Course summary

A Masters by Research (MScR) programme is ideal if you have a clear idea of the independent research you wish to undertake at masters level. The programme is a good stepping stone to a PhD, but is equally of value as a stand-alone qualification. As a Masters by Research student, you will be part of a wider masters community while specialising in what most interests you right from the beginning of the programme. This is how it is different to a taught Masters (MSc). First taught at Edinburgh in 1976, Japanese Studies has developed to encompass a thriving postgraduate research programme covering a wide spectrum of interests in history, politics, and the performing and literary arts. Research excellence In the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), our research was submitted in the categories of:

• Modern Languages and Linguistics

• Politics and International Studies

• Sociology

• History

• Theology and Religious Studies

• Japanese performing arts, both traditional and contemporary

• Japanese-Chinese relations

• media and politics

• the history of Japanese religion

• traditional and modern Japanese literature

• the Meiji period and empire studies