M.Phil in Research

The Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) is a PG level course that is offered for students who desire to go for research. This is just a step below the PhD degree. With the completion of the PhD degree, one attains the qualification as the Doctor of Philosophy. In some countries, the M.Phil degree is given to those PhD students even before the final submission of their thesis. In countries such as the UK, applicants who opt to do their PhD are first registered for the M.Phil program.

M.Sc in Research

Aspirants who are studying for their graduation in science will commonly go on to the M.Sc course, which in fact is one amongst the most popular courses across the globe. This program has a time period of 2 years and is mainly designed to provide aspirants with the in depth knowledge about any one particular stream in the field of science. In contrary to this, the graduate level course is very much general and it only informs students about the fundamental things a person needs to know about science. Currently, the M.Sc in Research program is gaining importance worldwide and many institutes are offering this course in our country as well. Though this is a PG level course in Science, as the name tells us, it gives more importance to research than the regular M.Sc program.

The Master’s Degree by Research (M.Res) is offered to aspirants in a variety of scientific disciplines. Studying this course readies aspirants for the doctoral program which in turn prepares them for taking up jobs as teachers or gets jobs with institutions of research. When compared to the regular PG program in Science, the M.Sc by research needs quite a lot of dissertation and requires very few theoretical lessons.

Key differences between the M.Phil and M.Sc in Research

The M.Phil in Research as well as the M.Sc in Research program mainly provides students with the means for students to achieve their Doctoral degree. Students who are taking the M.Sc by research course will have to study some components of the particular subject, whereas, the M.Phil in research course is purely based only on research. One can also day that the M.Sc in Research program is a standalone course where as the M.Phil is not. In fact, an inherent expectation is there that the aspirant shall go on to accomplish his or her Doctoral degree within the period of years subsequent to the completion of their thesis.

Which course is better?

Though both the programs lead the way to the doctoral degree, aspirants can take the M.Sc by research program if they wish to learn more about the subject concerned. On the other hand, the M.Phil by research program is purely based on research and is not a standalone course. Students can opt for either of these programs on basis of their future plans as well as career prospects.