Master of Arts in Social Research

at University of York United Kingdom

Our course emphasises a high level of craft skill and creativity, combined with critical thought and collaboration. You'll gain scientific and technical training with hands-on experience of visual effects systems, programme creation and artistic decision-making.

We'll teach you through a mix of workshops, lectures, screenings and masterclasses with leading academics and industry professionals. You'll use industry-standard facilities in a vibrant and supportive environment. You'll realise your own creative and technical projects and develop essential professional skills to pursue a career in industry.

On this MSc you can focus on formal research into the technologies behind postproduction systems. Alternatively you can focus on production-orientated work and apply for the MSc Film and Television Production with Visual Effects.

Many of our graduates work in the industry, from film to television companies, and some of our graduates have gone on to research in industry or academia.

This course is ideal if you want an interdisciplinary approach to Ecology and you will have a wide range of options to tailor the course to your developing interests.

You’ll develop an understanding of the processes that occur within and between organisms, through to investigating global systems and the influences that drive changes in these settings. Ecology at York ranges from studying the fundamentals of evolution, to the structure of populations and communities, and applications in conservation and environmental biology. You will build a solid foundation in theoretical concepts, which you will supplement with valuable experience in the field, and we have a dedicated field course in each of the first three years of the programme. As an ecologist, your focus on understanding our ecosystems and the processes occurring in them will be vital in helping us to work towards sustainable and effective solutions around current and future global challenges, whether around climate change, feeding the world sustainably or tackling diseases.

Adding a year in industry or a year abroad are both an option with this course too, so you can benefit from the advantages that a year away can bring. The Department of Biology will provide you with the opportunity to learn in new, spacious and modern teaching laboratories which provide excellent facilities for practicals and small group project work, alongside our state-of-the-art computing facilities.

Biochemistry sits at the boundary between the physical and life sciences. It concerns the molecular basis of health and disease, contributing to the discovery of new medicines, the growth of biotechnology, and the feeding of a growing population.

You will learn how knowledge of DNA sequences and appreciation of the structure and function of proteins are enabling us to better understand how living systems work, guiding the design of drugs to combat disease, and the engineering of biomolecules to enhance industrial processes.

You’ll work in the Departments of Biology and Chemistry and experience their excellent facilities for teaching and research. Both Departments provide you with the opportunity to learn in new, spacious and modern teaching laboratories which provide excellent facilities for practicals and small group project work, alongside state-of-the-art computing facilities.

The integrated Masters course introduces a four-year programme that specifically focuses on the skills needed for a career as a research scientist. During this time you will carry out an extended project and learn specialised techniques; you will gain experience in a research lab doing pioneering work at the forefront of their field. You will also undertake specialist research training and take Masters-level modules.

Adding a year in industry or a year abroad are options with this course, so you can benefit from the advantages that a year away can bring.

Environment, Economics and Ecology is a unique interdisciplinary degree that advances your critical abilities to tackle real-world environmental challenges, manage economic and social pressures in a sustainable manner, and integrate the benefits that people derive from the environment into policy decisions and practice.

It focuses on ecosystem services as the linkages between human and natural systems, and the need for a holistic socio-ecological approach to understand challenges and solutions to environmental conservation and sustainable development.

This History and Philosophy degree will give you a broad understanding of forces that shape societies and cultures, and of the issues involved in critical philosophical thought.

Historians look to understand past societies and analyse processes of historical change. Philosophers dissect world views and understand the past in relation to the present. Combining these subjects will develop your skills in research, argument and critical thinking, equipping you for a wide variety of careers.

You'll join two highly respected research intensive departments, and graduate with the expertise in the origins of contemporary society, as well as with the tools to analyse issues that arise in the modern world.

Our MA in Forensic Phonetics combines general linguistic-phonetic theory and method with extensive practical experience in analysis of forensic materials.

You'll learn about theoretical and methodological problems in performing forensic speech and audio analysis. The course also enables you to perform original research in speaker comparison and speech content analysis.

The MA provides you with the necessary skills for further work in the forensic domain and related employment. It is also excellent preparation for a PhD in phonetics, sociolinguistics, language variation and change, or acoustics.

Debate these questions and many others within a lively research environment as you build up your knowledge and experience of early prehistoric societies from three million to 5,000 years ago.

The archaeology of human origins is a fascinating and dynamic area of research, with new evidence and theories constantly changing our interpretation of who we are. 

On this course you'll explore the archaeology and approaches to human origins whilst working alongside internationally renowned specialists in early prehistoric archaeology and human evolution. You'll have the opportunity to work on pioneering studies with the potential for significant media exposure and gain ‘hands on’ experience of museum collections at the York Museum. You'll be able to select modules to allow you to explore your own research interests and have the chance to visit Upper Palaeolithic rock art on a field trip to Creswell Crags.

For thousands of years, maths and philosophy have occupied the same ground.

From Pythagoras to Bertrand Russell, both disciplines developed their own cultural identities, but naturally remained unified. Our contemporary maths and philosophy degree applies that marriage of logic and reasoning to the meaning of life and society.

Philosophy is not a body of knowledge, but an activity: the activity of seeking a reflective understanding of ourselves and of the natural and social worlds we inhabit. Your maths and philosophy degree will reflect that body of knowledge and range of thinking.

Accounting is the language of business. It gives managers, investors and governments the information they need to make financially-sound decisions.

In the increasingly complex modern business environment, there is a high demand for skilled professionals who can work flexibly in teams across business boundaries. You’ll need strategic focus and the ability to influence decision making and apply judgement responsibly.

This course places accounting and finance skills in a broader business context. You’ll gain the technical skills and problem solving abilities you might expect from an accounting and finance programme, but will have also have the opportunity to develop strong communication skills, a broad commercial awareness and a critical approach to business problems.

Accredited by a number of professional bodies, this academically challenging and vocationally relevant degree is an ideal stepping stone into careers in accountancy and management.

Our Masters in Environmental Economics and Environmental Management prepares you for a wide range of careers across the public and private sectors. Equally, it provides a good basis for further study at PhD level.

You’ll gain knowledge of environmental and ecological economics and the interactions between economic, social and ecological systems. At the end of the course, you'll be equipped to incorporate environmental feedback into economic decision making in a way that satisfies both ecological managers and economists.

This course is suitable for students from a wide range of backgrounds, including economics, human geography, business, sociology, politics, environmental science and more. You'll be taught by a range of interdisciplinary staff with varied environmental research interests.