This exciting programme explores disability as an equal opportunities issue by focusing on contemporary organisations and institutionalised practice.
If you’re a service provider, practitioner or policy maker who wants to bring theory and practice together, or you’re planning a career in the field of disability, you’ll explore a range of disability-related issues from theoretical and practical perspectives.
Our refreshed core modules allow you to explore the frontiers of research in this rapidly developing field, and focus on social policy for disabled people in education, benefits, housing, transport, employment, health and social support services, as well as recent developments in social research on disability. You’ll also choose from optional modules to focus on the topics that best suit your own interests or career plans, from care to disability and development via research training or race and ethnicity studies.
Research insight
Taught by academics from the Centre for Disability Studies, you’ll learn in a stimulating environment where tutors’ teaching is informed by their own cutting-edge research.
The interdisciplinary Centre for Disability Studies is at the forefront of international research in the field, using social model approaches that recognise disability as a form of institutional discrimination and social exclusion, rather than a product of physical difference between individuals. You’ll benefit from the expertise of researchers from diverse backgrounds, drawing on the experiences and issues raised by the disabled people’s movement.
In Semester 1 you’ll take a core module examining recent debates and developments in social research on disability. You’ll critically assess positivist, interpretative and ‘emancipatory’ methodologies and the data collection and analysis strategies that come with them, and consider the emergence of the ‘social model’ of disability.
You’ll apply these perspectives to contemporary social policy in Semester 2, as you explore topics such as disability benefits, self-help, public amenities like housing, transport and public buildings, education, employment and social support services.
In addition, you’ll gain specialist knowledge when you select from a range of optional modules. You could pursue further training in quantitative and qualitative research methods, or study topics such as special educational needs. You’ll also focus on a specific topic when you complete your dissertation – an individual piece of research that allows you to showcase the knowledge and skills you’ve gained.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
We use various teaching methods including lectures, seminars and tutorials in core modules. Optional modules may also include methods such as practical classes, workshops or online learning. Independent study is also crucial to this programme, allowing you to shape your own research questions, prepare for taught sessions and build research and analytical skills.
Assessment methods are likely to vary, depending on the optional modules you choose. Most of our taught modules are assessed through written work such as essays and book and literature reviews.
There is a growing demand for students with a comprehensive knowledge of disability issues in all areas of social life.
In particular, there are many career opportunities in health and social support services, education, human resources, statutory and voluntary agencies, NGOs (non-governmental organisations), INGOs (international non-governmental agencies) and charities.
There are also excellent career openings in social research and universities – you’ll be well prepared for further research at PhD level.
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.
The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
This programme is known for its grounding in a social justice model of inclusive community and educational practice and is relevant for a variety of professionals working in community organisations and schools, and those concerned with disability advocacy and rights.
Studying the Master of Disability and Inclusion Studies (MDInS) you'll gain a stronger understanding of social life and the differences between us, and challenge current approaches used in the education sector and beyond.
The programmes takes on an interdisciplinary approach which draws from education, psychology and social science.
As a graduate, you'll demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of concepts, issues and debates in the area of disability studies, particularly in your own research. Thinking critically and creatively, you will evaluate current issues, research and advanced scholarship in the field of disability studies and work proactively to develop professional relationships with others in the field.
Complete coursework at a pace that suits you – part-time while you work, or full-time over 18 months.
The Faculty of Education offers a postgraduate study award to associate teachers in recognition of their work in supporting the Faculty’s initial teacher education programmes and students. More information on Associate Teacher Postgraduate Study Award
Students are required to complete 180 points and there are three options regarding how study can be planned.
Required
Research Methods/Research
OR
OR
And at least one from:
Optional
Other papers can be substituted with approval. These may include 15 and 30 point papers from other discipline areas such as Psychology, Sociology/Social Policy, Cultural Geography and Women's Studies. The MDInS Programme Advisor will assist you in developing your programme of study.
You will gain competence on gender policies and politics, and acquire the ability to work independently on central issues related to gender, feminism, gender equality, production of power and knowledge.
This Programme is a great choice especially for students who wish to pursue a career in research, politics, equal opportunities policies and human rights institutions. Also, organisations in private and public sector as well as non-governmental organisations and civil society are possible career paths.
The Programme is organised in co-operation with the University of Tampere.
General studies
Coordination: Language Centre & UTU
ECTS: 20
Programme-specific studies (advanced studies in Gender Studies)
Coordination: UTU Master’s degree programme or partner universities
ECTS: 40
Master’s thesis and seminar
Coordination: Master’s degree programme
ECTS: 40+20
TOTAL 120 ECTS
The multidisciplinary Master’s degree in gender studies provides you with advanced training in the field of gender studies. The Programme is aimed at both Finnish and international students with a variety of academic backgrounds and career plans.
It is built around the interdisciplinary study of gender and sexuality, bridging the divide between social sciences and arts and humanities. You will get to address the latest debates, using cutting-edge research from this exciting and growing area of study.
The curriculum incorporates local, cross-cultural and transnational emphases. It will encourage you to develop innovative, intersectional and interdisciplinary ways of expanding knowledge about gender and sexuality in global, local and historical contexts.
The degree engages the wide-ranging and multidisciplinary perspectives associated with gender studies:
The Master’s Degree Programme in Gender Studies will give you competence on gender policies and politics. You will also acquire the ability to work independently on central issues related to gender, feminism, gender equality, and the production of power and knowledge. These competences include the use of gender as an analytic category and a critical perspective on crucial questions within science, politics, art and culture, and social issues.
In the Master’s thesis the student must prove their ability to do scientific work and manage research methods, knowledge of the research field, and skill of scientific writing.
Examples of thesis topics are:
The scope and extent of this Programme is unique. As a joint degree co-operation of two universities, the University of Turku and the University of Tampere, it combines two special research and teaching profiles of gender studies. This guarantees a wide, interdisciplinary expertise.
At the University of Turku, the Master’s Degree Programme in Gender Studies is organised in the Faculty of Humanities. Students also have the possibility to benefit from many other courses offered by the other programmes within the University. The main research areas are:
At the University of Tampere, the Programme is a part of the Global Society framework of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities. Within this framework, students have the possibility to benefit from many other courses offered by other programmes. In addition, a network of gender researchers organises regular research seminars. The key research and teaching themes are
Master’s Degree Programme in Gender Studies will provide you with a high-quality and extensive expertise on issues related to gender, sexuality, gender equality and equal opportunities in society. In the Programme, you learn:
You acquire the following practical skills:
This Programme is a great option especially for students who wish to pursue a career in
Graduates’ knowledge of power relations and social justice issues prepares them for government and jurisprudence positions. Due to the interdisciplinarity of the Programme, the graduates will be well prepared for research career.
Working life connections are realised by inviting visiting lecturers to the courses, for example, from Finnish, Nordic and European governmental and non-governmental organisations.
Students will also be encouraged to complete an internship during the Programme. The internship is optional but can be included in the degree.
You will be closely integrated into on-going research in the area. The Programme provides eligibility for scientific postgraduate degree studies. Degrees can be completed at the University of Turku.
Develop the skills and knowledge to produce meaningful social research with this challenging programme.
Core modules will teach you how to turn social research issues and questions into workable research designs, as well as handling quantitative and qualitative data and issues such as ethics and funding applications. You’ll also have the chance to specialise through a choice of optional modules, allowing you to focus on research in topics such as disability studies, care, social policy analysis, criminology and evaluation of programmes and policies.
This taught programme has recently been redesigned to meet the new postgraduate training and development guidelines of the ESRC, meaning it stands alone as an MA but will also prepare you for doctoral research in this dynamic field of scholarship. You’ll be well prepared to become a specialist social science researcher, supported by expert tutors across our active research centres and institutes.
Research insight
You’ll learn in a research-intensive, stimulating environment. As well as the Leeds Social Sciences Institute which fosters collaboration, you’ll benefit from the interdisciplinary expertise hosted by the Centre for Disability Studies, Centre for Ethnicity and Racism Studies, Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies and many others. All of these centres run their own calendars of events such as workshops and seminars.
Find out more about Research in the School of Sociology and Social Policy.
At the start of the programme you’ll build your knowledge of research design, learning to connect abstract theoretical and methodological perspectives with practical research strategies. Sampling and selection, choosing the right data collection and analysis methods, the ethics and politics of research design and creating research proposals will all be among the topics you explore.
You’ll also have the chance to deepen your subject knowledge with your optional module. You could focus on crime, social policy analysis or evaluative research as well as disability studies, care or social thought.
In Semester 2 you’ll begin intensive training in analysing quantitative and qualitative data. You’ll learn to use statistical software, design surveys and questionnaires and record, code, organise and manage qualitative data. You’ll evaluate different research methods, understanding the benefits, limitations, and ethical implications of each one and when to use them.
By the end of the programme in September, you’ll submit a research project that puts the skills you’ve gained into practice – and perhaps lay the foundations of your future research.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
For more information on typical modules, read Social Research MA Full Time in the course catalogue
For more information on typical modules, read Social Research MA Part Time in the course catalogue
We use a range of teaching and learning methods to develop the research skills and theoretical knowledge you need. These include seminars, tutorials, and presentations. You’ll also attend practical sessions and workshops where you’ll get to grips with data analysis. Independent study is also vital to this programme, allowing you to refine your skills and prepare for your taught sessions.
You’ll experience different assessment methods, including presentations, literature reviews, research proposals and essays. In data analysis modules, you’ll be expected to analyse and engage with data within your essays. We offer plenty of support with aspects such as academic writing.
In the last decade there has been enormous growth in social research, leading to an increasing variety of career options. There are a number of different research environments, such as academic departments, third sector organisations, private research organisations and governmental agencies – all of which have distinctive research cultures.
There is an increasing emphasis on the production of high quality, rigorous and meaningful research by professionally trained researchers. We designed the MA in Social Research to provide such training, and the course will interest people pursuing, or enhancing, a research-related career in a wide range of settings.
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.
The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
The MA Education Studies programme is designed for education professionals who would like to further their knowledge and understanding of children and young people in society. You will be able to select from a wide range of modules in areas including special education needs, disability and inclusion and leadership and management in education, allowing you to shape the programme to your interests and career aspirations.
Schooling can be viewed as just one context within which education may take place; there are many other contexts in which educational approaches are used to work with children and young people. Some of these contexts include advisory work, early childhood practice, educational administration and policy, learning support and the third sector to enhance educational provision for children, families and communities. This MA will explore education across these different areas.
The programme will draw on the wider professional experiences that students may have of working in contexts where educational approaches are important. These may include experiences such as employment in youth work, sports’ coaching with young people, working for charities with children and young people to provide learning opportunities in this country or internationally.
This MA will cover critical social and educational theories and perspectives, as well as policy and practice relevant to global and local educational contexts. It will support you to achieve a critical awareness and understanding of education in its broadest sense as a process of human learning and development in and for human society.
You will benefit greatly from engaging with the insights, experiences and perspectives of your peers who may come from a diverse range of contexts, backgrounds and experiences. These insights combined with your own experiences and the theory gained from the modules will allow you to deepen your understanding of working with children and young people and of education in its broadest sense.
All lecturers leading modules on this programme have specialist qualifications, teaching or leadership experience in the field of education, with relevant research and scholarship backgrounds, which will help to shape the content of the programme.
Those with less practical experience will need to have studied a degree programme such as BA Education, BA Children’s Studies, BA Youth Work, BA Early Childhood Studies, BA Social Pedagogy or BA Sports Coaching, all of which emphasise the practices of working with children and young people to enable their participation, development and learning.
This MA allows you to engage with a range of topics, across different areas of education, with a particular focus on the critical theories of global policy and of the social relations of difference and power in educational contexts.
You will be introduced to the key concepts of race, ethnicity, class and gender in the Power in Education and Society module. You will be moved beyond theoretical knowledge to reach an informed position in relation to equality, diversity and social justice in education. Awareness will be raised of past and current international discourses in education, critically examining how they impact on children, young people, families and communities.
You will also analyse current debates on education policy and will learn to identify new policy sites and policy actors in the education arena, in the Key Concepts and Current Debates in Global Education Policy module.
The compulsory final dissertation module will give you the opportunity to select a topic of your choice and undertake a critical enquiry of the subject. You must also take a (required) research module, called Undertaking Social and Educational Research, which is designed to teach you about social and educational research and to prepare you for the dissertation.
You can select a further three modules from a range of options, including those from related MA programmes in Early Childhood Studies, SEN Disability & Inclusive Education and Education Leadership and Management. This gives you the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding in an area of education that interests you, or is relevant to your chosen career. A maximum of 2 from any of these programmes can be taken and decisions about which of these are appropriate for each student are made by the Programme Convenor in consultation with students.
Compulsory module
Required modules
Optional modules
Compulsory and Required modules
Compulsory and/or required modules may change when we review and update programmes. Above is a list of modules offered this academic year.
Optional modules
Optional modules, when offered as part of a programme, may vary from year to year and are subject to viability.
This refreshed programme explores issues, concepts, and debates in social and public policy research to gain an insight into policy making and its social impacts on individuals and communities.
Core modules will explore social theories, issues and research methods relevant to social policy and welfare. You will also develop core skills in critical policy analysis and policy evaluation. There will be opportunities to study and debate current policy issues, such as work and welfare, child and family policy or the challenges of ageing populations, with a focus on real-life examples.
Supported by our well-known research centres and taught by expert tutors, you’ll tailor the programme to suit your own interests and career aspirations. With a range of optional modules to choose from, you could pursue further advanced research skills or study complementary social topics such as disability studies, gender studies, racism and ethnicity studies, or globalisation.
You’ll gain an insight into some of the most sensitive and complex social issues affecting governments worldwide.
Research insight
You’ll learn in a research-intensive, stimulating environment. As well as the Leeds Social Sciences Institute which fosters collaboration, you’ll benefit from the interdisciplinary expertise hosted by the Centre for Disability Studies, Centre for Ethnicity and Racism Studies, Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies and many others. All of these centres run their own calendars of events such as workshops and seminars.
From the start of the programme you’ll study core modules that introduce you to the social contexts and social problems that challenge policy makers, understanding society and social research. As the course develops you will focus more specifically on the welfare state, the process of social policy formation, and the kinds of evidence on which new policies and programmes are founded, and against which their effectiveness is evaluated.
You’ll gain a thorough understanding of research methods, the theoretical assumptions which underpin them and how these affect the way the findings are interpreted. You’ll also focus on specific examples such as welfare reform or employment activation policies.
With this foundation, you’ll choose from optional modules to specialise in topics that suit you. You could study contemporary social thought to contextualise your work, or look at issues such as labour mobility, care, healthcare, disability or ‘race’ and ethnicity. You could study further data analysis and research methods to prepare for future research.
At the end of the programme, you’ll submit your dissertation – an independent piece of research on a related topic of your choice, which allows you to demonstrate and apply the knowledge and skills you’ve acquired during the year.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
We use a range of teaching and learning methods including presentations, seminars, workshops, tutorials and lectures. Optional modules may also use other methods such as online learning. However, independent study is crucial to this degree – it allows you to prepare for taught sessions, develop your research interests and build a range of skills.
Your core modules will be assessed using essays. Optional modules may use other forms of assessment that reflect the diversity of the topics you can study, including presentations, book and literature reviews, research proposals and reports among others.
You’ll gain a wide range of knowledge and skills throughout this programme, including sophisticated skills in research, communication and analysis that will be useful in a variety of careers.
Social and Public Policy graduates have gone on to a wide range of posts across the third-sector public services, government and business. These have included central and local government departments, community bodies, housing and health organisations, research consultancies and advocacy or campaigning.
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.
The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
The Special and Inclusive Education MA will develop a student's knowledge of key concepts and issues related to special and inclusive education, enhancing their understanding of disciplinary and theoretical perspectives. It will give students the ability to analyse, evaluate and synthesise evidence, theory and practice, and help them to apply conceptual and theoretical frameworks to professional policy and practice.
By the end of the programme, students should be able to:
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme consists of two core modules (60 credits), and either two optional modules (60 credits) and a dissertation (60 credits) or three optional modules (90 credits) and a research report (30 credits).
Core modules
Optional modules
In addition to the two core modules students take at least one module from the following:
Students choose either one or two further options from the list above or, subject to the Programme Leader's approval, from elsewhere at the UCL Institute of Education.
Dissertation/report
All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a 10,000 to 12,000-word dissertation or 6,000 to 7,000-word report.
Teaching and learning
The MA is taught through lectures, group discussions, small group one-to-one tutorials, and computer lab classes. Compulsory and optional modules are assessed by a range of assessment strategies including presentations and a 4,000-5,000 word written assignment; students may choose from a range of assessment titles. In addition, students may choose to write either a report (6,000-7,000 words) or a dissertation (10,000-12,000 words).
NB: This MA is not a teacher training programme and does not aim to train students via school-based training and teaching placements.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Special and Inclusive Education MA
For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.
Graduates of this programme are currently working across a broad range of areas. Some are working as managers in mainstream and special schools and other educational settings, while others support those with special educational needs and disabilities directly. Graduates can also be found working as staff in specialist services for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
Recent career destinations for this degree
Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.
This programme provides students with the opportunity to study in one of the country's leading specialist departments in special educational needs and disability, and educational psychology, working with internationally recognised tutors who have published widely in the areas of special education, inclusion and disability studies, and who contribute to Master's and doctoral programmes worldwide.
The programme team is committed to creating an intellectually challenging context in which students are encouraged to discuss practical knowledge, experience and ideas in order to extend their understanding of special and inclusive education.
This programme attracts students with rich and varied professional and personal experience, both nationally and internationally, and fellow students provide a valuable networking resource.
