jobs.ac.uk - Great jobs for bright people
  • Find a Job
  • Find PhDs
  • Career Advice
  • Jobs by Email
  • Recruiters
  • Your Account

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

career-advice.jobs.ac.uk

Secondary Sidebar

jobs.ac.uk Career Advice

  • CV and Cover Letter Advice
    • CV Tips
    • Free CV Templates
    • Cover Letters
    • Personal Profiles
    • CV Resources
  • Jobseeking and Interview Tips
    • Jobseeking Tips
    • Academic Interviews
    • Professional Interviews
    • Jobseeking and Interview Resources
  • Career Development
    • Academic Careers
    • Research Careers
    • Professional Careers
    • Working in Industry
    • Career Development Resources
    • Global Careers
    • Working From Home
  • Women in Higher Education
  • Resources
    • Academic Case Studies
    • Professional Case Studies
    • Interview questions tool
    • Job Profiles
      • Health and Medical
      • Engineering and Technology
    • Blog
    • Vlogs
  • Webinars
  • Country Profiles
    • Africa
      • Egypt
      • Ghana
      • Kenya
      • Nigeria
      • South
    • Americas
      • Canada
      • United States of America
    • Asia
      • Bahrain
      • Brunei
      • China
      • Hong Kong
      • India
      • Japan
      • Kazakhstan
      • Malaysia
      • Qatar
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • Turkey
      • United Arab Emirates
    • Europe
      • Belgium
      • Denmark
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Russia
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • United Kingdom
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
  • Studentship Advice
    • PhD
    • Studentship Resources
    • Vlogs
  • Sections
    • CV and Cover Letter Advice
      • CV Tips
      • CV Templates
      • Cover Letters
      • Personal Profiles
      • CV Resources
    • Jobseeking and Interview Tips
      • Jobseeking Tips
      • Academic Interviews
      • Professional Interviews
      • Jobseeking and Interview Resources
    • Career Development
      • Academic Careers
      • Research Careers
      • Professional Careers
      • Working in Industry
      • Career Development Resources
      • Global Careers
    • Resources
      • Academic Case Studies
      • Professional Case Studies
      • Interview questions tool
      • Blog
      • Vlogs
    • Country Profiles
      • Africa
        • Egypt Country Profile
        • Ghana Country Profile
        • Kenya Country Profile
        • Nigeria Country Profile
        • South Africa Country Profile
      • Americas
        • Canada Country Profile
        • United States of America Country Profile
      • Asia
        • Bahrain Country Profile
        • Brunei Country Profile
        • China Country Profile
        • Hong Kong Country Profile
        • India Country Profile
        • Japan Country Profile
        • Kazakhstan Country Profile
        • Malaysia Country Profile
        • Qatar Country Profile
        • Saudi Arabia Country Profile
        • Singapore Country Profile
        • South Korea Country Profile
        • Turkey Country Profile
        • United Arab Emirates Country Profile
      • Europe
        • Belgium Country Profile
        • Denmark Country Profile
        • Finland Country Profile
        • France Country Profile
        • Germany Country Profile
        • Ireland Country Profile
        • Italy Country Profile
        • Netherlands Country Profile
        • Norway Country Profile
        • Russia Country Profile
        • Spain Country Profile
        • Sweden Country Profile
        • Switzerland Country Profile
        • United Kingdom Country Profile
      • Oceania
        • Australia Country profile
        • New Zealand Country Profile
    • Studentship Advice
      • PhD
      • Studentship Resources
      • Vlogs

Which Masters Degree – MRes or MA/MSc?

masters degree

What’s the difference?

Master of Arts (MA) and Master of Science (MSc) degrees are largely taught courses and Master of Research (MRes), while containing some taught elements, focuses more on research skills. That’s not to say that there aren’t taught and research elements in both degrees. There are often taught elements in MRes courses and there is almost always a research project at the end of an MA/MSc. The emphasis is different however; in MRes courses, around two-thirds of the course content consists of research project work – in taught masters degree courses the research project will be nearer a third.

In both MA/MSc and MRes programmes, courses tend to be a year of full-time study, or two years part-time. Both are likely to end with a final research project or dissertation. The number of taught hours per week varies between courses and will often depend on the subject. There will also be a certain amount of research required in order to complete the final project or dissertation.

When is it better to do an MRes?

As the Open University says on its website: “The Master of Research is a full-time degree that provides an excellent introduction to research methods and provides a firm foundation for those who wish to pursue doctoral study”. With an MRes, the focus is on developing an individual’s research skills and so provides good preparation for postdoctoral study. However, that’s not to say that a taught masters such as an MA or MSc aren’t sufficient preparation for a PhD – it’s still a very common entry route into a PhD. But if you have the choice and you’re sure you want to pursue research beyond your masters study – other factors aside – an MRes might be a preferable option.

When is it better to choose an MA/MSc?

If you have no intention of pursuing a research degree or a career in research, and simply want to expand your knowledge and expertise in a particular area, either for personal interest or career reasons, then perhaps a taught masters is for you. Certainly, taught masters courses are more commonly available generally in the UK; Prospects (www.prospects.ac.uk) lists more than 10,000 MA/MSc courses as opposed to around 800 MRes programmes.

Comparing the two

A good example of how the course structure of an MRes differs from an MSc is given by the University of Liverpool’s School of Biological Sciences. Its new Post-Genomic Study programme is offered as either an MSc or MRes. A closer look at each programme structure shows that the first semester consists of the same choice of taught modules. In the second semester, however, the MSc course offers further taught modules while the MRes students either undertake the first of two research projects or a long research project which carries over into the third semester. MSc students don’t start a research project until the third semester, while the MRes students will either be in the middle of their long research project or beginning their second of the two research projects.


Share this article

Lucie Johnston

Lucie Johnston has worked as a Careers Adviser in Higher Education since 2004 following a successful career running a graduate training scheme. She has particular interests in enterprise within industry, portfolio careers and career changers. Lucie has been published in Prospects and also writes for national features magazines as part of her own portfolio career.

Reader Interactions

You may also like:

What jobs can you get with a PhD?
10 Career Paths for PhDs
Career Planning for PhDs

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Follow us

Latest Jobs

  • PhD opportunity: Added value of business intelligence for machinery upgrades and modernisation

    Management Science, University of Strathclyde

    Location(s): Glasgow

    Salary: Not specified


  • Customer Contact Advisor

    The Bedford College Group

    Location(s): Northampton

    Salary: £23,000 per annum, depending on qualifications and experience


  • Tutor/Senior Tutor vacancies (Leeds/Newcastle Campus)

    The University of Law

    Location(s): England

    Salary: £37,000 - £46,250 + (subject to Fellowship of the HEA and depending on previous legal teaching experience)


  • PhD opportunity: Resilient Supply Chains in Disaster Management

    Management Science, University of Strathclyde

    Location(s): Glasgow

    Salary: Not specified


  • PhD opportunity: Frugal innovation for Sustainable & Resilient Energy Resource Optimisation: Mitigating the Energy Crisis

    Marketing, University of Strathclyde

    Location(s): Glasgow

    Salary: Not specified


  • PhD opportunity: ESG-tied executive compensation and banks sustainable lending strategies

    Accounting & Finance, University of Strathclyde

    Location(s): Glasgow

    Salary: Not specified


Footer

jobs.ac.uk - Great jobs for bright people
  • Find a Job
  • Find PhDs
  • Career Advice
  • Jobs by Email
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Accessibility Statement

Copyright © jobs.ac.uk 1998 - 2022

  • Find a Job
  • Find PhDs
  • Careers Advice
  • Jobs by Email
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Accessibility
jobs.ac.uk - Great jobs for bright people

Copyright © jobs.ac.uk 1998 - 2022