Education, Society and Culture BA Education, Society and Culture with Study Abroad BA
This interdisciplinary course equips you with critical tools to examine education, society and culture at the world‑leading UCL Institute of Education. Drawing on history, philosophy, sociology and psychology, it allows you to follow your interests as you gain subject-specific and transferrable skills. Students can apply for a range of optional study abroad opportunities – from short term internships to a full year abroad at one of UCL’s partner universities. Students who opt for a full year abroad will complete four years of study in total.
Key information
Key information
Entry requirements
Please note that the study options available after enrolment to this course may have additional requirements. Choose a study option for full details.
- Grades
- ABB
- Subjects
- A Social Science, Classics, English Literature, English Language or Business Studies preferred.
- Subjects
- A Social Science, Classics, English Literature, English Language or Business Studies preferred.
- GCSEs
- English Language at grade B or 6 and Mathematics at grade C or 4
Contextual offer
- Grades
- BBB
- Subjects
- Social Science, Classics, English Literature, English Language or Business Studies preferred.
- Subjects
- Social Science, Classics, English Literature, English Language or Business Studies preferred.
- GCSEs
- English Language and Mathematics at grade C or 4
At least two A level subjects should be taken from UCL's list of preferred A level subjects.
- Points
- 34
- Subjects
- A total of 16 points in three higher level subjects, with no higher level score below 5. Higher levels in Social Science, Classics, English Literature, English Language or Business Studies preferred.
- Subjects
- A total of 16 points in three higher level subjects, with no higher level score below 5. Higher levels in Social Science, Classics, English Literature, English Language or Business Studies preferred.
Contextual offer
- Points
- 32
- Subjects
- A total of 15 points in three higher level subjects, with no higher level score below 5. Higher levels in Social Science, Classics, English Literature, English Language or Business Studies preferred.
- Subjects
- A total of 15 points in three higher level subjects, with no higher level score below 5. Higher levels in Social Science, Classics, English Literature, English Language or Business Studies preferred.
The English language level for this programme is: Level 3
Information about the evidence required, acceptable qualifications and test providers can be found on our English language requirements page.
A variety of English language programmes are offered at the UCL Centre for Languages and International Education.
The Undergraduate Preparatory Certificates (UPC) prepare international students for a UCL undergraduate degree who do not have the qualifications to enter directly. These intensive one-year foundation courses are taught on our central London campus.
Typical UPC students will be high achievers in a 12-year school system which does not meet the standard required for direct entry to UCL.
For more information see: ucl.ac.uk/upc.
Additional requirements for Education, Society and Culture with Study Abroad BA
Entry to this study abroad option is subject to competitive selection and good study results in your first year of studies.
Please see details of Education, Society and Culture BA for the entry requirements of the overall course.
About this course
This is an interdisciplinary course, which is structured to give a broad set of social science skills which will aid you in becoming educational practitioners, social science researchers and policy makers. You will be introduced to a variety of theoretical frameworks, and learn how to think about, write about and analyse the ways in which humans develop and flourish throughout their lives across social and cultural contexts and institutions.
You will benefit from world-leading teaching. UCL Institute of Education has ranked No.1 in the world for Education for 13 consecutive years (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2025).
Please note that this degree does not lead to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), but you can apply for a one-year teacher training course in primary and a limited number of secondary subjects after completing the degree, if you so wish.
This is an interdisciplinary course, which is structured to give a broad set of social science skills which will aid you in becoming educational practitioners, social science researchers and policy makers. You will be introduced to a variety of theoretical frameworks, and learn how to think about, write about and analyse the ways in which humans develop and flourish throughout their lives across social and cultural contexts and institutions.
You will benefit from world-leading teaching. UCL Institute of Education has ranked No.1 in the world for Education for 13 consecutive years (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2025).
Please note that this degree does not lead to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), but students can apply for a one-year teacher training course in primary and a limited number of secondary subjects after completing the degree, if they so wish.
The Education, Society and Culture with Study Abroad BA offers you the opportunity to spend your third year studying abroad at one of UCL’s partner universities in North America or Europe. Following this year abroad, you will spend your final year at UCL, completing your course in four years.
We are seeking students who have a strong interest in education and the ways in which education shapes and is shaped by broader social and cultural factors. We expect candidates to have a keen desire to make a contribution to society, whether in education, policy, research, the creative and cultural industries or other industries. As a highly international programme, we value open-minded candidates who are interested in learning about education practices, policies and systems from around the world, and who want to make contributions at local, national and/or international levels. We seek motivated candidates who work hard to develop their knowledge, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. We expect students to arrive with a high level of spoken English in order to participate in the group discussion and debates that characterise our teaching style.
What our students say
We engage with real-world educational issues that are relevant across global contexts. The programme also highlights education as a means of achieving social justice, demonstrating that its impact goes beyond the traditional classroom setting.
Course structure
Our Year 1 compulsory modules establish a broad-based, globally oriented, interdisciplinary curriculum as well as an introduction to the degree’s core subject disciplines (sociology, psychology, philosophy and history). You will explore topics such as: schooled societies, cultures of knowledge production, and ways educational research is undertaken. Through various Year 1 optional modules, you will also have the opportunity to explore other facets of education.
In Year 2, you will combine compulsory and optional modules to pursue your individual goals and interests, and may have the opportunity to take part in a placement. Each disciplinary focus can be continued or you may opt for an interdisciplinary selection of modules.
In Year 3, students take the compulsory dissertation in which you will conduct independent research into a specific topic with support from an academic supervisor. Alongside this there are further opportunities to either follow a disciplinary focus or to explore more widely.
Course structure
Years 1, 2 and 4:
Each year, you will have the opportunity to take modules exploring education, society and culture through a range of academic disciplines, including sociology, psychology, history and philosophy.
Year 1 provides you with a firm foundation in core issues, theories and concepts related to education and its role in societies and cultures around the world.
In Year 2, you will develop your research skills while continuing to take a broad range of education-focused modules. In your second year, you can take modules across the full range of academic disciplines and/or concentrate on specific disciplinary approaches to the study of education. In Year 2 you may also apply for one of our two optional placement modules, which give students the chance to gain hands-on experience working within partner organisations such as schools, community groups, archives, museums, policy institutes, NGOs and organisations based in the voluntary sector
In Year 4, you will conduct an independent research project on a topic of your choosing, supervised and supported one-on-one by an academic member of staff. In this final year of your BA you will also choose from amongst a broad range of education-focused modules, and can apply to take one module from another department.
Year 3:
In Year 3, you will study abroad at one of UCL’s partner universities in North America or Europe. During this time, you can choose your own modules as long as they are linked to education, society or culture.
Modules
In each year of your degree you will take a number of individual modules, normally valued at 15 or 30 credits, adding up to a total of 120 credits for the year. Modules are assessed in the academic year in which they are taken. The balance of compulsory and optional modules varies from programme to programme and year to year. A 30-credit module is considered equivalent to 15 credits in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).
Please note that the list of compulsory modules given here is indicative. Up to 10 optional modules per year are displayed for this course: this may not be the full range of optional modules available for selection. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is 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. For more detail regarding module availability, please contact the department.
Compulsory modules
- Living in a Schooled Society (EDPS0003)
- Foundations in the Sociology of Education (EDPS0004)
- How People Learn (EDPS0006)
- Understanding Education Research: Numbers, Narratives, Knowledge and Nonsense (EDPS0007)
- Introduction to Philosophy of Education with Fiction (EDPS0261)
- Critical Histories of Education, Nation, and Empire (EDPS0267)
Optional modules
- Literacy, Language and Communication (EDPS0005)
- Youth in a Globalising World (EDPS0025)
- Global London: Contemporary Urban Education, Culture and Space (EDPS0247)
- Psychology: The Science of Behaviour 1 (PHDE0067)
- Psychology: The Science of Behaviour 2 (PHDE0068)
Compulsory modules
- Policy and Politics in Education (EDPS0018)
- Global issues in Education (EDPS0266)
Optional modules
- Researching Education and Society: Qualitative Methods (EDPS0009)
- Philosophical Research in Education (EDPS0010)
- Educating and Organising for Social Justice (EDPS0012)
- Archival Research and Oral History in Education (EDPS0013)
- The Learning Sciences (EDPS0014)
- Philosophy, Thought and Perception in Education (EDPS0015)
- Educating Minorities, Migrants and Refugees (EDPS0017)
- Elites, Education and Inequalities (EDPS0020)
- An Introduction to Applied Quantitative Analysis in the Social Sciences (EDPS0216)
- Children with Disabilities: Theory, Politics and Experience (EDPS0217)
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
- Communicating Knowledge: Possibilities and Opportunities (CPAS0681)
- Social History of Learning and Learners (EDPS0011)
- Educating for Employment? Understanding Learning in the 21st Century Economy (EDPS0019)
- Gender, Sexuality and Feminisms in Everyday Lives (EDPS0021)
- Literacies Across the Lifecourse (EDPS0022)
- Media Education in Schools: New Literacies and Production (EDPS0023)
- Radical Education (EDPS0024)
- Youth Cultures and Youth Movements: Sociological and Historical Perspectives (EDPS0026)
- Rights, Equality and Justice in Education (EDPS0027)
- Education, Religion and State: Historical and Contemporary Developments (EDPS0029)
The modules shown below are an indicative list of those currently available as part of the full degree. This includes modules that may be available before selecting a study option and those that may be available after a student moves onto the study option.
Compulsory modules
- Living in a Schooled Society (EDPS0003)
- Foundations in the Sociology of Education (EDPS0004)
- How People Learn (EDPS0006)
- Understanding Education Research: Numbers, Narratives, Knowledge and Nonsense (EDPS0007)
- Introduction to Philosophy of Education with Fiction (EDPS0261)
- Critical Histories of Education, Nation, and Empire (EDPS0267)
Optional modules
- Literacy, Language and Communication (EDPS0005)
- Youth in a Globalising World (EDPS0025)
- Global London: Contemporary Urban Education, Culture and Space (EDPS0247)
- Psychology: The Science of Behaviour 1 (PHDE0067)
- Psychology: The Science of Behaviour 2 (PHDE0068)
Compulsory modules
- Policy and Politics in Education (EDPS0018)
- Global issues in Education (EDPS0266)
Optional modules
- Researching Education and Society: Qualitative Methods (EDPS0009)
- Philosophical Research in Education (EDPS0010)
- Educating and Organising for Social Justice (EDPS0012)
- Archival Research and Oral History in Education (EDPS0013)
- The Learning Sciences (EDPS0014)
- Philosophy, Thought and Perception in Education (EDPS0015)
- Educating Minorities, Migrants and Refugees (EDPS0017)
- Elites, Education and Inequalities (EDPS0020)
- An Introduction to Applied Quantitative Analysis in the Social Sciences (EDPS0216)
- Children with Disabilities: Theory, Politics and Experience (EDPS0217)
Compulsory modules
- BA Education, Society and Culture Year Abroad (EDPS0258)
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
- Communicating Knowledge: Possibilities and Opportunities (CPAS0681)
- Social History of Learning and Learners (EDPS0011)
- Educating for Employment? Understanding Learning in the 21st Century Economy (EDPS0019)
- Gender, Sexuality and Feminisms in Everyday Lives (EDPS0021)
- Literacies Across the Lifecourse (EDPS0022)
- Media Education in Schools: New Literacies and Production (EDPS0023)
- Radical Education (EDPS0024)
- Youth Cultures and Youth Movements: Sociological and Historical Perspectives (EDPS0026)
- Rights, Equality and Justice in Education (EDPS0027)
- Education, Religion and State: Historical and Contemporary Developments (EDPS0029)
The course seeks to help each student acquire a common set of intellectual skills and develop their own unique and principled voice for writing and speaking about education. This is achieved through a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops, field trips, multimedia sessions, and individual and collective research and community organising projects.
We offer two optional placement modules in Year 2. Both are intended to give students the chance to combine theoretical, historical and policy-based standpoints with hands-on experience. Students will work within partner organisations such as schools, community groups, archives, museums, policy institutes, NGOs and organisations based in the voluntary sector. These placement modules help our students to explore the ways in which the academic skills taught on our degree can be applied to complex real-world problems in various sectors, while allowing them to gain valuable ‘real world’ experience and transferable skills to thrive in modern workplaces.
We offer two optional placement modules in Year 2. Both are intended to give students the chance to combine theoretical, historical and policy-based standpoints with hands-on experience. Students will work within partner organisations such as schools, community groups, archives, museums, policy institutes, NGOs and organisations based in the voluntary sector. These placement modules help our students to explore the ways in which the academic skills taught on our degree can be applied to complex real-world problems in various sectors, while allowing them to gain valuable ‘real world’ experience and transferable skills to thrive in modern workplaces.
We use a wide range of assessment methods that are carefully developed across all our course’s modules to develop students’ thinking and writing skills. These may include argumentative academic essays, journals, vivas and portfolios, empirical research assignments, multimedia and creative projects (e.g. podcasts, games, websites and films), group discussions and debates, individual and collective presentations, public history projects, and examinations.
In years 1, 2 and 4, you will have between 10 and 14 contact hours per week. In addition, you are expected to spend 20 to 25 hours per week on self-directed study. In Year 3, you will study abroad at one of UCL’s partner universities. During this time, your number of weekly contact hours may be different.
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 are 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.
Fees and funding
| Study mode | UK fee (2026/27) | Overseas fee (2026/27) |
|---|---|---|
| Full time | £9,790 | £35,400 |
UK undergraduate fees for 2026/27 are subject to parliamentary approval and are for the first year only. Fees for subsequent years may be subject to increase: Student Terms and Conditions. UK fees are in line with the Government announcement on fee cap increases. Fees for 2027/28 entry will be published in August 2026.
International undergraduate students benefit from a cohort guarantee unless indicated below, 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.
International fees shown are the fees that will be charged to 2026/27 entrants.
Full details of UCL's tuition fees, tuition fee policy and potential increases to fees can be found on the UCL Students website.
Additional costs
A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be needed if students pick an optional module that requires this. The cost of the DBS check will be covered by UCL. Students who take the Year 2 placement module and the Year 2 Educating and Organising for Social Justice module will need to cover transport costs to their placement, which take place in London.
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 2026. 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. If you are concerned by potential additional costs for books, equipment, etc., please get in touch with the relevant departmental contact (details given on this page).
Additional costs for Education, Society and Culture with Study Abroad BA
A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be needed if students pick an optional module that requires this. The exact cost will depend on the setting and type of certificate required and is around £32-£50. Students who take the Year 2 placement module and the Year 2 Educating and Organising for Social Justice module will need to cover transport costs to their placement.
Please note students on the study abroad course are likely to incur additional costs. Studying abroad may cost between £200 and £1,000 per month depending on the study locations. The cost of studying abroad can be difficult to predict as it will depend on students’ priorities and choices. There is more information available on the UCL Study Abroad website.
Please see Education, Society and Culture BA for details of additional costs for the overall course.
Various funding options are available, including student loans, scholarships and bursaries. UK students whose household income falls below a certain level may also be eligible for a non-repayable bursary or for certain scholarships. Please see the Fees and funding pages for more details.
Why study this course at UCL?
Our students are introduced to a broad set of social science and humanities subjects through which they gain an interdisciplinary toolkit to understand education, society and culture and the ways in which humans develop and flourish throughout their lives.
Students on the course learn to think about education as a driving force for change relevant to how we think about workplaces, the media, globalisation, migration, politics, social justice and the economy.
Students will have access to the largest education library in Europe. It has extensive resources for education and social science research. They will also have an opportunity to use specialised resources at UCL Special Collections and museums.
Our students go on to work in a wide range of careers; our curriculum therefore gives students the space to navigate their own pathway through their degree, choose from a range of teaching and assessment methods, and to specialise within particular subject disciplines if they wish.
Discover Uni
To see official information about this course and others visit Discover Uni.
What this course will give you
In addition to subject knowledge from our core disciplines, students develop an interdisciplinary skillset to integrate new knowledge from different fields, and a global mindset to work in diverse teams and settings. They also develop a range of transferable skills in research, leadership, collaboration, teamwork, communication (written, oral and digital) and advocacy that enable them to contribute to contemporary workplaces.
- Policy and government
- Human resources and recruitment
- IT, technology and telecommunications
- Charities, NGOs and international development
- PR, advertising and marketing
- Academic research and HE
- Media
- Arts admin; libraries, museums and heritage
- Performance and creative arts
- Teaching and other educational activities
- Consultancy
- Accountancy and financial services
- Law
- Social and market research
- Publishing, journalism and translation
Open days
Find out more about our in-person Open Days, online events and courses and subjects that interest you.
Register nowRegister your interest
Register your interest in undergraduate study and become part of the UCL community.
Register nowHow to apply
Application for admission should be made through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). Applicants currently at school or college will be provided with advice on the process; however, applicants who have left school or who are based outside the United Kingdom may obtain information directly from UCAS.
In some circumstances, we may ask for additional information for example, samples of written work. We reserve the right to interview applicants.
Selection
For further information on UCL's selection process see: How we assess your application.
Apply for this course
You are applying for the Education, Society and Culture BA course. Please note that the study options presented as post-enrolment specialisms will be available for you to choose once your enrolment is confirmed. For application guidance please visit Application guidelines.Course starts: September 2027
UCAS applications open for 2027 entry on 12 May 2026.
Apply for Education, Society and Culture BA to access this study option. Please note that you will need to meet any additional requirements for this study option to be considered.
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Education, Practice and Society
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