Research Degrees in

Nursing

in the Faculty of Health, Psychology & Social Care

Overview

Do you want to advance or change your career, deepen your expertise in a topic, or expand your research skills?

With a PhD or other postgraduate research degree in Nursing you will:

  • Work with leading experts in the field. We are a renowned centre for the study of health. In the most recent national research evaluation, 73% of our Allied Health and 60% of our Social Work & Social Policy research was rated world-leading or internationally excellent (REF2014). We are in the top 20 universities in the UK for health research power (Research Fortnight).
  • Choose from our flexible study pathways. You can pursue research as a full-time or part-time student. We offer a number of research degrees to suit your professional and personal background.
  • Join a thriving intellectual community. Our new Health, Psychology and Communities research centre brings together researchers across a number of disciplines with the aim of improving the future health and wellbeing of local, national and international communities.
  • Benefit from our advanced facilities to support your research. Our award-winning Brooks Building includes a clinical simulation suite which mimics ward environments and community settings.
  • Undertake tailored personal and professional development training. You can build your own programme of training to enhance your academic knowledge, expand your research skills, and/or prepare you for practice in the health and social care sectors.

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Areas of supervisory expertise

We can supervise a wide range of Nursing projects, utilising a range of research approaches across qualitative, quantitative and muti-method research. Particular areas of expertise include:

  • Mental health
  • Ageing
  • Substance use
  • End of life care
  • Emotion and professional practice
  • Service user involvement, co-production and social justice
  • Carer experience
  • Student experience.

Find out more about our staff's expertise

Research culture

We are home to a vibrant and growing research community that covers a range of clinical and methodological expertise. Our researchers are committed to expanding knowledge and delivering practical solutions in order to improve outcomes.

More about our research culture

Our staff collaborate across disciplines and work with practitioners and academics across the UK and the world. We also work closely with industry to deliver evaluation and service-oriented projects. These relationships play a key role in enhancing our research portfolio.

To strengthen our research further, we have recently launched the new Health, Psychology and Communities research centre. This centre brings together a range of researchers and practitioners in order to undertake research that transforms health and social care services.

Our large community of postgraduate researchers are a core part of our intellectual community. We will encourage you to take part in conferences, seminars and engagement events at Manchester Met and beyond. We will also support you to develop the technical and research skills necessary to excel in your studies and your future career.

Courses offered, duration, and start dates

Programmes offered

  • PhD (3 years full-time, 6 years part-time)
  • Master's by Research (1 year full-time, 2 years part-time)
  • MPhil (18 months full-time, 36 months part-time)
  • Professional Doctorate in Health and Social Care (6 years part-time).

Find out more about the different research degrees we offer

Start dates

The majority of our students enrol in October. We offer further enrolment points in January and April.

Career prospects

Our research degrees enable you to deepen your existing professional practice, or equip you with the skills necessary to go on to practice in the health and social care sectors.

Our intellectually rigorous research training will also equip you with vital technical and research skills to pursue careers in academia, charities, health and social care organisations, and a range of other sectors.

Course structure

This course is research based. You will independently conduct research into your own topic or a topic that we advertise. Your supervisory team will offer expert guidance throughout your studies and review work in progress.

Each year, you will follow a programme of training and development to enhance your research methods, subject-matter expertise and professional skills.

Fees and funding

Find out more

Postgraduate Research Degrees fees

Please refer to our Fees page for more information on tuition fees.

Loans for research degrees

Many of our PhD and Professional Doctorate programmes are eligible for the government's Doctoral Loan Scheme. MPhil and MA/MSc by Research degrees are eligible for a Postgraduate Loan.

Find out more about tuition fees and financial support

Scholarships

Each year we offer a number of competitive scholarships to support high quality research projects. Current scholarship opportunities in Health and Social Care are advertised on our site.

Sign up to be notified when relevant scholarships are advertised

Entry requirements

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You should, as a minimum, have a first or 2.1 honours degree or an equivalent qualification.

International students must demonstrate a sufficiently high standard of English language ability.

We welcome interest from applicants from non-standard backgrounds. We will take subject knowledge, professional experience, publications, or other appropriate evidence of accomplishment into consideration.

See more about our standard entry requirements.

Enquiries

Before applying for a research degree, you should have a preliminary discussion with a member of staff about your project and ideas. To arrange this, please email Prof Karen Sage, k.sage@mmu.ac.uk, the Research Degrees Co-ordinator for the Department of Nursing.

For further information on the application process, contact the Admissions team pgradmissions@mmu.ac.uk, +44 (0)161 247 2966

How to apply

Apply now

To apply for this degree, please select one of the study options below to begin your application.

Before you apply, you should discuss your project with a member of academic staff. You should also complete the postgraduate research degree thesis proposal form, which you will need to upload as part of your application. The document can be attached at the final checklist section after you’ve submitted your application.


Postgraduate Study