Behavioural Economics II: Business & Policy Applications (BSMP003) 20 credits
- Evidence-Based Decision Making (BSMP007) 20 credits
- Equality, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (HRMP004) 20 credits
- Business in Europe & the Emerging Markets (IBUP003) 20 credits
- Business Consulting (MANP005) 20 credits
Year one: Summer semester
- Dissertation (MRMP099) 60 credits
Course details
The Master of Research in Business and Management is a one-year course that will prepare you to enter a research career that contributes to society. You will first undertake formal research training to become a competent researcher and then you will conduct your own research under the guidance and support of a Stirling Management School academic supervisor.
In the Autumn semester you will be enrolled in two core modules that will equip you with the advanced knowledge and skills you need to understand what business and management research is, and how it is done. For the third module, you can choose to focus your knowledge in a specific subject area. In the Spring semester you will be enrolled in one core module that helps you develop a review of the literature in your chosen subject area and you will choose two modules from a set of options that develop advanced knowledge in methods and in a subject-specific area.
Teaching
Teaching is carried out through lectures, seminars and practical classes. There are also opportunities for independent learning and exploration.
Gallery
Career Opportunities
Our unique Flying Start Leadership Programme equips you with the awareness, knowledge and techniques essential for building a successful career.
Our Master of Research in Business and Management is ideally suited to you if you want to pursue a career in a research intensive role or undertake a PhD.
This course can also help to kick-start your academic or commercial career in business, management and related research. Additionally, the course is invaluable for those working in public policy areas who need to conduct, analyse and commission research. Employers of research specialists include:
- universities
- research institutes
- policy-making organisations
- governments
- large corporations and market
- research consultancies
The University of Stirling Management School has a dedicated Employability Manager and from the very beginning of the course your career is our focus.