MScR Nursing Studies

The MSc by Research programme in Nursing Studies offers education and development for all those interested in developing research skills in the field of Nursing.

Name MScR Nursing Studies
Start Date September
Mode of Study 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
Programme Director Catherine Clarissa

Please check the postgraduate Degree Finder to see the specific entry requirements, start date and application deadlines. 

How do I apply?

Before you apply for any of our postgraduate programmes, you should check that you meet the entry requirements and you should have all your supporting documents ready.

You will need:

  • Undergraduate degree certificate and transcript (and your MSc degree certificate and transcript should this be required) 
  • Research proposal based on the criteria for the programme you are applying for – you must use the form template below for your proposal, otherwise it will not be considered 
  • Two references – some programmes require one of your references to be from your most recent academic institution, please check the degree finder for more information on your specific programme
  • Evidence of English language competency, regardless of your nationality or country of residence. This is not required by the application deadline, however it must be submitted before an unconditional offer can be made. 
    • To find out more about our English language entry requirements, please visit the programme's Degree Finder page.
  • We strongly recommend that you contact your potential supervisor(s) before applying 
  • If you are applying for the PhD by Distance you must also submit the PhD by Distance application form 

The School of Health in Social Science operates a gathered field approach to our postgraduate research applications. This means that all complete applications which meet our minimum entry requirements will be held until the next deadline, at which point applications received will be considered on a competitive basis by our subject area specific academic review panels. 

We will be running two gathered fields for new applications so please take note of these dates:

  • First deadline: Monday 11 November 2024 11:59pm (GMT). Outcome notifications for applications received by this date will be issued mid-January 2025. Applications submitted after this deadline will be held until the second deadline.
  • Second deadline: Monday 21 April 2025, 11.59pm (GMT). Outcome notifications for applications received by this date will be issued mid-June 2025. Applications submitted after this deadline will not be reviewed.

If you are planning to apply for the University’s funding opportunities, you must apply before the first deadline in November.

Why choose this programme?

The MScR Nursing Studies is a postgraduate programme designed to provide comprehensive research training in the field of nursing. This unique course allows you to engage in research activities throughout the year while concurrently undertaking specialized taught courses, enriching research skills and expanding your knowledge base. Full-time students must take compulsory courses within one year, however our programme is also available part-time over two to three years. 

Our programme offers the possibility to work with and be supervised by a range academics whose background in both therapeutic practice and research is compatible with the student's proposed area of research. Your supervisor will meet regularly with you throughout the period of study, with the focus and content of supervision meetings negotiated jointly depending on your needs.  Successful completion of the MScR requires a dissertation, normally in the form of a report of research work, of 20,000 words.

Supervisor Specialties:

Research Interests 

Professor Aisha Holloway
  • Global Nursing Workforce
  • Policy development, policy influence, 
  • Human Resources for Health, early career development, practice, regulation, legislation, attraction, retention
  • Leadership development, political leadership, workforce pay negotiations
  • Trials, Qualitative, Mixed Methods, Process Evaluations
Dr Catherine Clarissa
  • Global Nursing Workforce
  • Nursing Mental Health and Wellbeing
  • Leadership developement in early career nursing
Professor Tonks Fawcett
  • Clinical decision making
Dr Elaine Haycock-Stuart
  • Education of workforce
  • Primary care community-leadership and workforce
Dr Marti Balaam
  • Workforce Wellbeing: self compassion, burnout
  • Representations of nurses in the media, gender, sociology
  • Qualitative methods, social constructionism, hermeneutics
Dr Lissette Aviles
  • Global nursing workforce
  • Nursing emotion management and wellbeing
  • Evidence-based nursing education in practice
Dr Jenni Tocher
  • Interdisciplinary simulated learning
Dr Sarah Rhynas
  • Student nurse education
  • Transition to newly qualified nursing roles
  • Skills acquisition and simulation in curricular development
  • Coaching approaches in nurse education
  • Creative approaches to nurse education
Dr Susanne Kean
  • Workforce: nurses in critical care issues

Research Interests 

Professor Tonks Fawcett
  • Cancer care issues
  • Pain
Dr Lissette Aviles
  • Stroke and acquired brain injury rehabilitation's experiences
  • Experiences of organ donation and transplantation
  • Family and person-centred care in critical care and practice
  • Death and dying in critical care contexts
Dr Susanne Kean
  • Person and family centered care (PFCC) in critical care
  • Recovery and/or survivorship after critical illness 
  • Experiences of families and patients with acute and/or chronic critical illness
  • Intervention studies in critical care
Dr Catherine Clarissa
  • Post-stroke rehabilitation for young adults
  • Multidisciplinary team in critical care
  • Patient experience of intensive care
Dr Jenni Tocher
  • Liver, renal and/or pancreatic surgery
  • Nurses experiences of approaching relatives for organ donation
  • Pain in critical care
Dr Colin Chandler
  • Neurorehabilitation

Research Interests

Professor Aisha Holloway
  • Global Public Health: LMICs, Alcohol, NCDs, Development, Implementation and Evaluation of Complex Health Interventions
Dr Elaine Haycock-Stuart
  • Breastfeeding
  • Maternal health
  • Childhood injury
Dr Divya Sivaramakrishnan
  • Intervention development and evaluation
  • Physical activity and sedentary behaviour
  • Healthy ageing
Dr Glenna Nightingale
  • Epidemiology
  • Evaluation of public health interventions
  • Modelling Longitudinal health related data
Dr Andrew James Williams
  • Child and adolescent health and rights
  • Complex systems and health (health creation)
Dr Stephen Malden
  • Childhood obesity
Dr Sarah Rhynas
  • Dementia and ageing
  • Delirium, older people
  • Alcohol related harm, homelessness
  • Creative research approaches

Research Interests

Dr Richard Lowrie
  • Multimorbidity
  • Clinical trials of pragmatic interventions
  • Substance misuse including technological innovations to prevent overdose
  • Respiratory
Dr Stephen Malden
  • Homelessness
Prof Sarah Johnsen
  • Homelessness and inclusion health
Dr Rosie Stenhouse
  • Mental health
  • Global mental health
  • Power/discourse analysis
  • Social determinants of mental health
Dr Leah Macaden
  • Ageing 
  • Dementia including pedagogical approaches to workforce development, sensory impairments, dignity
  • End of life care
Dr Sarah Rhynas
  • Dementia care, ageing
  • Alcohol related harm, homeless and marginalised groups
  • Reaching marginalised populations with creative research approaches

 

Edinburgh’s Nursing Studies played a prominent role throughout the developmental period for nursing research in Europe over the past 50 years. Our department, established in 1956, was Europe’s first university-based centre for nursing education and research. Following this, Scotland’s government-funded Nursing Research Unit was based here from 1971 to 1994, strengthening our national and international reputation as a major centre for research in nursing.  

The programme offers you the opportunity to gain advanced understanding of research design, data collection and data analysis issues in nursing, and is designed for qualified practitioners and graduates (or equivalent) interested in research in the field.

A vibrant and inclusive research environment

The University of Edinburgh is a world-leader in research and innovation and an international centre of academic excellence. Students on this programme will become part of an active and diverse research community in the School of Health in Social Science and will have access to the wide-range of learning environments and outstanding resources that the University has to offer. Our postgraduate researchers work in close proximity to each other, enabling them to pool their expertise and knowledge to tackle complex challenges and push the boundaries of discovery. Students will be encouraged to engage with a wide range of seminars, talks, and events, and often have the opportunity to present their own research at national and international conferences. Our student-led postgraduate research blog provides a snapshot of the activities and events our PGR students organise and are involved in.

 

Find out more about ongoing research in our School

Our main areas of research activity and development in Nursing Studies currently relate to the themes of experience of health and illness, and organisation and policy for person-centred care. We have expertise in a range of qualitative and quantitative and mixed methods research approaches.

An important aspect of our work concerns knowledge transfer and effective engagement with NHS, social care and lay organisations. The School of Health in Social Science continues to develop a programme of work in collaboration with service providers. Nursing Studies welcomes the opportunity to develop Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, focusing on service re-design and an organisation of care delivery that would meet the demands of the modernising agenda. The latter has implications for workforce planning, CPD and the production of the new health care workforce.

Join our extraordinary Nursing Community

Nursing offers a profound sense of purpose and fulfillment as it involves caring for and making a positive difference in the lives of others. We are one of the top ten universities in the UK to offer Nursing, and our students' experience is second to none. Find out what it's like to join our close-knit community of international students and staff at the University of Edinburgh.

Find out more about our Nursing Community

Funding Opportunities

The School of Health in Social Science offers several fully funded MScR and PhD studentships each year. A variety of scholarships are available, which vary from full scholarships covering tuition fees and a stipend to cover living expenses, to partial scholarships.

Beyond the programme

The MScR can be used a stepping stone toward embarking on a PhD, however also delivers transferable skills for a number of career paths. Following completion of the MScR you will have developed a broad range of transferable skills to enhance your career prospects across a wide range of industries, including leadership in a variety of healthcare organizations, supervising nursing research or projects and influencing healthcare policy and practice.

Further Study Opportunities

The MSc by Research is a comprehensive foundation for PhD study, which will equip you for academic positions in nursing. Students with prior professional qualifications can also enhance careers with the addition of highly developed conceptual, analytical and research skills through this programme. 

You may also wish to return to the University to undertake CPD courses with Nursing Studies.