Higher Education MA

About the course

Whether you’re a newly qualified or experienced member of staff teaching on higher education programmes, this course allows you to work towards being awarded your all-important Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (HEA).

HEA Fellowship brings a range of benefits to develop and progress your career. It provides a valuable measure of success and is increasingly sought by employers across the higher education sector as a condition of appointment and promotion. The Higher Education Academy works with higher education providers and organisations to improve the professional experience of HE teachers through fellowships, accreditation, awards and professional development provision.

The Higher Education MA provides a flexible development programme in teaching and learning for staff already teaching higher education courses. The course aims to enable you to become a competent and skilled practitioner in all aspects of teaching, learning and assessment in higher education.

You’ll be encouraged to embrace professional values and attitudes to teaching, learning and assessment and the course provides a framework which enables you to do this. Through this process you’ll be encouraged to reflect upon your own professional experiences and set up your own targets for professional development. This enables you to evidence engagement with the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) and gain Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.

You’ll be taught by an outstanding team of teachers; in fact we've been ranked 4th in the country for Education in the Guardian University Guide to Higher Education 2018. This puts our education programmes amongst the very best in the UK along with Cambridge, Durham, Reading and Birmingham. You’ll also have access to our extensive professional and academic network which feeds directly into course design and delivery and to excellent facilities and specialist equipment.

Course detail

Year 1

Core modules:

•  Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
•  Supporting and Assessing Students in Higher Education

Year 2

Option modules:

Choose two from a list which may include -

•  Critical Social Policy in Education and Public Services
•  Comparative Approaches to Learning
•  Developing Effective Leadership
•  E-Tutoring
•  Education Society and Development
•  International Approaches to Early Childhood Education
•  Introduction to Action Research
•  Managing Learning and Development in Organisations
•  Mentoring and Coaching
•  Methods of Enquiry
•  Understanding E-Learning

Year 3

Core module:

•  Dissertation

Inspire Conference module:

If you are a member of staff at the University of Huddersfield and you’re already a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, there’s an alternative route to gain the PGCHE. You’ll be able to take the Inspire Conference module. This module provides the opportunity to develop a creative teaching and learning session, which you’ll present at an in-house conference at the end of the course.You'll produce a conference paper which will present an evaluation of the teaching and learning development you have undertaken.To be successfully awarded the PGCHE, students use their Fellowship status to put together an APEL claim, which if successful, gives them 40 credits at Masters Level.The remaining 20 credits needed to make up the PGCHE will be awarded if a student successfully passes the Inspire Conference module.

Our full MA programme normally takes three years to complete. We recognise the pressures on busy part-time students and professionals, so offer interim awards of the Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert) or PGCHE in year 1, the Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) in year 2 and then progression onto the MA after successful completion of these interim awards.

Students gain Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (HEA)after successfully completing year 1.

A number of assessment methods may be used on the course including: assignments; essays; evaluative reports; mini projects; reflective commentaries/discussions and written seminar papers.

Your career

A postgraduate qualification is a great way to stand out from your colleagues and position yourself for a promotion or pursue a career change. In fact, here at Huddersfield, 94.8% of our postgraduates find employment or go onto further study within six months of graduating. 9 in 10 of them go onto work in professional or managerial roles.

Professional links and accreditations

Students gain Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) after successfully completing year 1. This accreditation is reviewed on a regular basis.

Career support

This MA course provides you with a broad range of module options allowing you the opportunity to tailor the programme to suit your current role and/or future career ambitions. Successful study at this level supports you in your current role, helps give you the confidence to tackle a wide range of workplace challenges and supports you in taking advantage of wider promotional and developmental opportunities.

The course offers a recognised qualification, a broadening of horizons and a chance to pursue particular areas of interest.

Inspiring Graduate

Our graduates go on to succeed in a whole range of exciting careers. Here’s just one example.

As a graduate of the University of Huddersfield you’ll also become a member of our alumni community, allowing you to stay in touch and continue to access university services.

"My dissertation allowed me to focus on a live research project which aimed to improve teaching for pupils with the weakest numeracy. I also completed two shorter assignments as part of the course. Everything was focused on improving current practice within my school. I've just accepted a new position as Director of Maths at the Ruth Gorse Academy in Leeds. Gaining my MA qualification has had a great impact on my career so far." - Chris Bateman, Action Research for Education MA

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

Visit the Higher Education MA page on the University of Huddersfield website for more details!