Explore
Explore is for the curious — those who want to understand why people, families and systems behave as they do, and who want to bring evidence to bear on practice.
18+
Active research streams
9
Peer-reviewed papers per year
1:1
Supervisor pairing
Overview
What explore actually looks like.
Explore is IPSW's research and applied-inquiry stream. It runs as a parallel current alongside Engage — students sharpen methods, design studies and pursue supervised research projects.
We pair every Explore student with a faculty supervisor on day one. Recent dissertations have explored stigma in urban Nepal, supervision practices, adolescent digital wellbeing and post-disaster recovery.
Aclearpath,withroomtothink.
Each phase builds on the last — fieldwork, supervision and reflective practice are interleaved rather than stacked.
Methods bootcamp
Quantitative methods, qualitative inquiry, statistical thinking and research ethics.
Supervisor pairing
Each student is paired with a faculty supervisor and joins a research lab.
Field study
Students design and execute a supervised study — surveys, interviews or archival work.
Dissertation & defence
A written dissertation with a public defence and a translated policy output.
WhatyoucarryforwardfromExplore.
Outcomes are written as capabilities you take with you — not credit hours.
Methodological range
You leave fluent in qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods — and how to choose between them.
Ethical research
You can write a sound IRB application, manage data with care and report findings honestly.
Translation skills
You can turn a 12,000-word dissertation into a policy brief, a workshop and a press piece.
Authorship
Many Explore students are co-authors on peer-reviewed papers before they graduate.
FromstudentsofExplore.
“The Explore stream gave me proper grounding in research. I co-authored my first paper on adolescent help-seeking before I had even finished coursework.”
Aayush Shrestha
MA Clinical Psychology, Year II
“The Explore programme pairs you with a supervisor from day one. My research on stigma in Lalitpur is now informing provincial policy.”
Niraj Maharjan
PhD Researcher, Public Mental Health