Edge Hill is home to a thriving and dynamic research culture and offers a range of full-time and part-time research degrees. Studying on a postgraduate research degree will enable you to immerse yourself in a subject you are passionate about or to independently explore a gap in your area of research.
Our research degrees are organised and run centrally through the Graduate School, who coordinate the training, supervision and support of our research students.
Our university research
Staff in all subject areas across the University are engaged in research that is addressing some of society’s most pressing challenges, providing expertise to develop solutions and prompt change.
Our research centres and institutes also work to bring together staff from different departments, alongside visiting professors and professionals from external organisations. This combined range of expertise ensures that research degrees can be pursued in the majority of subjects that we offer.
If you are looking to undertake a Masters programme with a substantial element of research, perhaps as preparation for joining a PhD, then our Masters by Research (MRes) course is for you.
Our MRes course provides a short and intensive research experience in a subject area of interest. Covering both practical and theoretical aspects, you will essentially complete a subject-based research project helping you to develop the knowledge and skills to design, conduct, evaluate and communicate your own research in your chosen discipline.
As an MRes candidate, you will typically join a small group of like-minded students, studying together on a programme of research training (typically taking four months for full-time students). The remainder of the course will be spent developing an individual piece of research in your chosen discipline area.
Studying for a PhD provides you with the opportunity to make a major and original contribution to knowledge. Through a substantial programme of research, you will critically investigate and evaluate a specific topic and demonstrate an understanding of research methodology appropriate to the field of study. Topics for study may result from personal interest, an area of study related to an earlier qualification or an issue that an employer would like you to investigate.
A PhD is awarded almost entirely on the quality of your thesis and your performance in an oral examination (viva voce), where you will present your chosen research topic to a group of senior academics. You will also need to demonstrate how your research findings have contributed to new knowledge or extended existing theory or understanding.
A PhD will typically last a minimum of three years full-time or up to four and a half years part-time. Full-time students normally base their research at the University, although part-time students may conduct significant aspects of their work elsewhere, such as at home or in the workplace.
On successful completion of a PhD you will have an internationally recognised and respected qualification. The skills and knowledge acquired while planning, conducting, analysing and writing up your research will significantly enhance your CV and help you stand out in a competitive graduate employment market.
Professional doctorate degrees are equivalent in status and study level as a PhD and aim to create knowledge that advances professional practice. They are designed for professionals who have an active interest in work-based research and professional practice issues.
A professional doctorate enhances continuing professional development and encourages an advanced ability to question, analyse, critique and theorise, equipping you with knowledge of a range of different research techniques. Your studies will be supported by core and methodological training to help you to formulate a research proposal, alongside a tailored programme of related studies to enhance your skills as a researcher, as well as subject-specific researcher training to enhance your subject knowledge.
Professional doctorates are typically assessed at different stages of your studies through oral examinations, leading to the completion of an extended thesis of original research that demonstrates the creation and interpretation of new knowledge to satisfy peer review and merit publication.
Our postgraduate money matters guide outlines the tuition fees and financial support arrangements for UK students joining a taught Masters degree, postgraduate certificate, postgraduate diploma, PhD, MRes or MBA at Edge Hill University.
We can help explain what student funding you may be entitled to receive and how to apply for it. You are encouraged to explore all potential sources of additional funding for your postgraduate studies to maximise the total amount you have to support the payment of tuition fees and your living costs.
If you are an Edge Hill graduate, you may be eligible for a 20% fee reduction if you start an eligible full-time or part-time postgraduate programme in the 2025/2026 academic year. To be eligible, you must have recently completed your undergraduate award, PGCE, PGDE or Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching at Edge Hill University.
This offer is available to eligible UK students, EU/EEA and Swiss students who have settled or pre-settled status, and Irish nationals.
For further information about any of our research degree opportunities, you can get in touch with the Graduate School, who will be happy to assist you.
