Our MRes Psychology research-focused course will give you in-depth theoretical understanding, knowledge and practical experience of key research paradigms, research designs and statistical techniques used in psychology and, more broadly, in the social sciences.
You will receive extensive training in:
You will also receive training in meta-analytical techniques, experience sampling, physiological recording methods, eye-tracking and working with children.
Our MRes focuses on various forms of dissemination activity including:
You will also develop your critical thinking skills. We encourage you to question the evidence base of many assertions made in the media.
We will train you in the ability to take published articles in a number of domains of psychology and critically analyse components such as theoretical assumptions, methodologies used, data analysis (both qualitative and quantitative) and interpretation of the data. We will point you to wider domains of critical thinking in the realm of science.
This MRes provides one-year, master's-level postgraduate training that constitutes the first year of ESRC 1+3 postgraduate PhD studentships awarded through the ESRC Northwest Doctoral Training College for full-time, part-time and CASE students.
Course units are taught using a combination of lecture-seminars, workshops, problem-based learning exercises, worked examples, self-paced online training, student presentations and independent supervised study.
You are required to attend weekly research seminars given by visiting speakers throughout the year, as well as research and career management skills courses, a variety of which are provided by the University's careers service. This training will equip you with both academic and transferable skills, including oral and written communication, time management and information management skills.
You will also have the opportunity to attend a teaching assistant/demonstrators course and language courses provided by the University's Language Centre.
Key academic staff
Assessment is by examination, continuous assessment in the form of essays, practical reports and exercises, and a dissertation.
Full-time MRes students take six taught course units. Full-time PGDip students take the same six course units, but no dissertation.
Typical taught compulsory course units include:
You will work collaboratively with your supervisor(s) to produce a high quality dissertation using qualitative, quantitative or mixed research methods. Dissertation work is supported by taught sessions including topics such as literature searching, designing a programme of research and critical thinking skills.
Our course is designed primarily for students wishing to pursue research careers in psychology. It is also likely to be attractive if you wish to extend your training, with an emphasis on research methods, and if you work in social or health services, or in marketing and cognate disciplines.
Past careers and destinations of our MRes students have included:
This course is designed to help you develop the skills and experience you need for a successful career in English teaching.
There is a demand throughout the world for graduates with qualifications and expertise in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). Our MA in TESOL is designed for students who are intending to have a career in English teaching. It will also be of interest to those who are already teachers of English and would like to increase their professional expertise by advancing their analytical knowledge of English and up-to-date teaching methods.
On the programme you will gain an in depth understanding of the structure of language at different levels of analysis and the relationship between language and use. You will explore how people learn languages, how English can be taught and gain an excellent understanding of the assessment and testing which those you will be teaching will be preparing for.
You will research, discuss and evaluate a range of perspectives on the language teaching curriculum, and its delivery, with which to make informed decisions with regard to policy and practice. You will also have opportunity to study a range of optional modules and undertake a dissertation in an area that is of particular interest to you and suits your career plans.
As an Applied Linguistics and TESOL student you will become a member of Centre for Research in English Language and Linguistics (CRELL), a thriving forum for researchers with theoretical insight and varying interests such as politics and functionality of language.
In your first semester, you will be introduced to the essential syntactic and morphological patterns of English. You will investigate the place of formal grammar in the description and teaching of language and study a range of theoretical frameworks for the study of syntax and morphology and apply these to learning challenges in future TESOL contexts.
In your second semester, you will explore the theories of learning a second language and look critically at the nature of discourse as the central feature of human interaction. You will also gain a solid foundation in approaches such as conversation analysis and pragmatics; narrative analysis; critical discourse analysis and genre analysis.
You will take the year-long module ‘Research Methods’, where you will be introduced to different methodological approaches employed in sociolinguistic and applied linguistic research and gain an excellent understanding of techniques such as participant-observation, eliciting, recording and storing natural speech data.
A range of optional modules are also currently available, such as ‘Principles and Practice in Language Teaching’, where you will explore the central concerns of the language learning curriculum. In ‘Language Testing’ you will gain an in depth understanding of, and be able to evaluate, the assessments which those learning English will be preparing for. You will also undertake a dissertation, where you will have the opportunity to explore the topic that suits your interests.
Modules
Some of the modules we currently offer include:
There are excellent opportunities around the world for teachers with an MA in TESOL. Related career possibilities include policy adviser, trainer of trainers, and designer of teaching materials. Applied linguistics is a very useful basis for a range of careers in publishing, editing and communication.
You’ll study the sociocultural, historical and structural complexities of the English language with the possibility to study other modern languages as well, if you choose.
There are four pathways to choose from: Literary Linguistics, Social and Historical Approaches, Structural and Theoretical Linguistics, and Modern Languages (co-run with the School of Modern Languages and Cultures). You can follow one exclusively or combine the four.
As your understanding of theory develops, you’ll learn how to analyse language and how to carry out research projects. If you choose a work placement, you might also develop skills in marketing, archiving, teaching or publishing.
Our graduates are working in teaching (primary, secondary, FE, HE and TESOL), publishing, marketing, libraries, fundraising, charities and the public sector. A masters from Sheffield is a sound basis for a PhD at any leading university.
Our expertise covers all aspects of the subject, so whatever you’re interested in you’ll get the best possible advice and support. We provide training in research methods and you can choose to go on a work placement as part of your course.
You’ll be taught by academics whose work is published internationally. Their specialisms include language acquisition, historical language studies, applied linguistics, literary linguistics, discourse analysis and sociolinguistics.
We have a lively research culture. Through lectures and weekly seminars we’ll introduce you to the latest ideas. You’ll have the opportunity to explore these ideas in your own research.
With the School of Languages and Cultures, we established the new University Centre for Linguistic Research to gather and support postgraduate linguistics research across the University.
We have specialist recording equipment for fieldwork and experimental work. Interactive computer-based workshops will introduce you to corpus-linguistic technology.
The University library subscribes to several electronic databases including JStor, Early English Texts online and Eighteenth-century Collections online. For more advanced reading, there’s a regular free minibus service to the British Library at Boston Spa.
Research Methods
The MA offers world-leading expertise in all areas of English language and linguistics, and is therefore capable of offering the best possible support for students’ interests on any topic. You’ll benefit from our expertise in many fields, from language variation and change, psycholinguistics and syntax to conversation analysis, dialectology and the language–literature interface. Our enthusiastic staff publish internationally. Within the School of English, we hold weekly research seminars which give you the chance to hear about the latest developments.
You’ll be taught through seminars and workshops. There are also work placement opportunities in schools, museums, libraries or local businesses. Assessment varies by module, but includes essays and presentations.
The Linguistics MA is a flexible programme which aims to explore the breadth and the depth of linguistics. It builds on the widest range of teaching and research expertise, covering all aspects of theoretical and descriptive linguistics: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, discourse and conversation analysis, typology, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, cognitive linguistics and psycholinguistics, computational and corpus linguistics, field linguistics, and the documentation and description of endangered languages. The academic staff teaching on the programme work on various practical applications of linguistics (e.g. language codification and language policy, institutional language, language in the community) and have expertise in a wide range of languages, including English and its varieties, Germanic, Latin and Romance, Russian, Polish, Kurdish and other Iranian languages, Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, and several languages spoken in the Americas (e.g. Huave, Quechua, Ulwa), Australia (e.g. Jamingjung), and beyond.
All students receive a solid foundation for linguistic study in three core modules (of which at least two are compulsory):
The remainder of the programme allows the students to make the most of what the staff have to offer. Students can either take a variety of course units in different areas including the new Forensic Linguistics unit, or specialise in one of the following pathways: Phonetics and Phonology, Sociolinguistics, Syntax and Semantics, Typology or Romani Linguistics.
The course aims to give students a grounding in breadth and depth in Linguistics, by exploring the central features of linguistic theory: its history, objectives, principal theoretical frameworks, methodologies, contested areas and uncontested results. Students will gain experience of excellence in teaching and learning at an advanced level, in an environment where they will benefit from the fact that the School is also home to world-leading research in Linguistics.
Teaching takes on a variety of forms. Core course units and other MA specific course units are typically taught as seminars, in a small group, combining lectures with discussion. Many of them have practical tutorials as well which will help students prepare for individual research projects. Directed Readings involve individual or small group meetings during which pre-set readings on a particular topic are discussed. The enhanced Level 3 undergraduate course units combine lectures or seminars, depending on the aim of the course unit, with more optional tutorials. The aim across all teaching forms is to create the opportunity for intensive scholarly work, with areas of focus determined by the participants and their individual interests, which can be investigated in considerable depth.
If you wish to discover more about the academic staff in the department, please visit:http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/about/people/staff-directory/linguistics-english-language-staff/
Course units are assessed at the end of the semester during which they are offered. All taught course units except Introduction to Grammatical Theory and Phonetics and Phonology are assessed by examined coursework only. All course units include formative assessments to ensure interim feedback during the semester.
Deadlines for assessments are stated in the MA in Linguistics and English Language 2016-2017 Programme Handbook .
The Linguistics MA consists of the following elements:
Alternatives to the compulsory course units in Introduction to Grammatical Theory and/or Phonetics and Phonology may be chosen if students can provide evidence of having covered comparable material in their undergraduate degree; in borderline cases, students may be asked to take a proficiency test in Welcome Week.
The optional course units can be selected to follow specialised pathways, which include Sociolinguistics, Phonetics and Phonology, Syntax and Semantics, Typology, and Romani Linguistics. One or two course units may take the form of Directed Reading units, which are individual or small group seminars about set readings on a particular topic. These are available after consultation with an appropriated member of staff and the PGT Officer. One or two course units may also be taken from a list of MA course units available in other subject areas within the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, or from a list of enhanced Level-3 undergraduate course units in Linguistics and English Language, which supplement the MA specific course units on offer.
For details of postgraduate course units currently on offer, please refer to the Programme Handbook.
All postgraduate students on this programme can make use of the purpose-designed Centre for Graduate Studies within the Ellen Wilkinson Building. The Centre opened in 2014 and provides state-of-the-art facilities for postgraduate study. These include 30 computers, LaserJet printers, `hot-desk' facilities for around 50 students (including workstation facilities for students with disabilities), and 132 secure lockers. The Centre is a meeting place for postgraduate taught and postgraduate research students, and also has several areas to relax, socialise and network.
In addition to the Centre for Graduate Studies, the University has five major computer clusters, together with many smaller clusters. In total there are more than 10,000 PCs and workstations across the campus. All provide access to standard office software as well as specialist programs, and all are connected to the campus network and internet. Every student is registered for email, file storage and internet access. If more demanding computer access is required, our specialist computing division Manchester Computing can provide high-end and specialist computing services.
The University Library is one of the best-resourced academic libraries in the UK and is widely recognised as one of the world's greatest research libraries. We also have one of the largest academic IT services in Europe - supporting world-class teaching and research.
Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: [email protected]
