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Syllabus

The MRes Research Project makes up most of the course, contributing 120 of the 180 credits of the award. Two additional core modules support the research project, and you’ll also choose an option module in a subject that is of interest to you.

You will work alongside students on our Social Science MRes.

It is possible to apply direct for the Social Science postgraduate certificate – the same modules are available to PGCert students, but you do not complete the MRes Research Project.

Modules

Core modules

• Research Methods

  This module teaches you how to effectively carry out research in order to undertake an extended research project. You will learn a range of research methods across different disciplines and consider issues such as ethics, positionality and decolonising research. You will be guided to choose a research topic, develop a clear proposal with specific goals, methods and sources, and explain how your research connects to the issues addressed.

• Philosophies of Research

  This module provides you with the philosophical, methodological and ethical tools and principles needed to engage in postgraduate research. You will gain knowledge and understanding of how these principles inform the research process and learn how to critically engage with the design and execution of research.

• MRes Research Project

  Supported by one-to-one supervision and workshops, you will develop, conduct, complete, write up and defend an MRes thesis based on your own research project. You will become an expert on your chosen topic and produce a written dissertation, a viva defence and a poster outlining your provisional findings. The project can involve a range of methods and approaches, including primary quantitative and/or qualitative research, desk-based and/or theory-driven research and analysis, and participatory research involving community partners.

Options*

• Globalisation and Global Politics

  This module provides an advanced introduction to the key theories, concepts and critical debates associated with contemporary globalisation and global politics. It draws on approaches developed within the academic fields of politics and global studies in areas such as the world economy and the changing global order; global governance and the United Nations system; global poverty and development; and the politics of sustainability.

• Exploring Objects

  This module will introduce you to a series of theories and approaches in design history and material culture such as historical materialism, feminist critiques, ideas of affect, concepts of the Anthropocene and decolonising practices. Drawing on the period from the late 18th century to the present time, you will examine and make sense of designed objects in terms of how they are produced, circulated, consumed and used in everyday life.

• Heritage in a Global Context

  Through weekly seminars and site visits, this module will enable you to reflect on what constitutes ‘heritage’ by exploring how historical, aesthetic and cultural value is attributed to material forms of the past. Combining theoretical and political debate, you will analyse global case studies (for example, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial) and create local case studies (for example, Brighton Pier). This will involve site documentation, the identification of interpretive techniques and reflection upon meaning.

• Visual Narratives

  In this module you will combine creative practice and critical theory to produce original visual narratives in different styles and genres. You will study the requirements and development structures for visual narratives in various media platforms, including pitching your work, gain confidence in your ability to use a range of visual narrative techniques and develop your skills in drafting and redrafting in a workshop situation.

• Practices of Storytelling

  This module offers you a practical writing experience, guided by writer/research-active tutors. You will explore styles of storytelling and research-led practice to help you develop an original portfolio of work and reflect on the ideas and theories that have enriched your creative writing. You will be supported in building a unique creative practice and encouraged to critically reflect on your growth and identity as a writer.

• Queer and Now

  Capitalising on Brighton’s location as the UK’s unofficial LGBTQ+ capital, this interdisciplinary module will explore traditions of LGBTQ+ community spaces and local and global writing in the context of the histories and politics of sexuality and queer identities and their contemporary manifestations. Using a wide range of case studies, you will examine current and potential forms of community and radical kinship, informed by key critical debates in queer theory.

• Protecting Human Rights and Building Peace

  This module offers a comprehensive overview of human rights and contemporary peacebuilding. You will gain an understanding of the United Nations Human Rights system, analysing the effectiveness of international efforts to protect, respect and fulfil human rights. You will also look at attempts to defend human rights in the context of contemporary conflict and insecurity, focusing on a range of peacebuilding initiatives.

• Mediating Objects

  This module looks at how everyday objects and people influence each other’s identities and are connected in important ways. You will analyse how they are represented in various texts and contexts such as photographs, works of fiction, correspondence and blogs, film and advertising. You’ll also examine how things are transformed through everyday actions and traditions, like giving gifts or remembering personal and shared experiences.

• Caring for Collections and their Users

  Caring for Collections and Their Users explores how museums and similar organisations manage and care for their collections and visitors. It covers key topics like collection development, care, management, research and ways to engage and educate audiences. Through seminar discussions, study visits, presentations and portfolio development, you will explore the professional concerns facing museums and other collection-based organisations.

• The Process of Publishing

  This module will develop your knowledge of publishing and equip you with practical skills that will support you to develop your own creative work for publication. You will gain an insight into aspects of professional publishing and apply your practical skills to your own practice as a member of the editorial team for the school’s anthology website, Pier Review.

• Research Practice

  This module builds on your previous knowledge of research and gives you hands-on experience in the management and application of research methods. You will explore theoretical, practical and ethical issues related to research practice and work with research partners to apply research methods in a professional context. You will also learn how to reflect on and evaluate research practice.

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Research

Academic staff in the School of Humanities and Social Science have expertise in a range of research topics and research methodologies.

In addition, researchers work in cross-university Centres of Research and Enterprise Excellence (CORES) including the following:

• Centre for Transforming Sexuality and Gender
• Centre for Arts and Wellbeing
• Centre for Applied Philosophy, Politics and Ethics
• Centre for Design History.

The School of Humanities and Social Science has a vibrant research culture for staff and students working both within and across the disciplines of sociology, psychology, social policy, politics and criminology, as well as the practice-based fields of social work, counselling, psychotherapy and substance misuse.

Much of our research is undertaken collaboratively with agencies, organisations, groups and individuals, both in the local community and wider society, to ensure that our research has relevance and impact beyond the academic.

Lab facilities

Mithras House has a series of lab rooms which can be used for teaching on your course or in your independent research work.

Life lab
A skills-based lab for practice-based teaching, social work, psychotherapy and counselling, and employability. The Life lab is fitted with lounge furniture to provide a comfortable space for conducting qualitative research with larger groups. The lab can be used to conduct research activities with children of all ages and can be used for meetings and events. The room also contains a dedicated space to conduct assessed role play or interviews with children.

City lab
This is a qualitative research methods and creative methods resource for all students, staff and researchers, as well as research participants, including children, community groups and the general public. It can also be used for meetings and events. The City lab contains a kitchen, a teaching/meeting room with enhanced acoustic isolation and two meeting spaces that can be separated with a screen or combined to accommodate larger groups.

Design lab
Housing our extensive collection of historic dress and textiles, which are used in some teaching on our History of Art and Design courses, this has the space and equipment for you to work on textile projects. Displays created by students on these programmes are on view in the social spaces of the building.

Community lab
A space designed for collaborative student learning, this is used by students and staff involved in the university’s Global Challenges programme – our collective mission to contribute towards solutions to tackle the pressing issues facing our world.

Stats lab
A specialist workspace with computing equipment for statistical analysis and projects involving video and audio editing software. The lab contains eight acoustically treated booths for both recording and transcribing interviews undertaken as part of dissertation research and for recording and editing podcasts.

Applied cognition lab
A dedicated research space for psychological research involving measures such as electrodermal activity (EDA) and electroencephalography (EEG). The space is designed to allow the participant and researcher to sit at separate desks whilst psychophysiological data is being collected. 

VR and eye tracking lab
The VR and Eye-Tracking Lab is used for psychological research using equipment, such as eye-trackers and virtual reality headsets. The space has adjustable lighting and a blackout blind for maintaining consistent lighting conditions during eye-tracking research, as well as sensors set up in the room to allow individuals to move freely around the room during virtual reality research.

Meet the team

, course leader

Course leader Dr Mary Darking is a social science researcher who specialises in digital innovation, public management, organisational analysis and social policy. She is a qualitative researcher who actively seeks to make a difference through working with digital, community and public service innovators who want to make positive, social and environmental change happen.

Since completing her PhD, Mary has worked in large, multi-partner UKRI- and EU-funded interdisciplinary research consortia that typically include science, business, digital, community and social science partners. She has also undertaken numerous smaller scale research and innovation projects that bring together industry, local community and public sector partners.

Mary combines her knowledge of digital innovation with her expertise in policy analysis and community partnership to create cross-sector projects that include people who experience marginalisation or are under-served. She uses place-based and whole system approaches to process analysis and co-production to engage people in co-creating solutions to challenging social issues. She has theoretical interests in science and technology studies and complexity theory.

Mary’s research has been funded by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, the European Union, the Medical Research Council, the National Institute of Health Research, The Health Foundation, Public Health England, Innovate UK and Nesta. She currently supervises seven PhD students (having previously supervised five PhD students to completion) and mentored two ESRC-funded postdoctoral students.

Other key staff who teach on the course include:

Course fees

Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more about postgraduate fees and funding.

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2025–26.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year.

UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or RPI (whichever is higher).

If you are studying part-time your fee will usually be calculated based on the number of modules that you take.

Find out more

• Fees, bursaries, scholarships and government funding info for UK and international postgraduate students
• Student finance and budgeting while studying
• About the university’s fees by checking our student contract and (pdf).

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Local area

Maps

Support and wellbeing

Sport at Brighton