MSc (R) Politics

 

 

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New ESRC awards: 2 studentships for starting in 2012

The ESRC Scottish Doctoral Training Centre has just announced the revised dates for submission of applications (see below): 30th March 2012.

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Aims and Outcomes

The MSc/Diploma by Research (Politics) provides a structured programme of research training to equip students with the skills required to undertake doctoral level research in politics or a research related career.

As well as core political research skills, the MSc by Research offers postgraduate students the opportunity to develop their own interests within the framework of its workshops and courses and also the dissertation that forms part of the degree.

Programme

A normal programme would involve successful completion of the following training courses in the Graduate School of Social and Political Studies.

• Research Skills in the Social Sciences:Data collection
• Core Quantitative Data Analysis
• Research Design
• Explanation and Understanding in Social and Political Research

together with the following course in the Politics subject area:

• Theory and Pratice in Political Research

Where students can demonstrate they have already completed training in any of these courses, they may be permitted to choose from the range of other courses offered by the Graduate School of Social and Political Science, or elsewhere in the university (by agreement).

In addition, students will work through the year with their supervisors in a programme of systematic review of the secondary literature in their proposed area of research and write a dissertation of up to 15,000 words. Supervisors will also advise students of the most appropriate further training in their area of research interest.

Further information can be found in the programme handbook.

How to Apply

You will find the relevant information on the application procedure and the entry requirements at http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/how_to_apply

Please note that full applications must be received by 1st July 2012 at the latest in order to be considered for entry in September 2012.

In addition, students who wish to apply for the MSc by Research in Politics must provide a research statement (of no more than 1,000 words, not including references).  The statement must describe the area of research which the applicant intends to specialise in - not merely 'politics' but, more specifically, which sub-field of politics, which issues/questions they propose to address, what the relevant literature is, the methodology, and why your academic and/or professional background makes you particularly equipped to carry out this research, etc.

Obviously we do not expect a proposal of the kind we would expect for a doctoral application.  Nevertheless, as this degree is a preparation for doctoral research, we do need to know whether your research interests, however broad they might be at this stage, would fit in with those of staff members.

We would recommend that, if you are interested in this degree programme, you send an initial outline proposal (maximum 1000 words) to the Research Postgraduate Admissions Director, Dr Juliet Kaarbo (j.kaarbo@ed.ac.uk), who would then be able to locate an interested member of staff who would have the appropriate expertise to supervise you.  Alternatively, you could contact staff directly after looking through the staff research interests on the Politics & IR webpage: http://www.pol.ed.ac.uk/staff_profiles/index, or through the Research Groups: http://www.pol.ed.ac.uk/research_themes/index.

 

Financial Support

Financial support is available from a variety of sources: the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for UK and EU students, the School of Social and Political Science, and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. See http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/funding/index for further information.

Please note that if you wish to apply for any awards, you must first apply to the University for a place on the MSc by Research in Politics.

ESRC Funding Awards

The ESRC is the main British funding body for research in the social sciences.  We are pleased to announce the availability of ESRC funded PhD studentships beginning in September 2012.  These studentships are offered as part of the ESRC Scottish Graduate School in the Social Sciences Doctoral Training Centre (DTC), established in 2011.  The Scottish DTC, based in the University of Edinburgh, offers studentships in the pathway for Politics and International Relations, which is governed by representatives from the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews.

Although awards will be shared among the three universities, interested applicants should apply directly to the university where they believe their research interests are best represented in staff research activity.  They are not permitted to apply to more than one of these three universities within this pathway.  The numbers of studentships are likely to vary each year.  For entry in 2012, there are two studentships available.

Candidates may apply for two types of studentships in Politics and International Relations at the University of Edinburgh:

(a)  1+3 awards: Students will be funded for a one year MSc by Research in Politics, with an emphasis on research methods, followed by three years of research for a PhD on a topic matching the research interests and expertise of staff in the subject area. 

(b)  +3 awards: Students demonstrating sufficient training in research methods will be funded for three years of research for a PhD on a topic matching research interests and expertise in the subject area.  Note that students in any field of politics (including political theory), who have completed an ESRC-recognised MSc elsewhere in all fields of politics, would be more than welcome to apply to us for a +3 ESRC studentship.

For information on the subject area of Politics and International Relations see: http://www.pol.ed.ac.uk/.

For details on the research interests and expertise of staff see: http://www.pol.ed.ac.uk/staff_profiles/index.

Eligibility:

Studentships are only available to UK and EU nationals who have been recently resident in the EU.  Full awards are available to applicants with established UK residency.  Fees-only awards are available for EU applicants without UK residency.  Fuller details of eligibility can be found in the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide at: http://www.esrc.ac.uk/_images/PFG_DTC_%28June_2011%29_tcm8-14766.pdf.

Students who are eligible for ESRC funding must first apply for a place on the MSc by Research or PhD programmes through the online application system.  You may not apply to more than one university within the same DTC pathway for ESRC funding.

In addition to the normal application materials required by the Graduate School of Social and Political Science (http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/how_to_apply), applicants must also provide the following, which should be sent directly to Professor Andrew Thompson (pgadviser-pir@ed.ac.uk), not the Graduate School:

1.  A research proposal of 1200 words maximum (excluding references).  If you have already applied for the programme and been offered a place, you have the opportunity to re-submit a proposal that takes into account your potential supervisors' expertise, which needs to be sent directly to the Postgraduate Adviser (see below).

2.  A supporting statement from each intended supervisor in the University of Edinburgh, including an explanation or demonstration of the adequacy of their supervision.

3. An up to date Curriculum Vitae (CV).

4. The standard Scottish Graduate School DTC application cover sheet.

5. An Equal Opportunities monitoring form.

If you are wishing to carry out advanced quantitative methods as part of your research, you may also apply for the AQM awards in addition to applying for the pathway awards.  If so, you will also need to submit:

6. The AQM application form.

The forms for items 4, 5 and 6 above can be downloaded from the Scottish DTC website.

The deadline for receipt of full applications will be Friday 30th March 2012.  Immediately afterwards the governance committee of the politics and international relations pathway will meet and make recommendations to the DTC, which will announce the decision by early May 2012.

Interested applicants are strongly advised to contact potential supervisors and/or either the Postgraduate Adviser, Professor Andrew Thompson (pgadviser-pir@ed.ac.uk), or the Research Postgraduate Admissions Director, Dr Juliet Kaarbo (j.kaarbo@ed.ac.uk) about their suitability for the awards.