Research Methods and Skills Maastricht School of Management (MSM)

esearch competencies and skills are essential for the effective conduct and understanding of research and ultimately for evidence-based decision-making, whether in business, government or civil society. The RMS program offers a unique program to develop your academic skills and scientific mindset. 

For example, you can think of consumer market research for innovative products or services, impact studies of ICT projects, studies on female entrepreneurship, and studies on corporate greening in the hotel industry. The development of research competencies is particularly relevant for junior academics whose career is increasingly dependent on their research output. When embarking on a Doctoral program, you also need to have a solid understanding of what constitutes good research, how to design and execute empirical studies and how to present and discuss research results in a convincing and effective manner. This program can also be used as a refresher course on the execution of research. 

The program is developed for those wishing to develop their research careers in a broad range of industries: the private sector, NGOs, international development organizations, public sector early career academics and doctoral candidates. In developing countries, this program can serve as capacity building for staff in universities, but also research units within businesses, NGOs, ministries and think tanks. In developed countries, this program fills the gap between master graduation, and the start of doctoral research. 

The program comprises five modules, which will be offered full-time for a period of 3 months. You can choose to follow the modules on-campus or online (face-to-face, minimum 20%). 

The modules take you through the empirical research cycle step-by-step. The program balances theoretical knowledge with experience-based learning. We strongly believe that learning-by-doing will help you develop a unique set of skills to draft and execute your research proposal. With all assignments being geared towards drafting an initial research proposal, the RMS training program truly kick-starts your research journey.

Entry requirements

• Hold a Master degree in a relevant field of specialization, like Finance & Accounting, Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Organization, Logistics & Information Systems, Social Sciences, Governance & Management, Economics, Public Policy and Engineering.Since our aim is to provide the best training and supervision, we refer to our research website for more detailed information on our topics of interest and specialization.
• Have an adequate level of spoken and written English. Applicants whose native language is not English or whose previous education has been in a language other than English, must submit evidence of proficiency in the English language by achieving the following scores:
  - IELTS at least 6.5
  or
  - TOEFL paper based: at least 570
  - TOEFL computer based test: at least 230
  - TOEFL internet based: at least 88
• Provide your first research ideas in the form of a five-page preliminary research proposal, see “Expression of Interest”.

Candidates should use the official MSM online application form.