Education - MA

The Department of Education offers a one-year full-time (12 month) MA in Education programme.

Programme aims

The main focus of the MA in Education (MAE) is its emphasis on educational research and the grounding it provides students for conducting their own small-scale research projects in a wide range of educational settings. Such studies can focus on current developments in education and issues of immediate concern to students themselves. As such, as well as providing a coherent and satisfying educational experience in its own right, the MAE can serve as an excellent introduction to work at PhD level.

Applicants are strongly advised to ensure that they submit applications no later than 1 September if they wish to begin a course of study beginning in the same year. No guarantee can be offered that applications received after this date will be processed for a September start date.

Programme Content

Term 1
-Research methods in education (20 credits)
-Teaching and Learning in Schools (20 credits)
-One option module (20 credits)

Term 2
-Theories of learning and development (20 credits)
-One option module (20 credits)

Term 3
-Planning and Communicating Research (20 credits)

The classes are spread over Terms 2 and 3. Students also undertake their own research projects under the guidance of a supervisor, leading to the writing of a dissertation (60 credits) based on a research study to be submitted by early September. This is a major piece of work which involves developing research questions, deciding an appropriate methodology and conducting a piece of sustained original research. Examples of dissertations recently completed by students includes:
-Teaching English Language for Cultural Understanding
-Identity and Language Learning
-Reforming Mathematics Education
-Practical Work in School Science Teaching
-Education Reform in Rural China

In addition to the scheduled programme sessions, there will be regular opportunities for students to share and exchange research concerns and to hear members of staff and visiting speakers talk on research matters.

Assessment

Students complete:
-Four assessed essay assignments (each 4,000 - 5,000 words in length)
-An exam in Research Methods in Education
-An assessed presentation + dissertation outline + ethics audit
-A dissertation of 12,000 words

Careers

Our graduates find employment in a wide range of sectors within education, but also in journalism, information management, human resources and other careers.