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MSc Social and Behavioural Research Methods MSc

Go Global

With Go Global, Heriot-Watt's global student programme, you can carry your studies to new places and experience new cultures, expanding your horizons on the way. You'll discover what it means to be a true global citizen and emerge prepared for wherever your career journey will take you.

Inter-Campus Transfer

Some of our Postgraduate Taught Masters Programmes are eligible for Inter-Campus Transfer. Please contact studywithus@hw.ac.uk for further information.

Course content

September Intake - Edinburgh

Year 1

Mandatory September

  • Research Methods 2: The Qualitative Researcher
  • Research Methods 3: The Quantitative Researcher

Optional September

  • Research Methods 1 : An Introduction
  • SGSSS Core: Becoming a Confident Social Science Researcher

Optional January

  • Big Data Analytics
  • International Accounting Theory
  • Network Analysis for Business
  • Systems Thinking and Analysis
  • Econometric Methods for Economic Research
  • Discourse Analysis
  • Advanced Experimental Design
  • Advanced Statistics using R
  • Empirical Financial Modelling
  • Comparative Financial Reporting
  • Applying Psychology in Real-World Contexts

Optional May

  • Independent Project in Psychology
  • Accounting, Banking or Finance Dissertation
  • Dissertation

Fees and funding

/ intake tuition fees
StatusFull Time
UK£10,528
International£21,192
  • Status: Your residency status is usually defined as the country where you have been ordinarily resident for the three years before the start of your course.
  • International: 'International' includes applicants from European Union countries who do not hold Pre-Settled or Settled status in UK. (This does not include students from the Republic of Ireland - see above).

Scholarships and bursaries

Postgraduate scholarships and bursaries

We aim to encourage well-qualified, ambitious students to study with us and we offer a wide variety of scholarships and bursaries to achieve this. Over £6 million worth of opportunities are available in fee and stipend scholarships, and more than 400 students benefit from this support.

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Entry requirements

We have standard entry requirements for all of our courses that you will have to meet.

Year 1

A minimum of honours degree at 2:2 or non-UK equivalent in a relevant subject. Suitable degrees include Psychology, Business Management, Accounting and Finance, Languages and Intercultural Studies, Political Sciences and Sociology.

We welcome applications from international students and accept qualifications from around the world. Please refer to the entry requirements for your country for more details.

English language requirements

If your first language is not English, we'll need to see evidence of your English language ability.

The minimum English language requirement for entry to this programme is IELTS 6.0 (or equivalent) with no score lower than 5.5 except for writing which must be at 6.0 minimum.

If you do not have IELTS 6.0, we offer a range of English language courses to help you meet the English language requirement for this programme prior to commencing your studies.

Please see our detailed English language requirements.

Why Heriot-Watt

We're the top university in Scotland for graduate outcomes which means that more of our graduates are employed or in postgraduate education than any other institution in the country and we ranked 5th in the UK.

We're also rated number one in the UK for CEO or MD roles, meaning more of our graduates go on to become CEOs or MDs than any other university in the whole of the UK. On top of that, we have beautiful campuses, across the globe, so you'll get a truly international education. Our Edinburgh Campus is home to Oriam, Scotland's National Sports Performance Centre combined with plenty of wellbeing resources, prioritising fitness and mental health for all students. Our Global Research Institutes look at solving real world issues such as climate change and saving our oceans as well as working on the next medical technological breakthrough and the future of AI and robots.

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