International Business and Management Studies (Research)

The MRes in International Business and Management is a research degree designed to enable you to complete an in-depth research project on a topic of your choice within the field of Business and Management.

You can explore a specific research question that interests you whilst benefiting from structured support in quantitative or qualitative research, and a blend of cohort and personalised expert supervision.

Overview

Whether you choose to focus on consumer behaviour, sustainable futures, global business strategies or human resource management, you will be supported by experts in Worcester Business School to deliver a significant piece of research with the potential to impact on business practice in your chosen field.

The course can be a route into further research - many of our MRes students have progressed to undertake a PhD and some from there into academic jobs. However, it also provides you with a contemporary knowledge of business trends and issues and a rich portfolio of transferable skills – project management, critical and creative thinking, problem solving – which will make you an attractive proposition to employers in many areas of business and in the public sector.

We expect applicants to submit a project outline at the point of application which identifies the research question or problem that your project will address. You should explain why this is important to you and let us know how it engages with what other researchers have written about this question/problem. You should also explain why this research is needed, and sketches out how you will do the research: what data you will need to collect and how you will collect it. This proposal will enable us to identify the right person to supervise your project, your Director of Studies. We can offer supervisory expertise in the following areas of Business and Management:

• Business ethics and sustainability

• Consumer Behaviour

• Employee relations

• Entrepreneurship

• Finance

• Human Resource Management

• International Business

• Leadership

• Operations management

• Project management

• Risk management

• Services marketing

Course structure

The course begins with a taught component during which you will receive a strong grounding in project planning and management, develop advanced knowledge of the research skills and methods you will need to complete your planned project, and enhance your knowledge of contemporary trends and issues in Business and Management. During this stage you will develop your project outline into a full project proposal. Throughout the taught component you will receive support from your appointed Director of Studies

You will then progress to the research component of the course during which you will undertake the project that you have designed. Throughout your project your Director of Studies will guide and support you, advising at every step to ensure you achieve the best research outcomes.

Across the programme, you will be able to engage with our Doctoral School’s Research Student Development Programme which offers a range of workshops and micro-courses, online and in-person, for our MRes and PhD students on a diverse range of topics, from masterclasses on specific research methods or analysis techniques, courses to improve your dissemination skills – whether presenting at a conference or writing for publication - and enhance the impact of your research.