MSc by Research in IMES

Develop your research skills and join a thriving and diverse community of research students in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (IMES).

What to do before you apply for an MSc by Research in IMES

Before you formally apply for an MSc by Research in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (IMES) through the University of Edinburgh’s online system, you are advised to acquaint yourself with the department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies so that you are confident we are the best place for you to undertake your research.

We would usually expect candidates to take the following steps before applying for an MSc by Research:

Step one

Have a look at the research interests and expertise of our staff under Who can supervise your MSc by Research. While you do not need to find a member of staff willing to supervise your project before applying, please do take some time to read over staff members’ profiles, research interests, and publications, to ensure that your project is something we can effectively supervise. We are much more likely to supervise a project if it closely relates to our own expertise and research interests, and often have to reject candidates with strong applications because their proposed project falls outside our areas of specialisation.

The following members of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies staff supervise MSc by Research and PhD students. Follow the links to find out more about their research interests and expertise.

Name	Role
Dr Ines Asceric-Todd	Lecturer in Arabic and Middle Eastern Cultures
Dr Elvire Corboz	Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Islam and the Middle East
Dr Andreas Görke	Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies
Dr Anthony Gorman	Senior Lecturer in Modern Middle Eastern History
Dr Marie Legendre	Lecturer in Islamic History
Dr Giulia Liberatore	Lecturer in Muslims in Europe
Dr Ebtihal Mahadeen	Lecturer in Gender and Media Studies of the Middle East
Professor Andrew Newman	Personal Chair of Islamic Studies and Persian
Professor Nacim Pak-Shiraz	Professor of Cinema and Iran
Professor Frédéric Volpi	Chair in Politics of the Muslim World

Step two

Following our guidelines, write a draft MScR proposal detailing your research project. This will enable us to evaluate the general and specific areas of your research interests, the originality and importance of your topic, and the feasibility of the proposed project within the given timescale.

The research proposal is an important element of your application for the MSc by Research. It helps us understand the general and specific areas of your research interests, the originality and importance of your topic, and the feasibility of the proposed project within the given timescale.

Your research proposal should be around 1,000 words long. It should outline the project that you want to complete as part of your MSc by Research by addressing the following questions:

What is already known about this topic? What are the key works and who are the prominent scholars in the field? As you have only got a limited amount of time for your project, it is crucial that you have already identified some relevant of scholarship on the topic.
Which aspects of the topic do you propose to investigate? How does your project relate to previous scholarship and what is new and original in your research?
What are the main primary sources you want to use for your research? What methodologies will you use in your research project?

Your proposal should also include an indicative bibliography of primary and secondary sources which you have already identified as relevant to your research.

Submit your MSc by Research proposal to us

Step three

Complete our pre-application form

Please note that the pre-application form and the MSc by Research proposal are not assessed. We request them so that we can offer useful comments on your proposed topic and research outline, and so that you do not have to send us a full Curriculum Vitae (CV). We strongly encourage you to incorporate our feedback into your final application, which you submit to the University via its online system. We value your privacy and will hold your information in line with the University of Edinburgh’s Privacy Policy for Applicants.

Formal application

You can find out more about language requirements, facilities, fees, funding opportunities and application deadlines for this MSc by Research programme, and formally apply to study on it, on the University of Edinburgh’s online Degree Finder.

Take me to the University of Edinburgh's Degree Finder entry for the MScR in Is…

Get in touch

For further information or if you have any queries, please contact Dr Ebtihal Mahadeen, IMES Departmental Postgraduate Research Director.

Email the IMES Departmental Postgraduate Research Director

This article was published on 2024-08-13