If you’re choosing between a Master of Research (MRes) and a Master in Management (MiM) — or wondering whether you need one after the other — the decision comes down to a single question: do you want to work in industry, or to do research? The two degrees are built for opposite ends, and picking the wrong one is an expensive, year-long mistake. Here’s how a research master differs from a MiM and which fits your goals. (Structures, names and entry rules vary by programme and country and change each cycle, so treat this as the framework and confirm the specifics on each school’s page.)
What each degree is for
- A MiM is a professional, generalist degree. Its job is to launch you into a business career: a taught curriculum across the core business functions, usually an internship or company project, and a school recruiting calendar built around graduate roles in consulting, finance, industry and tech. It optimises for employability and breadth.
- An MRes (Master of Research, sometimes “research master”) is a research-training degree. Most of the year goes into research-methods coursework and an extended dissertation, and its purpose is to prepare you for doctoral study or a research career. It optimises for research preparation and depth.
That single difference — professional vs research — drives everything else.
How they differ in practice
| MiM | MRes | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | A job in industry | A PhD / research career |
| Content | Taught, generalist business core + specialisation | Research methods + a major dissertation |
| Experiential | Internship / company project common | Independent research, supervision |
| Who recruits | Consulting, finance, corporate, tech | Doctoral programmes, research roles |
| Optimises for | Employability, breadth | Research skill, depth |
A MiM is assessed and structured to make you hireable; an MRes is assessed and structured to make you a capable researcher. Neither is “better” — they answer different questions.
When the MRes is the right choice
An MRes makes sense if research is genuinely your goal:
- You’re aiming at a PhD and your target field or programme expects a research master first (common in economics and heavily quantitative fields — see MiM vs MSc Economics).
- You want an academic or research-heavy career rather than a graduate job.
- You need to build a research track record — methods training and a substantial dissertation — that an applied master wouldn’t give you.
If that’s you, the research training is the point, and a MiM would be a detour.
When the MiM is the right choice
For the large majority of people who want a business career, the MiM is the better fit. It’s the degree employers recognise for early-career management, consulting and finance hiring; it comes with the internship and recruiting machinery; and it doesn’t ask you to commit to research you may not want. If you’re not actively planning a PhD or a research role, the MiM opens the doors you’re actually aiming at.
Can you do an MRes after a MiM?
Yes — and it’s a recognised path. Someone who finishes a MiM, discovers a real interest in research, and wants to move toward a doctorate can use an MRes as a deliberate bridge: it adds the research-methods training and the dissertation that doctoral admissions look for. As we cover in can you do a PhD after a MiM?, a strong MiM is sometimes enough on its own for a management PhD, but a research-master bridge is common — especially for more quantitative fields. The trade-off is an extra year and cost, so it’s worth it only if research is the direction you genuinely want, not as a default “more study.”
How to decide
Work backwards from the career you want:
- Industry job (consulting, finance, corporate, tech) → MiM. Stop there and go to work.
- PhD / academic / research career → MRes (or a research-oriented MSc), then a PhD.
- Genuinely unsure → a MiM keeps more doors open, because you can still bridge to research later via an MRes; the reverse (an MRes then pivoting to industry) is the harder route, since an MRes doesn’t come with recruiting access.
Whatever you’re leaning toward, ask the specific programmes directly — doctoral programmes about what they expect from your profile, and MRes/MiM programmes about entry requirements and whether your degree is accepted.
The bottom line
An MRes is a research degree that prepares you for a PhD or a research career; a MiM is a professional degree that prepares you for a business job. Pick the MiM if you want industry, the MRes if you want research — and if you’re unsure, the MiM keeps the option of bridging to research open through an MRes later, while the reverse is harder. There’s no universal rule on whether you need an MRes before a PhD, so confirm with each doctoral programme. To weigh the applied degree against its alternatives, compare paths in our programme catalogue and the wider MiM-vs-MSc family, and map any application timing on the deadline tracker.
Sources & how to confirm
This guide describes the general, well-established distinction between a research master (MRes) and a professional Master in Management — the former built around research-methods training and a dissertation to prepare for doctoral study, the latter a taught, generalist degree built for industry employability — and the common use of an MRes as a bridge to a PhD. Specific programme structures, names, entry requirements, and whether a research master is required before a given PhD vary by school, field and country, and change each cycle — confirm directly with each programme. Nothing here asserts a fixed per-programme rule, and no figure is invented. Last checked June 2026.