Research Degrees at the School of Health Sciences

A range of Masters level courses are offered at the School of Health Sciences including an MSc in Advanced Practice with units tailored to each of the Research Centres and professional groupings within the School. Although these and other MSc courses have research components and may involve a research focussed dissertation, they are not Masters in Research programmes.

The Masters in Clinical Research (MRes) degree is a programme especially designed to give training and experience in conducting clinically focused research. It is normally undertaken over one year (full-time) or two years (part-time), and involves taught components aimed at developing clinical research skills followed by a major research dissertation. The MRes provides the skills and qualification necessary for clinical academic research and therefore may be particularly useful to prepare students for commencing a doctoral programme.

Doctoral level study involves independent academic research, supported by supervisors, that makes an original contribution to knowledge within the discipline. The work carried out is therefore of sufficient quality to satisfy academic peer review and merit publication.

There are two main routes to doctoral-level research degrees (PhD) within the School.

The main approach - MPhil/PhD by major thesis - centres on conducting original research and presenting this in a thesis of around 70,000 words (and no longer than 100,000 words). Articles prepared or submitted for publication, or published peer-reviewed articles, will typically be appended to the thesis, as producing such work is a key expectation of engagement and indicator of achievement in doctoral study.

An alternative route to doctoral qualification is PhD by publication, which involves the candidate either linking together a coherent body of previously conducted research papers with a critical commentary (PhD by prior publication) or preparing and submitting a series of papers for peer reviewed publication during the period of registration (PhD by prospective publication). A PhD by publication is no less rigorous than that pursued through the traditional route. Further details of these two routes are given below:

The standard route involves the accepted candidate pursuing a research project under the guidance of their supervisors over a period of 3 years (full-time) or 4-6 years (part-time). Candidates register initially for an MPhil (which is a substantial and valid qualification in its own right), and following an Upgrade examination, typically conducted at the end of the first year of study for full-time students, may transfer to the PhD programme.

MPhil and PhD study will commonly involve a structured programme of research activity, potentially comprising systematic literature review, pilot or developmental study, and main study phases. This focus on building a coherent body of work via structured activities may be particularly appropriate to health professionals engaging in clinical research. Preparing work of a standard appropriate for peer-reviewed publication is central to study at doctoral level, and typically MPhil and PhD students will produce several such works as part of their research (for example, presenting such elements as their literature review, preliminary studies, protocol or main study findings), which will be appended to the thesis.

• By prior publication Candidates who have already published a series of significant research papers submit these together with an accompanying analytical commentary. This body of work must be principally the candidate's own work. The number and range of publications must be sufficient to demonstrate that the work forms a coherent contribution to knowledge or scholarship within the particular field, but typically involves around six papers. These publications must show evidence of development of research skills appropriate to the focus of the research. The publications submitted should show the candidate's capacity to pursue further research and demonstrate a depth of scholarship, critical insight and originality comparable with that required in a traditional PhD. The extended analytical commentary which draws together this previously published work into a single thesis will expand on the candidate's involvement in each work, the skills developed and knowledge acquired in undertaking these works, and the contribution of these works individually and as a series of research papers in generating and extending knowledge about the particular field. This commentary is not normally expected to exceed 20,000 words.

• By prospective publication Candidates publish several (generally around four to six papers, dependent on their depth, quality, significance and impact) significant research papers addressing various aspects of their research topic during their period of PhD registration. These published (or accepted for publication) papers together with a critical analysis which draws together their published work are submitted in a single thesis of between 40,000 and 80,000 words (including the publications), although this word count might vary by subject discipline. As with the prior publication route, the accompanying critical commentary identifies the candidate's knowledge and skills acquisition, their part in developing the research, and the relevance and importance of the work within the submitted publication series.

Prospective students are encouraged to explore doctoral funding opportunities such the NIHR and MRC Fellowship schemes, Commonwealth Scholarships, British Council Fellowships and specialist scholarship schemes (such as those provided by Arthritis UK, Diabetes UK, and the British Heart Foundation), as well as (if available) City University doctoral studentship awards.