MRes-worth it?

I am scheduled to start my MA in Oct, and have plans to undertake research later unless somethings goes wildly wrong. In light of these plans, is an MRes after the MA "worth" it, or is it better to go straight for a research program?

Reply 1

Cowz

2nd_slip

I am scheduled to start my MA in Oct, and have plans to undertake research later unless somethings goes wildly wrong. In light of these plans, is an MRes after the MA "worth" it, or is it better to go straight for a research program?

Well they're pretty much equivalent in proving you'd make a good research student I would imagine. As long as your MA is recognised by whatever research council you'd be applying to, if applicable, then I really wouldn't bother. Not worth the financial hardship.

If you're considering it then why not take the MRes in the first place? Or why not take a Research Methodology MA customised to your subject?

Reply 2

2nd_slip

OP

9

I was thinking that the MRes forms yr 1 of the research PhD route, so if I didnt like it I could leave after a year and have something to show, and if I did like it, I could just continue and go the whole 9 yards.

Reply 3

Sokrates5

no, then you have to choose an MPhil course

Reply 4

The Boosh

17

the mres, if its recognised by a research council, will provide the first year of the new route, four year phd. the joy of the mres is that (1) you can leave early with a nationally recognised reseasrch masters, (2) you can focus your mres dissertation so you can cut down on the length of time needed to do the phd and thus reduce the 4 years to 3 years by defining your project, methodology etc and (3) you can apply for research council funding, both for the masters and for the phd.

Reply 5

The Boosh

17

...oh, and (4) bear in mind the high rate of phd candidates that actually go beyond the 3 year limited anyway. many phds take nearer to 4 years (marking and changes etc). so, it makes for a more focused 4 years (theoretically).