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Philosophy of Education MA

London, Bloomsbury

The Philosophy of Education MA is offered by the world-renowned Centre for Philosophy of Education, based within UCL Institute of Education (IOE). Students are offered a comprehensive grounding in the field of philosophy of education. They learn how to apply philosophical research methods to engage critically with contemporary and real-life educational issues in both practice and policy and with the broader social sciences and humanities. The MA develops students’ sensitivity to a diversity of thought-provoking and culturally sensitive viewpoints on education and supports them to increase self-reflection and develop their ability to identify and generate innovative and valuable arguments. 

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)
£32,000
£16,000
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 closed

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

Applications open

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Entry requirements

The minimum requirement for entry to this programme is a second class Bachelor’s degree from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. As the academic content on our MA programmes is demanding, we are particularly looking for applicants with an academic background in philosophy or a related discipline, and/or with relevant professional experience in 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.

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 provides students from a variety of academic backgrounds with a broad literacy across different philosophical literatures and approaches. It aims to support students’ development as active and independent philosophical researchers and writers, able to bring philosophical thinking and methods to bear on a range of practical, policy-based and theoretical problems. 

The course teaches students skills that are transferrable to a vast array of career opportunities. These include analytical and critical skills on how to identify relevant information from both academic and non-academic sources, including those that have traditionally been ignored due to sexist, racist and ableist bias; how to analyse and engage critically with an interdisciplinary and global literature in order to generate original and sophisticated arguments; how to apply general philosophical and social scientific theories to understand specific, real-life problems in education, such as pedagogical challenges in the classroom; how to respect, understand and assess a plurality of methodologies in the social sciences and humanities and value them within the context they were generated; how to communicate arguments effectively and confidently in writing and orally to both academic and non-academic audiences; and how to collaborate with others in research.

Who this course is for

This course is ideal for those interested in understanding how to use philosophy as a lens through which to critically think about and research educational and social issues. Our course will not only be of interest to those currently teaching (in schools, Further Education or Higher Education) who wish to critically and creatively reflect on their own practice, but also to those interested in carrying out further academic research about education, policy, minds or society at doctoral level or within think tanks or policy institutes.

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

What this course will give you

IOE has been ranked the world's number one research institute in education for ten years in a row by QS ranking and the Centre for Philosophy of Education draws together research from across IOE, in additional to its collaboration with a range of national and international partners. Students benefit from being introduced into these collaborations that offer opportunities to engage with broader academic and research networks.

Students will explore mainstream ideas in ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of mind and epistemology, and they will benefit from engaging with contemporary research and questions being tackled across our lively community of academic staff, including our Master’s and Doctoral students.

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

The foundation of your career

Alumni of this course include head teachers and principals, secondary education, special needs education and further education teaching professionals, foreign language teachers, education managers, education advisers and school inspectors, barristers and judges, and business sales executives. (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2017-22)

The best thing about the course was the engagement with the lecturers and the valuable feedback I received. Their sessions fostered stimulating and thought-provoking conversations around particular texts, leaving room for both academic precision and creativity of interpretation.

A woman with long blonde hair wearing a black top, standing in front of a plain light-colored background and looking at the camera with a slight smile.

Agnes Kosek

Philosophy of Education MA, 2025

Read more

Employability

The course teaches students to develop analytical and critical skills, in addition to precise writing, communication, research and collaborative skills. These skills support competencies that have a significant impact on employability. Graduates of this course are currently working across a broad range of areas, including as teachers and senior school leaders, as university lecturers and doctoral researchers, in government, as researchers in policy think tanks, and as youth workers. The course ensures that students are informed about career information sessions that UCL offers. All students are assigned a personal academic tutor who is able to advise on career options and support. 

Networking

The course is part of the Centre for Philosophy of Education, which is closely associated with the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain (PESGB), a leading society in the field of philosophy of education in the world. This gives students the opportunity to access extracurricular research events that support their learning, networking and employability. For example, the Centre for Philosophy of Education organises a weekly research seminar inviting external speakers to present their philosophical research on ongoing debates in the field of education. The PESGB organises an annual conference that students can attend (for a fee), as well as many other activities, and sometimes provides opportunities for more active involvement in the running of the organisation.

The course’s location in Bloomsbury means that it is also near some of the most important philosophical societies in Britain, such as the Aristotelian Society and the Royal Institute of Philosophy, providing opportunities for students to attend external research seminars. 

Teaching and learning

Taught sessions typically bring together presentations by the lecturers or another speaker, often reviewing a range of positions and arguments on a topic, and discussion, both as a whole class and in small groups. On occasion students may also be invited in advance to make their own presentation to the group. This is vital to learn how to argue clearly for your own position and to understand the positions and arguments of others.

A variety of assessments are used across the course, depending on the module. Typically, but not always, students can expect a blend of essay writing and oral assessment. Essay writing is a core feature of assessment in philosophical research because it allows staff to assess students’ literature sourcing skills, and ability to generate innovative arguments on the basis of their critical engagement with the literature. Oral assessment, which may take a variety of forms, is important to assess the ability of students to communicate their ideas orally. These are skills that are valued across the job market.

The course is delivered through a variety of learning and teaching strategies, including the delivery of interactive lectures, student-led research sessions and research seminars with external invited speakers working at the forefront of philosophy of education. Students typically have 3 contact hours per week for each of their taught modules. At the same time, the course gives the student time to work independently on reading and writing. While individual needs and work habits will differ, to make the kind of progress that is required at Master's level, the student should assign 10-15 hours per week to independent study if enrolled as a full-time student and 8-10 hours per week to independent study if enrolled as a part-time student, in addition to formally timetabled classes and individual tutorials.

Modules

The course is structured by three compulsory modules and two optional modules. Full-time students take the compulsory modules "Values, Aims and Society" in their first term and “Knowledge, Mind and Understanding” in the second term. In the first term, they also commence work on their dissertation or report through a number of staff and student led research seminars. Students then take two further optional modules in either term one or two.

Part-time students will take the compulsory module, "Values, Aims and Society" in the first term of Year 1. They will normally then take “Knowledge, Mind and Understanding”, and further optional modules over their two years on the course. For part-time students, dissertation supervision does not commence until the start of the second year.

Flexible students will take the compulsory module, "Values, Aims and Society" in their first term. They will then take "Knowledge, Mind and Understanding", and further optional modules and a dissertation/report, over the following five-year period.

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 Philosophy of 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.

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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) £32,000 £16,000

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

GREAT Scholarship

NOW CLOSED FOR 2026/27 ENTRY
Value: £10,000 towards tuition fees (1 year)
Criteria Based on both academic merit and financial need
Eligibility: EU, Overseas

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.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • why you want to study Philosophy of Education at graduate level
  • why you want to study Philosophy of Education at UCL
  • what particularly attracts you to the 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

Education, Practice and Society
Education, Practice and Society

d.vanello@ucl.ac.uk

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