入学要求 Requirement：
学术要求： A first- or upper second-class undergraduate honours degree in a relevant discipline (although applicants from other backgrounds may be considered).
英语要求：IELTS 6.5, with not less than 6.5 in Writing and 6.0 in the other sections. Internet TOEFL with 90 overall including 24 in Speaking and 25 in Writing.
学费 Tuition Fee：2011/2012 £10,900
课程特征 Course Features：
This interdisciplinary programme provides you with a grounding in social research methods enabling you to go on to doctoral study at Sussex or elsewhere. Fully consistent with the research-training framework of the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), this MSc covers the philosophical and theoretical context for social science research, research design and ethics, and both quantitative and qualitative research skills.
课程内容 Course Content ：
Our MSc programme follows a standard model, in which you study the philosophical underpinnings of research, research design, research ethics, and both quantitative and qualitative methods. Following on from these core elements, you undertake a series of options on advanced research methods providing the key skills necessary for carrying out doctoral-level research.
Throughout the year, you also undertake a research elective in your chosen discipline or interdisciplinary area, which comprises independent reading, attendance at research seminars, and regular individual supervisions with a dedicated member of academic faculty.
Autumn term: you take courses in introductory quantitative and qualitative methods, as well as Philosophy of Science and Social Scientific Research Practice or a core theoretical course within your chosen discipline.
Spring term: you take Research Design and Ethics plus either three intermediate methods courses or one intermediate methods course and a subject-specific course. Intermediate methods courses include Action Research ▪ Comparative Method ▪ Discourse Analysis ▪ Ethnographic Methods ▪ Evidence for Policy and Practice ▪ Geographical Information Systems ▪ Participatory Methods ▪ Policy and Programme Evaluation Research.
Summer term: you take a series of advanced methods options, offered in the form of short workshops, and undertake supervised work on a dissertation focused on research methods. This dissertation can be the full research outline for doctoral study.
教学与评估 Teaching and Assessment：
Assessment varies across our different courses. The research elective is assessed by a 10,000-word dissertation.
职业机会Career opportunities:
The majority of students on this programme have already decided to proceed with doctoral study, as part of a 1+3 research-training programme. You will already have a tentative research outline for your PhD at the beginning of this MSc, and a year-long research elective involving one-to-one supervision is designed to help develop this into a full research outline appropriate for PhD study.
A small number of students also choose to study this programme as a stand-alone MSc, with a view to undertaking or commissioning research within government, non-governmental organisations or the private sector. In such cases, the research elective is designed to develop a particular area of research interest, exploring different approaches to research in this area.