Master of Science in Applied Social Research

at University of Stirling United Kingdom

Sport is a global phenomenon that captivates audiences and transcends boundaries. Underpinning it all, the business side of sports is a dynamic, competitive industry in its own right, involving instantly recognisable brands and hugely popular products, services and events.

Our Sport Business Management course equips you to meet the industry’s need for technically competent, customer-oriented and commercially-minded practitioners who can apply their knowledge across the domestic and international sports markets. You’ll graduate with core management skills and an understanding of key contemporary issues in sport business – from marketing and branding, to sponsorship, event management and corporate social responsibility.

Everything you study will be rooted in the needs of industry, and you’ll be taught in realistic, sports-based working environments. As a top sports university, Stirling provides a unique context for your studies: a place where Olympians train combined with one of the best 25 business and management schools in the UK for research impact. Your career in the sports business starts here. 

Multilingual graduates with a firm grasp of business and marketing are highly sought-after in the global job market. Bringing together these valuable skills, our course in International Management Studies with European Languages and Society is perfect preparation for a range of exciting career opportunities.

The course combines key aspects of Business, Management and/or Marketing with the opportunity to study Spanish and/or French. Alongside your language studies, you’ll learn about the economic, political, social and cultural environment in which international business is conducted. You’ll also have the freedom to learn an additional language, or take modules in Law, Politics, Accountancy or Economics – tailoring the specifics of your course to match your own personal ambitions.

As a student, you’ll benefit from the University of Stirling’s combined excellence in teaching both modern languages and Business, Management and Marketing. Everything you learn will be put into practice thanks to extensive opportunities to study and work in Latin America, Spain, France or another French-speaking country. This time abroad gives you a chance to experience just how valuable your new language and business skills truly are, even before you graduate.

Politics permeates every aspect of our lives – shaping our opinions, informing our decisions and helping us to understand what motivates people.

When you study Politics at the University of Stirling, you’ll increase your awareness of the different political systems, ideologies and policies that impact people’s lives regionally, nationally and globally. We’re ranked among the best universities for Politics in Scotland, and are highly regarded for our strong, research-led approach to teaching.

A Politics degree helps you develop the intellectual, communication and analytical skills employers are looking for. You’ll open the door to a wide range of career opportunities – from politics itself, to connected arenas such as commerce, civil service, journalism, law and teaching. There are also plenty of opportunities to broaden your horizons by studying abroad during your course, including through our Politics-specific partnership with the Universities og Gothenburg in Sweden.

Enhance your understanding of how the world works, and gain the skills you need to play your part in shaping it with a Politics degree from the University of Stirling.

Merging creative thinking with strategic analysis, marketing is the vital connection between any organisation and its potential consumer base. With more marketing platforms than ever before and boundless avenues for creative communication, good marketing skills have never been more in demand or more vital to an organisation’s success.

You’ll also have the freedom to take Marketing as a combined honours course with one of 11 other subjects – creating a tailored degree that will give you an edge in the field you’re most passionate about. With a 95% student satisfaction rate* and graduates working for organisations like Adidas, the BBC and Next, Marketing at Stirling is all about ensuring you can truly be the difference in this diverse, fast-paced and infinitely-relevant arena.

Britain seeks to be a world leader in renewable energies and its generating potential is recognised globally, but it is equally renowned for the quality of its natural environment. This creates the potential for conflict. As a result, we need to better understand the various environmental costs associated with 21st-century energy technologies, whether renewable or non-renewable, and how these costs can be evaluated, managed and mitigated.

Our Masters course in Environmental Management (Energy) builds on the success of our respected and long-running Environmental Management course, which has over 600 graduates. The course draws on our existing expertise and research strengths in environmental impact assessment, carbon trading, planning and impacts of wind, hydro and nuclear power, as well as our expertise in energy management and environmental economics.

The division of Biological and Environmental Sciences, which runs this course, specialises in studies of human interactions with the environment. Their key strengths are in environmental assessment and management.

You’ll also benefit from employability skills training, a residential field skills course and the chance to carry out an environmental management related dissertation project which may include working collaboratively with a business.

Why do we behave the way we do, and what drives our behaviour? If you’re interested in the mind, and in human (as well as animal) behaviour, then Psychology is for you.

Our award-winning Psychology course sits at the cutting edge of inter-disciplinary scientific research. We focus on important societal problems such as detection of criminals and improvement of health outcomes. After introducing Psychology to you as a biological and social science, we’ll cover topics as diverse as brain functioning, child development, and social behaviour.

Our Masters degree in Gender Studies examines the history, context and development of key debates around gender, sexuality and identity, exploring commonalities and differences in the ways they have played out in a range of contemporary, historical and global cultures.

Developed by specialists who are passionately engaged with gender, feminist and queer issues, the strength of our programme lies in its interdisciplinary curriculum which branches across multiple fields ranging from: film, media and literary studies, sociology, history, philosophy, curation and politics.  

Through core modules like Understanding Gender, Researching Gender and Key Feminist Thinkers, you’ll explore a range of theoretical and methodological approaches for studying gender. You’ll also delve into the ways in which academic debate informs, is shaped by and is at times distanced from how gender actually ‘works’ in true situations.

The course places the application of learning to real-world contexts at the heart of its teaching. You’ll have the opportunity to apply your learning on a research placement. The course team has established links with potential placement providers from the third sector, as well as with a number of organisations who are committed to gender equality as part of their work in arts, culture and sport.

Our English Language and Linguistics postgraduate degree gives you an excellent opportunity to study the complex workings of language and explore its central role in society. With the guidance of expert staff, you’ll explore how language works, how people use it, what people use it for, where it came from and how it changes.

You’ll learn to carry out independent research and engage with other researchers by writing, debating and delivering oral and written presentations. You’ll also play an active part in our regular Linguistics Reading Group meetings, which discuss articles on important and controversial linguistic topics.

The course also provides a grounding in theories and methods that are essential for a range of careers. You’ll graduate with an expert knowledge of contemporary linguistic theories and their application in a wider cultural context – including both generative and cognitive approaches to linguistic description, as well as the contexts in which these theories operate.

This course provides you with expert training in the latest methods and approaches used in criminological research.  We're ranked 1st in Scotland and Top 10 in the UK for Criminology (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022).

We cover the principles of collecting, analysing and reporting on qualitative and quantitative data whilst also taking account of ethics, reliability and validity. You’ll critically examine the theoretical foundations that underpin criminology and socio-legal research, as well as exploring issues with comparative research and developing an understanding of the relationship between criminological research and policymaking.

Delivered by our experienced practitioners and leading scholars, our Masters degree in International Conflict and Cooperation prepares you to address a variety of challenges facing states and international organisations today. This course looks at the dynamics of international conflict and cooperation in light of major events such as the end of the Cold War, the 9/11 terror attacks, the Arab Spring and the COVID-19 pandemic.

We take a thematic approach to conflict resolution and the role of international organisations in order to focus on conflict prevention and management in specific geographical areas. The course also explores the development and regulation of conflict in relation to factors like natural resources and migration.

Contemporary dilemmas surrounding the politics of climate change negotiations, environmental and resource conflicts, civil war and ethnic tensions, human rights, international terrorism and humanitarian intervention provide some of the raw material for this MSc, which are studied in-depth over the course of the academic year.