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Education MA

London, Bloomsbury

The Education MA encourages and enables students to think deeply and critically about education. This stimulating programme supports students in the process of beginning to articulate, explain and justify their own position within the complex and diverse field of education studies.

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)
£39,200
£19,600
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 Bachelor's degree from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. (Please note: one or two optional modules may have additional, specific entry requirements).

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.

This course is suitable for international students on a Student visa – study must be full-time, face-to-face, starting September.

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

The course will support your development as an educational practitioner and researcher in various ways. We encourage and assist you to think deeply and critically about education and support you in the process of beginning to articulate, explain and justify your own position within the complex and diverse field of education studies. We will encourage you to make a contribution to the field of education studies based on a grounded understanding of your own position and drawing on your own contexts. To do this we introduce various themes, such as curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and relationships between education and society, whilst encouraging you to relate these to your chosen contexts.

In addition to the core Education MA, we also have a number of programme routes which will allow you to specialise in a subject area. For more information on these please see the relevant programmes pages:

Who this course is for

This is a broad based, generalist programme suited for those with a serious interest in education practice, policy and research. It suits those aiming to work in education policy, development or research as well as educators looking for career development in a wide range of contexts. The Education MA is not a teacher education programme and, since it does not include a practice component, it is highly unlikely to satisfy teacher certification requirements.

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

What this course will give you

The Education MA is based in the UCL Institute of Education (IOE) - the top place in the world to study Education according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025.

The course draws on the breadth of expertise available in this world-leading centre for education research. The Education MA team is deeply committed to the aims of the course and passionate about the development of their students' understanding.

You will develop a wide range of academic and transferable professional skills that are of great benefit to you whether you go on to further study or work.

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 ioe.ma.education@ucl.ac.uk.

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

The foundation of your career

Most graduates from the Education MA go on to either further study or highly-skilled work. The majority of those in work (over 70%) are in teaching, academic research, higher education or other education related activities (Graduate Outcomes Surveys 2017-2022).

This year has shown me more possibilities for my life, helped me to learn more about myself, my research interests, and my philosophy of education. Also, I think I will gradually achieve my aims step by step.

Yuxin Liu, Education MA student

Yuxin Liu

Education MA

Q&A with Yuxin Liu

Employability

Our Education MA course assists students to develop a wide range of transferable skills including the ability to:

  • think critically 
  • apply principles from one context to another
  • build logical and balanced arguments based on careful consideration of evidence
  • offer creative solutions to complex problems
  • frame research questions, gather evidence and analyse it
  • express ideas clearly in both writing and speaking

Networking

We regularly organise events as part of our MA Education Community, in the past these have included ‘Meet the Researcher’ sessions to learn more about the research being undertaken by staff; social activities and events; and workshops on topics such as ‘Wellbeing’ and ‘Imposter Syndrome.’  

Teaching and learning

Teaching and learning depend on whether you study the course on campus or on a distance-basis. On campus there are a mixture of lectures, seminars and workshops which are supported by independent study and a rich online learning environment. For distance-based students teaching and learning takes place online, with a mixture of ‘live’ or synchronous sessions (which are normally also recorded) and asynchronous activities. In both cases there are opportunities to engage with the lecturing team and fellow students throughout.

Students will have a dissertation supervisor to support them through the development, execution, and writing of their dissertation project. The module includes workshops, lectures, and seminars that provide a foundation in research skills and methods.

Assessments include individual and group work; they vary across different modules and might be comprised of essays, presentations, creation of blog or video posts etc., depending on the module's focus and topic.

Your studies will culminate in a dissertation, typically involving some fieldwork or empirical data collection. This will allow you to explore your interests in-depth and demonstrate the knowledge you've gained throughout the course.

For full-time students, typical contacts hours vary between 8-10 hours per week, depending on the choice of modules. These are normally comprised of a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops, individual and group tutorials and supervision meetings.

Students will also display a level of independent study (25-30 hours per week), for example, by engaging with key topics and required readings in preparation for the discussions promoted in the course.

Modules

The course consists of two compulsory modules (30 credits each), two optional modules (30 credits each) and a dissertation (60 credits). 

 If you complete the programme full-time you will usually take  'What is Education?' and one option module in term 1, 'The Future of Education' and a further option module in term 2.

You will identify a dissertation topic in term 1 and continue to work on your dissertation throughout the rest of the academic year. This is supported by a series of taught workshops that run across all 3 terms.

The course consists of two compulsory modules (30 credits each), two optional modules (30 credits each) and a dissertation (60 credits).

Part-time students typically complete the courses below:

Year 1 – you will complete ‘What is Education?’ in term 1, ‘The Future of Education’ in term 2 and one option module. The option module can be taken in any term, although students usually find it easier to complete one module per term.

Year 2 – you will take your final option module as well as completing the dissertation. You will identify a topic in term 1 and continue to work on your dissertation throughout the rest of the academic year. This is supported by a series of taught workshops that run across all 3 terms. 

We understand some part-time students will study alongside full-time work or other responsibilities and so aim to be as flexible as possible in supporting you to organise your studies around these. All compulsory modules either have face-to-face sessions in the evenings or can be studied online, in your own time. While not all the optional modules can be offered in evenings/online, many are - please get in touch with the course team to discuss which will be available.

The course consists of two compulsory modules (30 credits each), two optional modules (30 credits each) and a dissertation (60 credits). 

Modular/flexible students have up to 5 years to complete the course. We require that ‘What is Education?’ is the first module to be completed and in normal circumstances the dissertation should be completed last.

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.

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.

Where you'll study

Person looking at a paper

The Department of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment brings together world-leading research, teaching and learning, which reflects our expertise in and contributes to high quality education, teaching and teacher development. We specialise in geography, economics, business, mathematics, history, religious education, citizenship, science, assessment and curriculum studies in education.

Find out more about the Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment department

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) £39,200 £19,600

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.

You would be responsible for covering any travel, accommodation, and other expenses involved in conducting research for your dissertation. Such costs would be entirely optional - there is no expectation that you will need to carry out research which incurs any additional costs.

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

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 course of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

Prospective 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.

You are required to submit a personal statement, typed and no longer than two sides of A4 paper, which can be uploaded on the admissions portal.

The personal statement should clearly address the questions below. It should not include descriptive biographical detail that does not directly help you answer these questions.

  • Why do you want to study Education?
  • Why do you want study the Education MA degree at IOE?
  • How does your academic and professional background prepare you to meet the challenges of studying for our degree?
  • What professional and personal benefits do you hope to gain from your studies with us?

We are not usually able to consider late applications.

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

ioe.ma.education@ucl.ac.uk

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