A suite of MRes courses has been developed concurrently by six subject areas: Applied Social Science, Education, Communications, Media and Culture, Management, Nursing, Midwifery and Health and Sports Studies. These courses have a shared core of four modules in generic research skills, plus specialist disciplinary modules and a range of options.

The degree is primarily targeted at students needing research training prior to registration for a higher research degree, such as a PhD. The course also offers an excellent grounding in social science methods which are transferable to media research for industry, marketing and advertising research, production research and wider aspects of social research consultancy. Former graduates have successfully developed careers as academic researchers and a range of media industry related careers.