Masters Degrees (Learning)

Overview

The Masters programme in Work-Based Learning (WBL) at Newman University provides flexible lifelong learning opportunities for professionals currently in employment (either paid or voluntary). The programme is designed to engage students in maximising their knowledge, skills, employability attributes and professional development opportunities needed in the workplace, by developing and implementing systematic professional enquiry and research. As a result, students can become more informed and more effective at work.

Throughout the programme, students are encouraged to explore their own personal and professional interests, whilst utilizing (and building upon) their existing expertise. By focusing on a WBL approach to study, numerous benefits can be available to students such as: bespoke, relevant, student-focused, flexible programmes of study offering formal recognition of their occupational role; an acknowledgement of skills and knowledge gained at work; opportunities for workplace continual professional development (CPD) and career advancement; networking openings; alongside routes into various higher education awards. Indeed, if students wish to progress their studies even further then the WBL programme provides an appropriate academic platform for progression to doctoral study at level 8 such as PhD, EdD, DProf.

WBL has been defined as the learning arising from real-life activity within the workplace, with students taking work activities as a starting point for their studies. It is a structured and learner-managed approach to maximising learning and professional development opportunities. The focus is upon ‘capturing learning in the workplace’, by exploiting the different kinds of knowledge which can be used at work, via an application to working practices. This is achieved by centring upon the critical evaluation and synthesis of an individuals’ professional practice by specifically analysing their professional and personal development. Put simply, work-based learning is learning for work, at work and through work.

Awards available:

There are four core awards available to students, focusing on enhancing professional practice:

• Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert) in Work-Based Learning (Enhancing Professional Practice)
• Postgraduate Diploma (PG Dip) in Work-Based Learning (Enhancing Professional Practice)
• Master of Arts (MA) in Work-Based Learning (Enhancing Professional Practice)
• Master of Science (MSc) in Work-Based Learning (Enhancing Professional Practice)

There are 12 subject-specific ’named awards’ available to students:

Master of Arts (MA) in Work-Based Learning (Business Management)

Master of Arts (MA) in Work-Based Learning (Drama)

Master of Arts (MA) in Work-Based Learning (English, Literature, and Society)

Master of Arts (MA) in Work-Based Learning (Health Mentor)

Master of Arts (MA) in Work-Based Learning (Heritage and Public History)

Master of Arts (MA) in Work-Based Learning (Social Care: Policy and Practice)

Master of Arts (MA) in Work-Based Learning (Working with Children, Young People & Families)

Master of Arts (MA) in Work-Based Learning (Youth and Community Work)

Master of Science (MSc) in Work-Based Learning (Applied Social Science)

Master of Science (MSc) in Work-Based Learning (Business Management)

Master of Science (MSc) in Work-Based Learning (Enhancing Healthcare Practice)

Master of Science (MSc) in Work-Based Learning (Health Mentor)

Who is it for?

The Master’s level WBL programmes at Newman University are designed to cater for learners already in employment (paid or unpaid), normally in professional settings, who are looking for:

• Career enhancement.
• Additional qualifications.
• A subject-specific ‘named’ award e.g. MA in WBL (Enhancing Professional Practice).
• Opportunities to engage in continual professional development (CPD).
• Academic credit for their prior experiential and certificated learning.
• Opportunities to use their work-based expertise and experiences as a focus for their studies.
• Learning that is tailored to their personal needs, interests and aspirations.
• Opportunities to develop their subject knowledge and expertise related to their professional role.

Progression opportunities for current Newman University postgraduate students:

There is an opportunity of progression for Newman University postgraduate students wishing to progress to a full Master’s degree from programmes such as:

PG Cert in Higher Education Practice

PG Cert in Heritage and Public History

PG Cert in Chaplaincy with Young People

PG Cert in Safeguarding

Attendance

The WBL courses will be delivered using a ‘blended’ approach, which consists of a mixture of distance learning (supported by materials available online), and some campus-based taught sessions. Campus-based taught sessions will only be used when necessary, and will usually be delivered at the Genners Lane Campus, at the weekend. 

In respect of student workload, it should be noted that 30 credit modules require 300 hours of study and a 60 credit module requires 600 hours of study.

Part-time students have a maximum period of study of 5 years to complete a full Master’s degree. However, students will normally complete a full Master’s degree on a part-time basis, over 2-3 years.

For students submitting an RPL/RPEL claim up to the maximum of 90 credits, a full Master’s degree could be completed in 12 months.

Assessment

Students will experience a range of work-based assessment formats including: written reports and essays, digital resource creation, project report and case study, e-portfolio, presentations, work-based research. Through the completion of such assessment activities, the course will develop independent study skills that are transferable to a range of both learning-based and work-based situations.

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Learning disability nurses enable individuals to live their lives to their full potential within the social context they choose, through collaborative interventions across a variety of health and social care settings and by using specialist input, through person centred practice, underpinned by the concept of partnership working.

This course teaches you to promote social inclusion, good mental and physical health and self-determination through developing your skills, knowledge and attributes. All learning is grounded in a strong evidence base of integrative health and social care modelling. Our placements are varied, offering you the chance to create a future career that will be rewarding both for your personal and professional advancement.

Modules

You will be taught separately from the three-year undergraduate students and will study the following:

Year 1

Improving quality, change management and leadership
Building practice skills for learning disability nursing
Applied physiology, growth and development
Contemporary issues in learning disability nursing

Year 2

Research in health and social care
Enhancing practice skills in learning disability nursing
Complexity in learning disabilities
Advanced communication

MSc pathway

You'll follow the same modules as outlined above for the PgDip, with the addition of a dissertation:

Dissertation
Assessment methods vary within each module, mapped against the professional standards as outlined by the NMC (2010) and assessed either through course work, and/or clinical placement assessments. Written assessments include essays, case study's, and critical reviews of evidence for example. Clinical practice assessments include achievements of identified competencies, a learning assessment portfolio, and problem based scenarios.

Teaching and learning

You'll be expected to work as an independent adult learner, working alongside academic staff to expand and extend your knowledge, skills and attitudes as a critical scholar in the field of Intellectual Disabilities.

You'll be allocated a personal tutor, a cohort leader, and a course director, plus clinical mentors, and link lecturers whilst on placement.

The course makes use of the virtual learning environment MOODLE, an interactive based system for accurate and rapid information sharing, so course materials are available whenever you need them. A range of learning styles are employed, including visits from service users and their carers, to ensure the course remains contemporary and applied to real life situations.

Placements

Every student will spend 50% of the course on placement. You'll have the opportunity to work in partnership with individuals with learning disabilities and their families using a health mentoring model. Alternatively you can work in partnership with community based organisations on projects where all parties increase their awareness, understanding and valuing of their roles, using strength based approaches.

The placement aim is to provide a broad range of experiences working with children and adults with learning disabilities in a variety of settings. This will enhance your knowledge and experience of the range of challenges people with a learning disability may face on a daily basis and what can be done to assist not only the individual but also their families.

You'll also gain insight into what is available to support workers and organisations providing services in the areas of physical and mental health, complex care needs, communication, behaviours of concern, sexuality, personal care and a range of other areas.

Professional links

The learning disability nursing programmes at LSBU have a long history of partnership working with agencies in the NHS and independent and voluntary sector. The Professional Lead for Mental Health and Learning Disabilities at the Department of Health England is a frequent guest speaker who inspires Learning Disability nurses to influence and innovate.

Learning disability nursing as a career

The course will enable you to develop a wide range of employability skills through the emphasis on a vocational approach to teaching which leads to a professional qualification leading to registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

There is an increasing body of research that shows the need for learning disability nurses as a specialist resource to address health inequalities experienced by people with learning disabilities. The course will give you the specialist knowledge and skills to work in a wide range of services, and the confidence to work collaboratively with people with learning disabilities, their families and carers, and other professionals and agencies.

Role and responsibilities

As a learning disabilities nurse you would work with people of all ages to give them the skills and confidence they need to live as independently as possible. You'd be working as part of a multi-disciplinary team and be responsible for co-ordinating care plans with other healthcare professionals, as well as monitoring progress. A learning disabilities nurse would be responsible for making an initial assessment of a patient's health and social care needs.

Day-to-day duties would be likely to include help and encouragement with tasks such as personal hygiene, dressing, using public transport, shopping, leisure interests, making and attending appointments, and finding a job. Learning disabilities nursing also involves campaigning on behalf of those with learning disabilities, supporting the agenda for equality and trying to improve healthcare services for those with learning difficulties.

Career progression

Successful graduates of the PgDip can top-up to MSc in one year and will be qualified to study a range of further specialist postgraduate pathways. With additional experience, advanced practice is available at Masters level with the potential to progress to doctorate studies. Once you are a registered nurse browse our online CPPD prospectus to find out what courses are on offer to help with your professional development.

LSBU Employability Services

LSBU is committed to supporting you develop your employability and succeed in getting a job after you have graduated. Your qualification will certainly help, but in a competitive market you also need to work on your employability, and on your career search. Our Employability Service will support you in developing your skills, finding a job, interview techniques, work experience or an internship, and will help you assess what you need to do to get the job you want at the end of your course. LSBU offers a comprehensive Employability Service, with a range of initiatives to complement your studies, including:

• Direct engagement from employers who come in to interview and talk to students
• Job Shop and on-campus recruitment agencies to help your job search
• Mentoring and work shadowing schemes.

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Overview

Keele’s Teaching and Learning Programme (TLHEP) is a nationally accredited one-year, Masters level part-time programme that provides new teachers in higher education with skills, knowledge and a framework for continued critical engagement with the business of teaching in higher education.

The programme is consistently commended for its systems, procedures and processes by external examiners, by the Higher Education Academy (HEA). The programme offers flexible provision with personal support, including the possibility of taking more than one year to complete.

MA in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education:
Keele University’s award of MA Learning and Teaching in Higher Education involves the completion of three 60-credit modules, each of which is also a stand-alone programme carrying its own award:

1) Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (TLHEP),
2) Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLwT),
3) Action Research (AR)

Together, these provide a part-time programme that meets the continuing professional development needs of teachers in higher education across disciplines. Drawing on the principles of reflective practice, each module focuses on a different aspect of the business of teaching in higher education:

- the nature of learning and teaching (TLHEP)
- the use of information and communication technology in teaching (TLwT)
- conducting research into ones own and institutional practice (AR)

See the website https://www.keele.ac.uk/pgtcourses/teachingandlearninginhighereducation/

Programme rationale and learning outcomes

The programme assumes that there is value in a range of kinds of learning and teaching. Teaching is viewed as an aspect of academic work that, just like research, demands both practical competencies and a theoretically informed and critical approach. Such an approach should comprise:
- Knowledge about how students learn

- Collegiality and collaboration

- An understanding of contexts

- Competence in a range of pedagogic skills and techniques

- A reflexive and experimental approach

- Exploration of personal and professional values

- Theoretical rationales grounded in awareness of the scholarship of learning and teaching

Candidates are encouraged to develop critical rationales for practice. That is, while teaching techniques are introduced and explored through the course, the main emphasis is on how we make professional judgments.

Thus the intended learning outcomes are:
1. Design and plan student learning activities and/or programmes of study, including the appropriate use of learning technology, to achieve the intended learning outcomes

2. Teach (i.e. support student learning) by using methods evaluated to be appropriate to the subject and the level of the academic programme, based on a critical evaluation of current understandings of how students learn, both generally and in the subject

3. Assess student work, and give feedback on it, to promote learning, consistent with institutional requirements and guidelines

4. Develop an effective and supportive learning environment, including individual guidance, in a way that respects them equally as individual, autonomous learners while recognizing and promoting the value of their diversity

5. Integrate with their teaching their scholarship, research and/or professional activities, and the implications of the ethical, quality assurance and quality enhancement contexts

6. Evaluate reflectively the effectiveness of their own practice, and continue their own professional development while contributing to a learning community of teachers

(60 Credits towards MA in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education)

Content

The course aims and learning outcomes are achieved through scholarly discussion about teaching, identifying issues and problems, drawing on a range of knowledge, skills and tools with which these can be addressed. Regular meetings and input sessions provide a forum for exchanging experiences and receiving support, and access to theoretically grounded ideas that come to underpin individuals’ critical rationales for teaching.

Session themes include lecturing, making discussions work, using technology, session planning, understanding student learning, assessment, marking and giving feedback, preventing plagiarism, evaluating your teaching, catering for diversity, internationalisation, designing modules and programmes, problem-based learning, and teaching in the natural sciences and in laboratories.

There is also a programme of practical teaching observation and support.

Teaching & Assesment

Exit points and awards:
Candidates who complete the whole programme successfully will be awarded a Keele University PG Certificate in TLHE, which gains 60 credits towards the MA LTHE and entitles you to apply for HEA Fellowship.

There is also an Associate exit point, which carries 30 level M credits and entitles you to apply for HEA Associate Fellowship. Candidates who successfully complete the Associate module can on certain conditions proceed subsequently to complete the Postgraduate Certificate.

You are assessed by the submission of a portfolio at the end of the course in July. This portfolio includes a critical commentary, evidence, observation records, action plans, and a mentor’s report.

Postgraduate Certificate candidates need to achieve all 6 intended learning outcomes and to demonstrate these in their portfolio, for which the commentary should be 8-10,000 words long.

For the Associate module you will need to achieve 3 of the 6 intended learning outcomes, demonstrated in your portfolio for which the commentary should be 4-5,000 words long.

Additional Costs

Additional costs for textbooks, inter-library loans, photocopying, printing, and potential overdue library fines.
No other additional costs for this postgraduate programme are anticipated.

Find information on Scholarships here - http://www.keele.ac.uk/studentfunding/bursariesscholarships/

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The Postgraduate Certificate of Special Study in Supporting Learning is a one-semester 20-credit module at level 7 (Masters level). It is designed for colleagues in the University of Westminster (or teaching on University of Westminster programmes in partner colleges) who have a role in teaching/supporting the learning of students at the University of Westminster, but who do not have the full role of an academic member of staff. You might be interested in the module if you are for example:
-A research student or research fellow who tutors or demonstrates to students or who runs a seminar group
-A visiting lecturer with only a small teaching load
-A librarian or careers advisor who does face-to-face sessions with groups of students
-A member of the technical staff who supports students in the studio, laboratory or computer suite

It is normally necessary for you to have at least 15 hours of supporting student learning during the semester in which you would take the course.

The course is delivered by educational development specialists in the Department of Leadership and Professional Development (Westminster Business School), and led by Jennifer Bright. The educational development team supports the University in a range of teaching and learning developments, including the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE), which is a course for new and established academic staff.

The module aims to help you enhance your students’ learning by helping you to gain an understanding of effective learning design, planning and student engagement, and further aims to encourage a culture of quality enhancement in teaching and supporting learning.

Course content

You will be encouraged to consider current thinking in pedagogic practices in relation to designing, delivering and supporting student learning in HE through a reflective process using multiple feedback sources. The module activities will include evaluating the nature of the student learning experience in your own context, an observation of your own teaching/supporting learning activities (and that of others) and an investigation of relevant literature/theory.

Modules

The following modules are indicative of what you will study on this course.

Module topics and themes supporting this process include:
-The scholarship of learning and teaching and linking teaching and research
-Reflective practices and using student feedback for evaluation and development
-Threshold concepts, graduate attributes and signature pedagogies
-Session design and peer observation of teaching
-Learning design, sustainability and ethics
-Managing the learning environment
-Using technology to enhance student learning
-Student-centred and activity-based learning
-Facilitating student learning in different subject contexts and in face to face and online environments
-Facilitating one to one, small group and whole group learning
-Inclusive practices and using student diversity as a resource
-Personal and professional development planning

Teaching and learning methods used

-Work-based learning including teaching/supporting learning practice (15 hours minimum)
-Observation of your practice as well as your observation of the practice of an experienced peer
-On-line learning of approximately four hours per week
-Self-directed study and recording of on-going reflections on practice for reflective narrative-building and assessment, together with teaching observations and professional practice conversations with your subject mentor or educational development tutor, will comprise the remaining hours of this 20-credit module

The sessions will all take place on-line; however, when your teaching/supporting learning session is observed, your tutor will go to the location in which you work. (If you are teaching outside the University of Westminster, you will need to arrange for a tutor from your own institution to observe you.) There will also be a face-to-face Induction session which you will be invited to attend.

Assessment

Assessment is wholly coursework based; there are no examinations.
-The assessment will include formative piece of work that is compulsory but ungraded and which is submitted for feedback
-The final assessment is a reflexive narrative that integrates theory and practice supported by practice-based feedback from different sources. These will include two teaching practice observations by an experienced peer in your workplace (one of which may be a WEx tutor) plus your observation of an experienced peer.

The narrative will provide a place for you to evidence your continuing professional development in teaching and supporting learning.

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Our blended learning PGCert Teaching and Learning in Biology, Medicine and Health course will give you the skills and knowledge to become a world-class educator in biology, medicine and healthcare.

You will develop the skills you need to educate future professionals who will go on to meet the health and social care needs of the most vulnerable people in our society.

Inter-professional learning is central to the ethos of the course and provides the added value of learning alongside colleagues from other disciplines. You will benefit from the wisdom and experience of your peers, as well as the expertise offered by healthcare teaching professionals.

You can take this PGCert on its own or as part of our 4 Year International PhD .

Teaching and learning

Each unit will use a blended learning approach, with a number of face-to-face teaching sessions, pre-sessional tasks and flip teaching.

Online learning will take place via the Blackboard platform.

Coursework and assessment

There will be formative and summative assessments for each unit. Throughout the course, you will be asked to complete a reflective learning log.

Course unit details

Introduction to Reflective Teaching and Learning Practice

The course unit aims to:

• introduce you to current theoretical concepts in teaching and learning, encouraging you to apply the theory to your own teaching practice;
• encourage you to engage in reflective practice as an educator;
• prepare you for observed teaching practice;
• introduce you to higher education principles that apply to developments in your discipline area.

Evidence-based Teaching and Learning

The course unit aims to:

• critically explore the relationship between teaching and learning theories and your own teaching practice;plan for effective teaching and learning;
• critically assess the utility of a variety of teaching methods;
• explore the issues around incorporating diversity and equality into teaching;
• develop your awareness of learning technologies and their potential for appropriate teaching and learning.

Curriculum Development and Teaching Methodology

The course unit aims to:

• critically analyse a range of teaching and learning methods;
• improve your understanding of the appropriate teaching methods to enhance learning within healthcare settings;
• assess the issues in inter-professional, education, mentoring and professionalism;
• provide you with an understanding of the principles of curriculum design and course development.

Assessment and Feedback

The course unit aims to:

• introduce assessment within the context of teaching within higher education;
• evaluate a range of relevant literature on assessment in biology, medicine and health;
• critically evaluate current practices of assessment;
• improve your understanding of how assessment fits into the broader remit of evaluation and quality assurance;
• provide you with an understanding of the impact and value of giving feedback.

Delivering Teaching and Facilitating Learning in Practice

This course unit aims to:

• enable you to develop the skills necessary to support the teaching learning and assessment of healthcare students as part of an effective, supportive and dynamic learning process;
• empower you to critically analyse your role as a teacher and assessor of healthcare students in theory and clinical practice;
• develop creative, innovative approaches to supporting, assessing and managing the learning process;
• ensure you become a critically reflective educator able to deliver effective, robust, innovative and dynamic educational events, units of learning and educational curricula as part of a period of educational teaching practice.

Facilities

Manchester has a range of facilities for students on our postgraduate taught courses.

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: [email protected]

CPD opportunities

Individual units can be made available for CPD. Please contact us for further information.

Accrediting organisations

• Higher Education Academy
• NMC

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The MSc Clinical Medicine (Teaching and Learning) has been developed by practicing NHS Consultants and Health Academics in consultation with National Health Service (NHS) Trust Partners. The course is designed for Medical Doctors and other Healthcare Professionals

who are looking to develop and refine their teaching and learning, research skills and develop understanding of effective teamwork and best practice. The MSc Clinical Medicine (Teaching and Learning) aims to enhance teaching, learning and research skills, thereby, facilitating personal and professional development and strengthening participants’ ability to bring about positive change, solve problems effectively, and ensure patient safety.

The Teaching and Learning Masters will be differentiated from the other Masters routes by its structure, by the demonstration of a deepening understanding of self-development as a reflective learner and as a clinical teacher utilising modules 7ED001 (Critical Reflection & Reflexivity in Professional Learning) and 7HR013 (Design and Deliver Medical Education) and within the Masters dissertation in module 7HW015.

This course has a strong emphasis on the evaluation and development of both clinical practice, research, and encourages participants to reflect critically on workplace experiences and learning. For participants, the course aims to provide a clear framework which supports CPD, recognition of prior learning and work based learning.

The course aims to provide a route for Doctors who wish to take a different speciality, to change medical career routes and for Doctors seeking further accreditation of subspecialty expertise.

What skills will you gain?

Postgraduate Certificate

At the end of 60 credits at level 7 you, the student, will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a systematic understanding of knowledge, and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights, much of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of your academic discipline, field of study or area of professional practice with a conceptual understanding that enables the student:

• to critically evaluate current research and advanced scholarship in Teaching and Learning.
• to evaluate methodologies and develop critiques of them and, where appropriate, to propose new hypotheses in Teaching and Learning.

2. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of techniques applicable to your own research or advanced scholarship and ability to continue to advance your knowledge and understanding, and to develop new skills to a high level.

3. Demonstrate originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in the discipline.

4. Ability to deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively, make sound judgements in the absence of complete data, and communicate your conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

5. Demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks at a professional or equivalent level.

6. Demonstrate the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring:

• the exercise of initiative and personal responsibility
• decision-making in complex and unpredictable situations
• the independent learning ability required for continuing professional development including reflection and self-awareness.

Postgraduate Diploma

At the end of 120 credits at level 7 you, the student, will be able to

1. Demonstrate a systematic understanding of knowledge, and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights, much of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of your academic discipline, field of study or area of professional practice with a conceptual understanding that enables the student:

• to critically evaluate current research and advanced scholarship in Teaching and Learning
• to evaluate methodologies and develop critiques of them and, where appropriate, to propose new hypotheses.

2. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of techniques applicable to your own research or advanced scholarship and ability to continue to advance your knowledge and understanding, and to develop new skills to a high level.

3. Demonstrate originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in Teaching and Learning.

4. Ability to deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively, make sound judgements in the absence of complete data, and communicate your conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

5. Demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks at a professional or equivalent level.

6. Demonstrate the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring:

• the exercise of initiative and personal responsibility
• decision-making in complex and unpredictable situations
• the independent learning ability required for continuing professional development.

Master’s Degree

At the end of 180 credits at level 7 you, the student, will be able to:

1. Critically apply knowledge, understanding, and skills appropriate to a professional clinical role within the healthcare context.

• Critically debate the key concepts and theoretical positions that have been developed or are developing with a focus relevant to Teaching and Learning.
• Critically reflect on the academic and practical application of theories and practices in the healthcare context with a focus relevant to Teaching and Learning.
• Analyse theory and context, delivering findings through effective presentation media, to become a confident, digitally literate and innovative clinical professional utilising the skills derived from the learning within Teaching and Learning.
• Critically appraise professional standards within the health sector and recognise obligations to stakeholders, the profession and society professional utilising the skills derived from the learning within Teaching and Learning.
• Synthesise relevant critical thinking through academic research completing an independent research project/dissertation at master’s level within Teaching and Learning.

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The Programme is based on the strengths in research of the Faculty of Education: learning research, learning environments and research of educational systems. The degree studies will both enhance the students’ understanding of social functions of education and familiarise them with analyses on global and local relationships in educational policy. In addition, the Programme increases their understanding of learning and motivation in complex and multilevel learning environments.

Throughout the studies, a strong emphasis is placed on students’ research skills. The applicants also have the possibility to apply for a double degree option called the Finnish-German Master Programme in Education, where a part of the degree studies is completed at the University of Regensburg, Germany.

Academic excellence and experience

The Master’s degree in Education and Learning is a two year programme which trains experts and researchers for various national and international tasks in the field of education. The Programme concentrates on the leading research of the Faculty of Education: learning research, learning environments and educational systems research.

The studies will give you an in-depth insight into education on a macro-level as well as into individual learning. On the macro-level, the studies will enhance your understanding of social functions of education and familiarise you with analyses on global and local relationships in educational policy.

You will also learn to analyse and explain findings of international assessment studies. On a micro-level, you will increase your understanding of learning and motivation in complex and multilevel learning environments.

Throughout the studies, strong emphasis is placed on students’ research skills.

There are two research units at the Faculty which contribute to these various branches:

• Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning and Education (CELE)
• Centre for Learning Research.

The high-quality research at the Faculty of Education is internationally recognised and its scope covers the entire human life-span.

The main themes of our research are learning, education policy and education systems, and teaching and teacherhood.

Master's thesis and topics

Students complete a Master’s thesis as part of the advanced studies in the field of educational science. A Master’s thesis should demonstrate the student’s:

• ability for scientific thinking
• mastery of the required research methods
• familiarity with the topic of the thesis
• the ability to communicate in a scientific context.

There are two key research areas for Master’s theses in the Programme: 1) research on learning and instruction, and 2) research on educational policy and sociology of education.

Examples of thesis topics:

• Attendance Policy Moderates the Influence of Achievement Goals and Transfer of Training.
• Analysis of educational transfer and policy changes after PISA in Japan and Finland.
• Achievement goals, learning strategies and exam performance in English learning : a study among undergraduate EFL learners in China.
• Children with hearing problems in elementary school environments in Pakistan and in Finland.
• Developmental trajectories towards the concept of rational numbers : a latent transition analysis of third to sixth grade students.
• Extracurricular language activities in higher education : perspectives of teachers and students.

Double degree programme

The applicants can choose an option that leads to two Master’s degrees. This double degree option is called the Finnish-German Master Programme in Education and it leads to the following degrees: Master of Arts in Education from the University of Turku, and Master of Arts Erziehungswissenschaft (Educational Science) from the University of Regensburg, Germany. The studies take two years to complete (120 ECTS credits).

A student who has been admitted to the double degree option studies the 2nd semester at the University of Regensburg, Institute of Education.

The number of students admitted to the Education and Learning programme is 20 at the most: a maximum of 20 students to the single degree option and, among the 20 best scoring applicants, a maximum of 5 students will be admitted to the double degree option.

Competence description

Competence description: The Education and Learning programme trains students to become experts in the areas of research on learning and sociology of education. Students will develop their capability to do analytical and critical research in two key research areas: 1) research on learning and instruction, and 2) research on educational policy and sociology of education.

Job options

Master´s Programme in Education and Learning educates future experts for positions in public, private and civil society sectors. Students graduating from the Programme may work, among others, as

• researchers
• project leaders
• coordinators
• educational consultants
• teachers
• administrators

Career in research

After completing the Master in Education and Learning (Master of Arts), students may pursue postgraduate studies for the Doctorate of Philosophy at the University of Turku.

The Master Graduates are eligible to apply for a position in the University of Turku Graduate School, UTUGS. The Graduate School consists of 16 doctoral programmes which covers all the disciplines and doctoral candidates of the University.

Together with the doctoral programmes, the Graduate School provides systematic and high quality doctoral training. UTUGS aims to train highly qualified experts with the skills required for both professional career in research and other positions of expertise.

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Students can choose to start in September, May or January

About the course

This Sustainable and Efficient Food Production postgraduate course centres on increasing efficiency and reducing environmental impact within the extensive pasture-based production sector. The programme provides flexible, accessible, postgraduate level training for people employed in the agri-food sector. Training comprises distance learning modules and work-based research projects. These are accessible as CPD or as credit-bearing units, which can be built towards a range of postgraduate qualifications.

Taught by experts at both Aberystwyth University (AU) and Bangor University (BU), the Sustainable and Efficient Food Production course offers you a highly vocational option. In the most recent joint submission to the Research Excellence Framework assessment (2014), the department was placed in the top 10 universities in the UK for research intensity and 78% of our research was world-leading or internationally excellent.

To achieve an MSc students must complete five optional modules (including up to three from BU) plus Research Methods and a Dissertation.

Course structure and content

Two to five years to complete a full MSc. 14 weeks for one module by distance learning Three intakes per year (January, May, September). Students will be eligible for a UK Student Loan if the course is completed in 3 years.

Core modules:

Dissertation

Research Methods

Optional modules - Choose any 5 from:

• Climate Change
• Facilitation
• Ruminant Nutrition
• Soil Management
• Sustainable Grassland Systems
• Water & Agriculture
• Carbon Footprinting & LCA
• Global Food Security
• Global Ruminant Production
• Plant Breeding
• Silage Science
• Sustainable Home-Grown Feeds
• Upland Farming Systems
• Anaerobic Digestion (AD)
• Farm Business Management
• Genetics & Genomics
• Organic & Low Input Ruminant Production
• Ruminant Gut Microbiology
• Ruminant Health & Welfare

Contact Time

We have designed our training to be as accessible as possible, particularly for those in full time employment. Each topic comprises a 12-14 week distance learning module worth 20 credits which can be taken for your own continuing professional development or interest; or built towards a postgraduate qualification. The research elements of our qualifications are carried out in your work place with regular academic supervision. The training is web-based which means that as long as you have access to a reasonable broadband connection (i.e. are able to stream videos such as on YouTube), you can study where and when best suits you. Learning material includes podcast lectures, e-group projects, guided reading, interactive workbooks and discussion forums, as well as assignments and e-tutorials. By signing a re-registration form each year you will have access to e-journals and library resources for the full five years.

Assessment

There are no exams within this programme. Taught modules are assessed via course work and forum discussion.

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This MSc teaches advanced analytical and computational skills for success in a data rich world. Designed to be both mathematically rigorous and relevant, the programme covers fundamental aspects of machine learning and statistics, with potential options in information retrieval, bioinformatics, quantitative finance, artificial intelligence and machine vision.

About this degree

The programme aims to provide graduates with the foundational principles and the practical experience needed by employers in the area of machine learning and statistics. Graduates of this programme will have had the opportunity to develop their skills by tackling problems related to industrial needs or to leading-edge research.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of two core modules (30 credits), four to six optional modules (60 to 90 credits), up to two elective modules (up to 30 credits) and a research project (60 credits). Please note that not all combinations of optional modules will be available due to timetabling restrictions.

Core modules

• Supervised Learning (15 credits)
• Statistical Modelling and Data Analysis (15 credits)

Optional modules

Students must choose 15 credits from Group One Options. Of the remaining credits, students must choose a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 60 from Group Two, 15 credits from Group Three and a maximum of 30 credits from Electives.

Group One Options (15 credits)

• Graphical Models (15 credits)
• Probabilistic and Unsupervised Learning (15 credits)

Group Two Options (30 to 60 credits)

• Advanced Deep Learning and Reinforcement Learning (15 credits)
• Advanced Topics in Machine Learning (15 credits)
• Applied Machine Learning (15 credits)
• Approximate Inference and Learning in Probabilistic Models (15 credits)
• Information Retrieval and Data Mining (15 credits)
• Introduction to Deep Learning (15 credits)
• Machine Vision (15 credits)
• Statistical Natural Language Processing (15 credits)

Group Three Options (15 credits)

• Applied Bayesian Methods (15 credits)
• Statistical Design of Investigations (15 credits)
• Statistical Inference (15 credits)

Please note: the availability and delivery of optional modules may vary, depending on your selection.

A list of acceptable elective modules is available on the Departmental page.

Dissertation/report

All MSc students undertake an independent research project, which culminates in a dissertation of 10,000-12,000 words.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, discussions, practical sessions and project work. Student performance is assessed through unseen written examinations, coursework, practical application and the project assessment process.

Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Computational Statistics and Machine Learning MSc

Careers

There is a strong national and international demand for graduates with skills at the interface of traditional statistics and machine learning. Substantial sectors of UK industry, including leading, large companies already make extensive use of computational statistics and machine learning techniques in the course of their business activities. Globally there are a large number of very successful users of this technology, many located in the UK. Areas in which expertise in statistics and machine learning is in particular demand include: finance, banking, insurance, retail, e-commerce, pharmaceuticals, and computer security. Graduates have gone on to further study at, for example, the Universities of Cambridge, Helsinki, Chicago, as well as at UCL. The MSc is also ideal preparation for a PhD, in statistics, machine learning or a related area.

Recent career destinations for this degree

• Data Scientist, Interpretive
• Software Engineer, Google
• Data Scientist, YouGov
• Research Engineer, DeepMind
• PhD in Computer Science, UCL

Employability

Scientific experiments and companies now routinely generate vast databases and machine learning and statistical methodologies are core to their analysis. There is a considerable shortfall in the number of qualified graduates in this area internationally. CSML graduates have been in high demand for PhD positions across the sciences. In London there are many companies looking to understand their customers better who have hired our CSML graduates. Similarly graduates now work in companies in, amongst others, Germany, Iceland, France and the US in large-scale data analysis. The finance sector has also hired several graduates recently.

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.

Why study this degree at UCL?

The Centre for Computational Statistics and Machine Learning (CSML) is a major European Centre for machine learning having coordinated the PASCAL European Network of Excellence.

Coupled with the internationally renowned Gatsby Computational Neuroscience and the Machine Learning Unit, and UCL Statistical Science, this MSc programme draws on world-class research and teaching talents. The centre has excellent links with world-leading companies in internet technology, finance and related information areas.

The programme is designed to train students in both the practical and theoretical sides of machine learning. A significant grounding in computational statistics is also provided.

Research Excellence Framework (REF)

The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The 2014 REF was carried out by the UK's higher education funding bodies, and the results used to allocate research funding from 2015/16.

The following REF score was awarded to the department: Computer Science

96% rated 4* (‘world-leading’) or 3* (‘internationally excellent’)

Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.

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This programme has been designed to provide postgraduate education for current or future practitioners engaged in education, training or business practice relevant to Technology Enhanced Learning.

Course Overview

The programme will be delivered online and will be available to anyone who meets the entry requirements and is professionally engaged in learning support, teaching or training practice. It is highly relevant for professional practitioners who work in learning in a university or college, in business training, public sector services or for people considering moving into one of these areas.

The programme provides theory and practice through experience of a range of learning technologies. It enables learners to explore the processes of designing and implementing technology-enhanced learning and issues concerning the practicalities of professional practice in their own context.

Learners will also develop their academic research skills as postgraduate learners. Learners will participate with other EU and non-EU professionals and with their tutors through a range of innovative online communication technologies. The programme aims to capitalise on a collaborative community of practitioners sharing the diversity of their experiences.

The first year of this three year programme is funded for successful applicants in working in vocational education and training in UK, Cyprus, Greece, Bulgaria and Sweden through the EU Lifelong Learning Programme.

Modules

PART 1
-Designing for Technology Enhanced Learning (30 credits)
-Implementing Technology Enhanced Learning (30 credits)
-Identity, Communities and Networks (30 credits)
-The Practitioner as Researcher (30 credits)

Within part 1 of the programme students undertaking the Postgraduate Diploma or MA must take all part 1 modules. Students who are undertaking a Postgraduate Certificate must take Designing for Technology Enhanced Learning and Implementing Technology Enhanced Learning.

PART 2
-Students undertaking the MA Technology Enhanced Learning take the 60 credit Dissertation module.

Key Features

63% of survey respondents from both the public and private sectors say that technological innovation will have a major influence on teaching methodologies over the next five years and that it will become a core differentiator in attracting students and corporate partners (Economist, 2008).

Technology led learning is continuing to grow at a phenomenal rate and the market for eLearning has exceed $52.6 billion in 2010 (Cegos, 2009). Cegos (2009) indicate the development of professional qualifications to meet the personnel demands of this “star” industry are lagging demand.

As an increasingly preferred approach for delivering training and education (Cedefop, 2010) the HE sector is now responding to the need for qualifications and learning demands of this fast changing sector. This MA Technology Enhanced Learning course is an online programme that is intended to attract a global student body.

Knowledge and understanding is achieved through learning activities that emphasise students’ engagement with research-led resources and dialogue and with each other and their tutor. Resources are made available electronically from a range of different sources including: e-books, electronic journal articles, videos, images, numerical data, voice recordings, transcripts, web applications and web documents, available through the University’s Virtual Learning Environment.

Assessment

The assessment scheme is designed to enable students to demonstrate individually that they have met the aims of the programmes and achieved the learning outcomes at the standard required for the MA. Assessment will also be used to provide feedback to students so as to assist in subsequent learning.

The assessment will enable theory to inform practice, with students demonstrating intellectual rigor and reflecting critically on their own experiences of using technology for learning. The overall assessment package is developed out of an inter-dependent learning culture. The assessment strategy aims to make use of the benefits to be gained from sharing practice in multiple contexts.

Career Opportunities

The MA Technology Enhanced Learning programme combines a theoretical approach with practical skills relevant for the teaching and training sectors and promotes an understanding of key concepts from an applied perspective. Graduates from the programme will have developed transferable employability skills such as research, problem solving, data interpretation and critical thinking as well as gaining the knowledge and practical skills applicable to the sector.

Graduates of the programme are likely to find employment within universities, vocational colleges, HRM departments, training companies and be employed as course managers, lecturers, teachers, instructional designers, authors, TEL Directors, information specialists or media design.

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Course Aims

Learning Technology is a vibrant and maturing field of learning innovation and anyone with a stake in education should develop an awareness and understanding of these new technologies. They can provide innovative approaches that enhance learner experience, and benefit teachers and institutions. Learning Technology offers a state-of-the-art survey of the field, providing you with both theoretical underpinnings and practical hands-on experience of the technologies in different learning contexts.

The programme focuses on topical aspects of e-learning such as:

New approaches to learning design
Technology-enhanced learning spaces
The use of Open Educational Resources (OER) and application for Open Learning
The implications of social and participatory media for learning, teaching and research

Learning Technology is suitable for a range of professionals at all levels of education or training, including primary and secondary schools, further education colleges, universities, community and adult education, corporate, public and not-for-profit organisations.

Course Structure

Technology Enhanced Learning

The first part of the course will give you a broad overview of technologies, their associated characteristics and the ways in which they can be used to foster different pedagogical approaches across different learning contexts.

You will gain experience of a range of technologies, experiment with them and critique their relevance to practice, as well as consider the implications for learning, teaching and research. You will be provided with opportunities to communicate and collaborate with peers through various technologies. Where appropriate, you will benefit from the expertise of the international community via podcasts/videocasts and audio or video conferencing sessions. You will have the opportunity to create your own learning artefacts using different tools and you will be encouraged to become part of the broader TEL community (e.g., ALT, EDEN).

Learning Design for the 21st Century

The second part of the course introduces you to new learning design methodology which guides practitioners in making informed, explicit choices about which technologies can support different forms of learning. You will study through a series of synchronous and asynchronous activities and you will work both independently and, where relevant, in collaborative groups. You will be exposed to the latest research in (and materials on) learning design, drawing in particular on research from Europe and Australia.

You will have the opportunity to explore a range of learning design visualisation and pedagogical planner tools to create your own learning design materials. A range of social networking sites will be used for you to share and discuss your learning materials.

(Please note: due to regular enhancement of the University’s courses, please refer to Leicester’s own website (http://www.le.ac.uk) or/and Terms and Conditions (http://www2.le.ac.uk/legal) for the most accurate and up-to-date course information. We recommend that you familiarise yourself with this information prior to submitting an application.)

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Why this course?

The course is aimed at those involved in the support of teaching professional learning at all stages of a teacher’s career including:

• student and probation mentors
• continuing professional development (CPD) coordinators
• professional review and development (PRD) reviewers
• school leaders
• local authority officers with responsibility for CPD and/or probationer and leadership development

It recognises a widening conception that the role of the teacher includes not only a central role in supporting pupil learning, but also recognises the important role that teachers can play in supporting each other’s learning. Previously, it was assumed that by virtue of knowing how to teach children teachers had also been equipped to support their colleagues’ learning. However, there is growing recognition (Donaldson, 2011; Kennedy et al., 2008) that this important role requires additional specific knowledge, understanding and skills, which form the basis of this Postgraduate Certificate.

The course can also be taken as three modules within a wider Masters programme.

You’ll study

You'll take three modules:

• How Teachers Learn
• Contemporary Contexts for Teacher Learning and Teachers' Work
• Supporting Professional Learning in the Workplace

Accreditation

The Postgraduate Certificate in Supporting Teacher Learning has been accredited by the General Teaching Scotland for Scotland (GTCS) as enabling registered teachers who gain the award to qualify for automatic Professional Recognition from the GTCS.

A key condition of the award of Professional Recognition is that participants must ensure that their engagement with the course forms an integral part of their PRD process. This will be checked formally though submission of a written statement from the line manager as part of the assessment of the work-based project module. Only when this statement has been received, and the participant has passed all three modules, will their name be forward to GTCS for recommendation of the award of Professional Recognition in Supporting Teacher Learning.

Learning & teaching

The course is delivered as eight x three-hour sessions, timetabled ‘out of hours’ (evenings and weekends). These sessions will be face-to-face and will include workshops, lectures and tutorials. Participants will be expected to share experiences and engage with the thinking introduced. Sessions will be supplemented by MyPlace (the University's vitrual learning environment) to ensure access to peers, tutors and materials between class meetings.

Research into teacher learning (Cordingley et al. 2005) concluded that teacher learning is generally more effective when it is both collaborative and sustained over a period of time. The course is designed to enable students to discuss their own reflections as well as to learn from, and contribute to, the learning of their peers. This integration of theory and practice, supported and challenged by peers and tutors, adheres to the principles of learning built on a social constructivist perspective. While students will be learning about how to support the learning of other teachers, they will also be teacher learners themselves, and it will be important that learning and teaching choices made on the course reflect cutting-edge practice.

A vital component of the course, which will contribute towards the sustainability of learning, will be the engagement of students with the wider community of academics, policy-makers and practitioners involved in developing and supporting teacher learning.

Assessment

You'll be assessed through a range of coursework activities, including a portfolio of reflective reading and reflective commentary (module 1), a poster and conference presentation (module 2), and a written report on a learning project undertaken in school (module 3).

You'll give and receive feedback in regular face-to-face sessions through sharing and discussing your thinking around assignments with peers and tutors. 

Careers

Students embarking on this course are already established in their teaching/education careers.

Previous students have obtained promoted posts in schools, with others taking up secondments in universities and other education-related organisations.

As well as gaining valuable knowledge about supporting teacher learning, students report a general enhancement in their professional confidence and their abilities to articulate their views on professional matters.

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Child Psychology: Learning and Learning Disabilities

Learning and developmental disorders that result in under performance in school are a widespread problem. According to expert estimates, eight to ten percent of primary school children are affected by persistent learning difficulties that result in performance deficiencies at school. In many cases also the exceptionally gifted children fail to realize their full potential and are left behind in terms of scholastic achievement. In practice, state of the art research into causal factors and effective support and prevention measures are inadequately implemented. In light of the serious consequences of underperforming in school for future educational and professional opportunities and social participation for those affected and also because of the resulting social costs, there is a very great need for qualified specialists, who can contribute to bridging the gap between research and practice in the field of learning and developmental needs. Participants in this distance learning program acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to fill this need.

Objective

The program teaches practical management skills related to the diagnosis and intervention methods for learning and developmental disabilities in children and adolescents on the basis of comprehensive, science based knowledge of causes, risks, and protective factors on both individual and contextual levels. Graduates will have acquired the knowledge to independently design and implement conditions that benefit children and adolescents and promote learning and development. The course prepares students for careers in the following areas of activity: aacountable work in the fields of diagnostics and intervention, consultant services for institutions and affected people as well as management responsibilities and scientific research in the context of learning and development services. The course culminates in a "Master of Science" (M.Sc.) degree.
According to current guidelines, this program does not license you to bear the professional title “Psychologist”, or to start an advanced vocational training as “Psychological Psychotherapist”.

Target group

The main target group consists primarily of university graduates with a bachelor or higher degree) in psychology, educational science or related disciplines and at least one year relevant professional work experience in the field of educational assessment, diagnostics and intervention in children with learning and developmental disorders.
In exceptional cases, applicants may also be accepted who have relevant work experience but have not graduated for a university. They must have a completed vocational training with qualified results as an educator, a kindergarten teacher, an occupational therapist, a speech therapist or a related profession, followed by at least six years of work experience (four years of which need to be relevant), and the successful completion of an aptitude test.
The course is ideal for applicants with relevant work experience who are currently fulfilling family obligations and want to use this time for their own continuing education.

Program content

The course is divided into the basic modules, advanced modules as well as modules in the areas of practical application. The basic modules communicate contents, objectives and methods of psychological research and the relevant basic know-how in the areas of learning and development. The cognitive, emotional, and motivational determinants of learning and school performance are examined from the perspective of cognitive, developmental and educational psychology.
The subsequent advanced modules deal with comprehensive aspects of learning and developmental disorders, the foundations and methods of educational-psychological diagnostics as well as specific disorders (dyslexia dyscalculia, attention disorders) and giftedness. All advanced modules have the goal of communicating knowledge and skills in the area of evidence-based diagnostics and intervention.
Later the focus is on the practical application of the knowledge and skills acquired. The participants have to complete an internship in the area of learning and development disorders. Another emphasis is put on advanced methods of scientific work and empirical research. The final term is for the preparing and writing the master's thesis. Students are expected to participate in an online colloquium during this phase, at which time the students present their work in the form of presentations, videos, etc. and comment on the work of the other graduates.



This course is held entirely in German.

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The aims of the Health and Social Care Education course are to prepare and develop nurses and midwives who will facilitate, supervise and assess students and critically appraise and evaluate practice teaching from operational and strategic perspectives.

The course is designed to encompass key themes including establishing effective working relationships, creating and maintaining a learning environment, facilitating learning and assessment and evaluating learning by utilising evidence-based practice and leadership strategies within the context of contemporary practice.

Teaching and learning strategies reflect a range of approaches such as, key lectures, group discussion, seminars, reflection and analysis. Action learning sets will be used to allow students to actively engage in problem solving activities.

PROGRAMME AT A GLANCE

• EH4100 Introduction to Learning and Teaching in HE
• EH4101 Teaching, Learning and Assessment (This follows EH4100)
• MW4102 Preparation of Teachers: Health and Social Care Professionals

(NMC Portfolio development continuing throughout the course)

FURTHER INFORMATION

The course covers the following subject areas:

• A critical review of (and opportunity to engage with) contemporary education practices in health and social care.
• Current and future developments in regulation of health and social care education.
• Approaches to curriculum design and delivery.
• Theories and models concerning the nature and processes of teaching, learning, assessment and student support.
• Principles of evidence-based practice and research into learning and teaching issues, including evaluation.
• Quality assurance and enhancement of programmes supporting learning of health and social care professionals.

The course comprises of three modules:

• Introduction to Learning and Teaching in HE aims to provide course members with an overview of teaching and learning issues within the context of Higher Education and specifically at the University of Central Lancashire and to increase confidence to engage with teaching and learning activities and professional practice within a higher education learning environment.
• Teaching, Learning and Assessment links explicitly with Introduction to Learning and Teaching in HE and develops participants' professional practice in the spheres of teaching, learning, assessment and student support.
• Preparation of Teachers: Health and Social Care Professions aims to provide students with an opportunity to critically reflect on the context within which they work in supporting student learning and to assess their academic professional practice against the expectations of professional standards frameworks and role expectations.

The aim of this course is to prepare and develop nurses and midwives working within higher education and clinical practice to meet the UK professional standards framework for learning and teaching in higher education (Higher Education Academy 2006) and Nursing and Midwifery Council professional standards for teachers. The NMC has revised its standards to support learning and teaching in practice (NMC 2006) and as a result, UCLan has created new courses for mentors, practice teachers and teachers. This course focuses on the teacher standard, which is mandatory for those registrants who are teachers employed in higher education and who support students on NMC approved programmes in practice settings. The teacher course may also be accessed by clinical staff who would like to develop their careers in the direction of teaching in higher education.

The course is designed to enable students to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the student learning experience within the context of contemporary academic and practice settings, encompassing key themes including establishing effective working relationships, creating and maintaining a learning environment, facilitating learning and assessment and evaluating learning by utilising evidence-based practice and leadership strategies. On completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Organise and coordinate learning activities in both academic and practice settings.
• Supervise students in learning situations and provide them with constructive feedback on their achievements.
• Set and monitor achievement of realistic learning objectives in theory and practice.
• Assess performance and provide evidence as required of student achievement.
• The course has been mapped against professional standards specifically for Nursing and Midwifery and the Higher Education Academy. In addition the course has also been mapped to the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework.

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Students can choose to start in September, May or January

About the course

This scheme aims to facilitate knowledge exchange between academia and industry. Students must complete three taught modules including research methods and a 120 credit work-based dissertation / research thesis (approximately 20,000 words in length).

While the primary academic focus is on the completion of an advanced piece of research, the collaborative route provided by a work-based research project provides an ideal opportunity to embed new knowledge in the work place and ensure that research is relevant to industry. As such, it is crucial that a student’s employer is supportive of both their research aims and the time commitment that the proposed research will involve. Self-employed students should aim to undertake research which will be closely aligned to their business.

Students may build on the MRes to work towards a Professional Doctorate.

Course structure and content

An MRes can be completed in 2-5 years but we would expect most students to spend 1 year on their taught modules and 2 years on their work based dissertation. 12 or 14 weeks for one module by distance learning. Three intakes per year (January, May, September).

Students will be eligible for a UK Student loan if their course is completed within 3 years.

Core modules:

MRes Research Project

Research Methods

Optional modules:

• Sustainable Home-Grown Feeds
• Climate Change
• Ruminant Nutrition
• Soil Management
• Sustainable Grassland Systems
• Water & Agriculture
• Carbon Footprinting & LCA
• Global Food Security
• Global Ruminant Production
• Plant Breeding
• Silage Science
• Upland Farming Systems
• Anaerobic Digestion (AD)
• Farm Business Management
• Genetics & Genomics
• Organic & Low Input Ruminant Production
• Ruminant Gut Microbiology
• Ruminant Health & Welfare

Contact time

The MRes comprises three taught modules (including Research Methodologies and Advances in Bioscience) followed by a 120 credit work-based dissertation (20,000 words).

We have designed our training to be as accessible as possible, particularly for those in full time employment. Each taught module comprises a 12 or 14 week distance learning module worth 20 credits which can be taken for your own continuing professional development or interest; or built towards a postgraduate qualification. The research elements of our qualifications are carried out in your work place with regular academic supervision. The training is web-based which means that as long as you have access to a reasonable broadband connection (i.e. are able to stream videos such as on YouTube), you can study where and when best suits you. Learning material includes podcast lectures, e-group projects, guided reading, interactive workbooks and discussion forums, as well as assignments and e-tutorials. By signing a re-registration form each year you will have access to e-journals and library resources for the duration of your registration.

Assessment

There are no exams within this programme. Taught modules are assessed via course work and forum discussion. Research is monitored and assessed.

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