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Education (Citizenship) MA

London, Bloomsbury

Nearly everyone is a citizen of somewhere. But what does it mean to be a citizen and how should/do education systems develop citizenship? On this small and friendly MA route, students explore the key concepts involved in understanding citizenship education. They develop an understanding of contemporary issues and key research findings in citizenship education and related areas, and are supported to apply this knowledge in practice in educational settings and related contexts.

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2026/27)
£14,200
£7,100
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)
£35,400
£17,700
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Duration
1 calendar year
2 calendar years
5 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2026
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 26 Jun 2026
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 28 Aug 2026
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A minimum of a second-class UK Bachelor's degree in a relevant subject or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard and a developed interest in citizenship education (usually evidenced by teaching experience or by experience related to education).

The English language level for this course is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

On the Education (Citizenship) MA, students explore some of the educational, political and philosophical debates that have influenced the curriculum and the learning and teaching of citizenship education in schools, colleges and related settings. Students are encouraged to critically reflect on principles, practices and issues that shape and relate to policy and professional practice in citizenship education and to develop theorized and evidence-informed perspectives on policy and practice

Who this course is for

Education (Citizenship) MA is suited to anyone interested in researching citizenship education. It also relevant to teachers of citizenship, to policymakers working in citizenship education, to museum educators, and to others interested in citizenship education working in NGOs and other organisations with educational remits.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

UCL Institute of Education (IOE) is one of the world's leading centres for education and related areas of social science. For the twelfth year in succession IOE has been ranked as the world's leading university for Education (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025).

This Education MA is located in the Department of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment, a world-leading centre for subject-specialist education. By studying the citizenship education route, you will have the opportunity to reflect on theory and practice in citizenship education. Through assignments focused on contemporary research, you will have opportunities to develop theory, and, in some cases, practice, to enhance the quality of the teaching and learning of citizenship in educational settings and related contexts.

You will be encouraged to read widely in specialist literature and be introduced to world-leading theory and research in citizenship education and in education studies more broadly. You will be encouraged to innovate and test ideas and to contribute to ongoing discussions about improving citizenship education.

The Education (Citizenship) MA offers students the opportunity to study face-to-face, to combine online study with face-to-face sessions, or to pursue their studies entirely by online learning. Online learning and blended learning provide access to our courses for students studying at a distance.

With this course, it may be possible to reduce the cost of studying to two-thirds of the total if you already have PGCE Master’s credits. This is valid for up to 5 years after the completion of your PGCE. For more information, please contact Qasir Shah (qasir.shah@ucl.ac.uk).

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Graduates of this course are currently working across a broad range of areas. Some are working as teachers, senior leaders in schools in the UK and internationally, while others work in a range of other educational settings and for governments in curriculum design and related areas.

Employability

The course develops students' ability to think critically and analytically about theory and practice in educational settings and the ability to organise and evaluate empirical and theoretical claims and arguments about educational aims and practices. Students learn to organise, evaluate and present data and argument in robust and critically informed ways and to read, design, conduct and evaluate educational research, taking account of relevant practical, theoretical and ethical issues. In this way the course will prepare students for further study or for work in the field of education.

Networking

Your experiences on the course will involve mixing with the large number of students completing post graduate courses at UCL. In addition, you will work with a range of lecturers, guest lecturers and visiting academics. The Citizenship Education route also involves some sessions with the latest cohort of student teachers who are training to be citizenship teachers in the UK.

Teaching and learning

A range of teaching and learning methods will be used across different modules. The Teaching Controversial Issues (compulsory module) involves a range of activities including group and whole class discussions, silent debates and formal debates which are intended to mirror the ways teachers would approach different topics in schools.

Students will have a dissertation supervisor to support them through the development, execution, and writing of their dissertation project. These supervisions can be conducted face-to-face and/or online. The module includes workshops, lectures, and seminars that provide a foundation in research skills and methods.

Modules will include various forms of assessment, depending on their focus and topic.

The dissertation module supports students in undertaking an original, independent scholarly investigation in the field of education. Students often choose a dissertation topic relevant to their personal and professional interests, typically involving some fieldwork or empirical data collection.

Each 30-credit module has 300 nominal learning hours. This is made up of formal learning and teaching events such as lectures, seminars, tutorials as well independent study.

During your study at UCL, as a full time, in person student you will be expected to study approximately 36 hours per week. During term time these hours will include around 10 hours of direct contact times per week consisting of lectures, seminars and tutorials. The rest of the time will involve self-directed study. The pattern of contact and study hours will differ for part-time and distance learning students, however they will still be based around the model of 300 learning hours per module.

Modules

The course consists of two compulsory modules (30 credits each), and two optional modules (30 credits each) and a dissertation (60 credits). The overall structure of the course is as follows:

  • What is Education? (compulsory)
  • Teaching Controversial Issues (compulsory)
  • Dissertation on Education (compulsory)
  • Two optional modules

The Education (Citizenship) MA can be studied full-time within one academic year. If you complete the course full-time you will usually take two modules in the Autumn term and two in the Spring term.

Students are free to select their optional modules from the wider range of MA level modules offered across IOE/UCL subject to availability.

The course consists of two compulsory modules (30 credits each), and two optional modules (30 credits each) and a dissertation (60 credits). The overall structure of the course is as follows:

  • What is Education? (compulsory)
  • Teaching Controversial Issues (compulsory)
  • Dissertation on Education (compulsory)
  • Two optional modules

The Education (Citizenship) MA can be studied part-time, the learning is spread out over 2 consecutive academic years. In year one, you take 3 modules (90 credits) and in year two you take one module (30 credits) and a dissertation (60 credits). The dissertation must be completed in the second year of study.

You can choose the order in which the modules are taken (provided they are available in the relevant term). Students are free to select their optional modules from the wider range of MA level modules offered across IOE/UCL subject to availability.

The course consists of two compulsory modules (30 credits each), and two optional modules (30 credits each) and a dissertation (60 credits). The overall structure of the course is as follows:

  • What is Education? (compulsory)
  • Teaching Controversial Issues (compulsory)
  • Dissertation on Education (compulsory)
  • Two optional modules

The Education (Citizenship) MA can be studied on a modular/flexible basis, with up to five years to complete the program. You must complete your dissertation in your final year of study.

You can choose the order in which the modules are taken (provided they are available in the relevant term). Students are free to select one of their optional modules from the wider range of MA level modules offered across IOE/UCL subject to availability.

Compulsory modules





Optional modules


























Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MA in Education (Citizenship).

Accessibility

The department will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergence, learning differences and mental health conditions. This list is not exhaustive. If you're unsure of your eligibility for reasonable adjustments at UCL, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

Reasonable adjustments are implemented on a case-by-case basis. With the student's consent, reasonable adjustments are considered by UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services, and where required, in collaboration with the respective department.

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information about support available can be obtained from UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

For more information about the department and accessibility arrangements for your course, please contact the department.

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All open days and events

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Graduate Open Events: Education MA (also includes routes)

Are you interested in furthering your career in education and making a difference in the UK or worldwide? Meet our academics, hear about the courses you are interested in and have the chance to ask any questions you might have. Be inspired by our wide-ranging and flexible courses run by leading academics.

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Graduate Open Events: Global Learning MA

Are you interested in furthering your career in education and making a difference in the UK or worldwide? Meet our academics, hear about the courses you are interested in and have the chance to ask any questions you might have. Be inspired by our wide-ranging and flexible courses run by leading academics.

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Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2026/27) £14,200 £7,100
Tuition fees (2026/27) £35,400 £17,700

Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.

Postgraduate Taught students benefit from a cohort guarantee, meaning that their tuition fees will not increase during the course of the programme, but UCL reserves the right to increase tuition fees to reflect any sums (including levies, taxes, or similar financial charges) that UCL is required to pay any governmental authority in connection with tuition fees.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Where the course is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of UK, a fee deposit will be charged at 2.5% of the first year fee.

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of Overseas, a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

For modular/flexible offer holders with a fee status classification of UK, a £350 deposit will be charged.

For modular/flexible offer holders with a fee status classification of Overseas, a £500 deposit will be charged.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

Students are responsible for covering any travel, accommodation, and other expenses involved in conducting research for their dissertation, and should account for these costs when planning their finances.

For in-person teaching, UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £119.90. This price was published by TfL in 2025. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

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

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Next steps

There is an application processing fee for this course of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

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

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this course match what the course will deliver.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate courses (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2026-2027

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment
Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment

qasir.shah.14@ucl.ac.uk

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