Study Skills for Master's Level Students, revised edition. Sally Hayes Tyler

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СКАЧАТЬ everyday problems that they face in practice. They are looking for the opportunity to face those problems as a ‘master’. But what does this mean; what is ‘masterly’? Why does undertaking Master’s level study make a difference to the ways in which health and social care practitioners think and practise and, importantly, in what ways does it benefit patients and service users?

      Various types of Master’s degrees exist in the UK, reflecting the independent nature of higher education institutions and the diversity of traditions that exist within different disciplines. For students, this means that there are no nationally agreed definitions of types of award and also that awards with similar titles can vary in nature both between institutions and across disciplines. However, all Master’s degrees are expected to meet the generic statement of outcomes set out by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) in the qualification descriptor within The Framework for Higher Education Qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (August 2008) that is examined below, or The Framework for Qualifications of Higher Education Institutions in Scotland (January 2001). The qualification descriptor sets out broad expected outcomes for a Master’s degree in terms of what graduates should be able to demonstrate and the wider abilities that they would be expected to have developed.

      According to the QAA, the opportunities that Master’s study offers students include the following:

1.		Focusing on a particular aspect of a broader subject area in which they have prior knowledge or experience, whether through previous study or employment.
2.		Focusing on a particular subject area or field of study in greater depth than they encountered during the course of previous study or experience.
3.		Learning how to conduct research, often linked to a particular discipline or field of study. Such programmes often include a greater emphasis on the delivery of structured learning as opposed to independent study.
4.		Undertaking a research project on a topic within the area of interest that makes up the majority of the overall assessment and is normally undertaken with little structured learning.
5.		Specialising or becoming more highly specialised in an area of employment or practice related to a particular profession.

      (adapted from QAA, 2009)

      Furthermore, in the UK three broad and different ‘types’ of Master’s degrees are often described and have been defined by the QAA in their publication Master’s Degree Characteristics (QAA, 2010). These types are:

1.		research Master’s;
2.		specialised/advanced study Master’s;
3.		professional/practice Master’s.

      The QAA classifies them using:

•		programme characteristics;
•		programme purposes;
•		intended entrants;
•		relation to further study or employment;
•		characteristics of graduates.

      The following descriptors are adapted from the QAA’s document Master’s Degree Characteristics (QAA, 2010).

      1. Research Master’s – for example, the MPhil

•		The characteristics of the programmes in this category are that they are typically of one to two years’ duration, with two years being most common (based on a full-time mode of study). The research component is larger than the taught component and the student normally conducts a research project through independent study with the inclusion of a smaller ‘taught’ element like, for example, research methods modules. Assessment is often specific to the individual and likely to be via oral examination that involves discussion/defence of a thesis, dissertation or other output such as an artefact, performance or musical composition. Research Master’s are less common than other types in health and social care.
•		The purpose of the programme is to prepare students for the next stage in their careers, whether pursuing further research or entering employment of different kinds, and to enable those undertaking the programme to contribute towards research in the discipline.
•		The type of entrant (or admission requirement) is defined by the institution but often requires a Bachelor’s degree with honours in a cognate or closely related subject, although experience through work or other means may also be considered appropriate.
•		In terms of further study or employment, graduates of Research Master’s programmes will normally be prepared to enter a variety of types of employment or to continue to doctoral study.
•		Graduates typically have subject-specific attributes including an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the discipline informed by current scholarship and research, the ability to study independently in the subject, and the ability to use a range of techniques and research methods applicable to advanced scholarship in the subject, plus generic attributes such as communication skills.

      2. Specialised/advanced study Master’s – for example, the MSc, MA, MRes and integrated Master’s

•		The characteristics of the programmes in this category are that they are often ‘taught’ although, frequently, at least a third of the programme is devoted to a research project or dissertation. They are typically of 9 to 18 months’ duration based on a full-time mode of study. These programmes include integrated Master’s degrees (integrated with study at the level of a Bachelor’s with honours degree within a single programme) and they also include the MRes, where the student develops the ability to conduct research through a programme of structured learning.
•		The purpose of the programme is to prepare students for the next stage in their careers, whether that is further academic or professional study, or entering employment of different kinds.
•		The type of entrant (or admission requirement) is again defined by the institution, but entrants often have a background in the subject or a cognate subject area acquired through previous study (a Bachelor’s with honours degree or equivalent) or experience.
•		In terms of further study or employment, graduates of specialised/ advanced Master’s programmes will normally be equipped to enter doctoral study in their discipline or to take up employment in both subject-related and generalist environments. СКАЧАТЬ В начало < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 > В конец