Introduction to Postgraduate Study - Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Graduate School, Lancaster University

Introduction to Postgraduate Study in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Postgraduate study need not be firmly tied to the field of your undergraduate degree. You may want to explore a new discipline or an interdisciplinary area at the interface of several disciplines; you may wish to sharpen your research skills before tackling an ambitious PhD topic; you may be seeking a professional course that deepens your understanding of what you do in your field of work by engaging in advanced study, reflection and research. Whatever your reasons for studying for a higher degree, we hope that you will be able to find here the course that meets your expectations.

Research excellence

Lancaster is one of the leading research universities in Britain and is in the top group of universities receiving research grants from the UK Economic and Social Research Council and other funding agencies. The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences provides a home to many internationally renowned scholars and to a number of major research centres including the Centre for the Economic and Social Aspects of Genomics, the Literacy Research Centre, the Centre for Mobilities Research, the International Observatory on End of Life Care, the Centre for Science Studies, the Ruskin Programme Research Centre, the Centre for Social History and the Wordsworth Centre.

Interdisciplinary research

One of the distinctive features of the Faculty’s research and teaching culture is its emphasis on interdisciplinarity. This is reflected in the range of postgraduate degree schemes on offer at MA and PhD level, which provide students with the opportunity to study a subject in depth at an advanced level and to access expert teaching and research support in a number of departments across the Faculty.

Masters study

All departments in the Faculty offer one or more Master’s programmes, which may be undertaken on a full- or part-time basis. These courses are complete in themselves, but may also be used as a valuable stepping stone to PhD study. Many departments offer MRes schemes accredited by the ERSC as part of its "1+3" funding scheme and a number of departments also offer more vocational MA courses, for example in Applied Research and Consultancy, Creative Writing, Adult Literacy and Numeracy and Healthcare Practice. More»

PhD study

At PhD level, the Faculty offers supervision in all departments. In addition to the traditional UK-style PhD, three departments (Educational Research, Linguistics and English Language and Institute for Health Research) offer professional doctorates that comprise a structured programme of coursework and assessment leading toward presentation of a thesis, while colleagues in the Lancaster Institute for Contemporary Arts and in the Creative Writing Programme can also support students undertaking practice-based research. Full-time research students will normally have access to a range of shared facilities including office space, computing facilities, photocopying, and access to a telephone. More»

Lively Postgraduate Community

All departments, institutes and centres in the Faculty have a lively, postgraduate culture with about 55% of our postgraduate students from overseas. Most departments run regular reading groups and seminar series, at which either guest speakers or local staff and graduate students present papers. These are often on interdisciplinary themes and all postgraduate students are encouraged to attend.

Postgraduate study need not be firmly tied to a student's undergraduate degree. Many seek an opportunity to explore a new discipline or an interdisciplinary area at the interface of several disciplines, to sharpen their research skills before tackling an ambitious PhD topic or to undertake a professional course to deepen their understanding of their field of work by engaging in advanced study, reflection and research. Whatever the reasons for studying for a higher degree, the Faculty is committed to supporting all its postgraduate students throughout their studies and beyond.

Research training

We offer an extensive Research Training Programme, accessible to all PhD students and also to students of a number of research-training masters' schemes. The programme includes a range of modules in the philosophical bases of research, research methodologies (both quantitative and qualitative), writing, publishing and other communication skills, and more general guidance on how to undertake postgraduate work. Some research students will be offered teaching experience and appropriate training is given via the University's Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education.

Funding

Most departments are currently eligible for the receipt of ESRC and/or AHRC research studentships, and several have ESRC recognition for collaborative studentships with outside organisations. In addition, some departments offer full or partial bursaries for masters and PhD study and the Faculty does, from time to time, offer PhD students, which are advertised nationally. More»

Stimulating postgraduate environment

Student life at Lancaster is organised around a number of colleges, which both act as halls of residence and provide key social, educational and pastoral support to students. All postgraduate students are automatically members of the Graduate College, and this provides a valuable "home", whether you live on or off campus.

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