Social Justice and Education MA

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The Social Justice and Education MA will help students to identify, examine and understand key sociological and philosophical perspectives on social justice, including issues of race, class, gender and sexuality, and education. Participants will explore the personal and political dimensions of social justice concerns and develop their professional, practical and research skills in this area.

About this degree

This programme provides students with the opportunity to address, in a unique way, the complex links between social justice and education, focusing on key current policy and political debates about the role of education. They will also be able to develop, extend and reflect on their own professional interests, concerns and practice and how to address pressing issues of social justice in their everyday professional and personal lives. Through their engagement with cutting-edge research in this area they will learn tools for fighting for social justice and transformation in the educational areas relevant for them.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of two core modules (60 credits), two optional modules (60 credits) and a dissertation (60 credits), or a report (30 credits) and a third optional module (30 credits).

_{Compulsory modules}

• Sociology of Education
• Understanding Education Research

_{Optional modules}

Students can choose optional modules from the list below and from a range of modules from the UCL Institute of Education, subject to availability.

• Rights and Education
• Gender, Sexuality and Education
• Sociology of Race and Education
• Understanding Education Policy
• Theoretical Foundations of Educational Ideas

Visit the UCL Institute of Education website for more information, including module descriptions, which can be seen by clicking on the module title.

_{Dissertation/report}

All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of 20,000 words or a report of 10,000 words.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of face-to-face evening sessions and interactive online learning using a variety of teaching and learning styles. Sometimes a conventional lecture-based approach is taken, with the aim of providing an overview of the field. Lectures are usually followed by open discussion or group work. At other times a seminar format is adopted involving, for example, group discussion of set reading, a video or an introductory presentation. Assessment is through coursework essay assignments, plus submission of a report or dissertation.

Funding

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

Careers

Graduates of this programme are currently working across a broad range of areas. Some are leaders, managers, teachers and practitioners in the compulsory education sector across international contexts. Many are working as professionals in NGO organisations specialising in social justice across many countries such as Chile, Japan, Canada and the UK. Graduates can also be found working as civil servants and government officials. In addition, many find places in the higher education sector including across a range of professional roles, as researchers, and as university lecturers worldwide.

Employability

Students develop the capacity to:

• reflect critically on debates concerning education and social justice across diverse contexts
• understand the ways in which knowledge forms, and is formed by, education politics, policy, practice and research 
• consider the implications of theory, research and analyses about social justice in education and how it can impact their own future practice and professional development
• use oral and written communication skills in order to make arguments, examine evidence and creatively advance social justice and education
• understand processes entailed in social science and philosophical research and conduct their own unique research in the area of social justice and education.

Why study this degree at UCL?

The Department of Education, Practice and Society at UCL Institute of Education (IOE) is home to an interdisciplinary grouping bringing together high-quality teaching and research in the sociology, philosophy and history of education, international development, post-compulsory and vocational education and higher education. The programme is mainly taught by staff in the Centre for Sociology of Education and Equity.

The Social Justice and Education MA is taught by world-leading sociologists and philosophers within the department who have expertise in theory, research methods, policy analysis and impacting social change. They are experts in issues such as equality and human rights, gender, 'race', sexuality, youth, disability and social class. Those teaching are active researchers and will introduce the latest research and developments in their fields.

This programme explores sociological and philosophical perspectives on social justice and equalities and also explores processes of social transformation and change. Key issues debated include understanding and responding to social and educational disparities in international contexts. The programme equips students with essential theoretical and methodological research skills for critically engaging with social justice issues including understanding power relations from various perspectives. . 

Department: Education, Practice & Society

Applications

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £75 for online applications and £100 for paper applications. Further information can be found at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/taught/application.

Who can apply?

This programme is suited to teachers and education-related professionals from any international context. Those who are interested in working in social justice sectors, including NGOs, are well placed for this programme. It is also ideal for those wishing to gain high-level research skills in the area of social justice and education. 

Application deadlines

26 July 2019

For more information see our Applications page.

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What are we looking for?

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

• why you want to study Social Justice and Education at graduate level
• why you want to study Social Justice and Education at UCL
• what particularly attracts you to the chosen programme
• how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this challenging programme
• where you would like to go professionally with your degree.

Visit the Social Justice and Education MA page on the University College London website for more details!