Education Master's Degree - MA

MA Education (full-time only)

Designed for students who are not yet working in substantive professional roles in education, this 180 credit MA Education degree does not require reflection on professional practice.

Underpinned by academic skills training to reflect the uplift to Level 7 (Master's level) learning and assessment, students study 40 credits of core modules (Critical Appraisal of Educational Data, Education, Diversity, Equality and Equity), a 60 credit Dissertation, and select 4 additional modules from a wide range of 20 credit options as follows:

Online

• Curriculum Development, Evaluation, and Modification
• Social and Emotional Development

Blended

• Education, Diversity, Equality and Equity; CORE
• Critical Appraisal of Educational Data; CORE
• Adolescent Development
• Young People and the Internet
• Holistic and Ecological Education
• Activism, Protest, and Community Organising
• Additional Learning Needs and Inclusion
• Youth Culture and Sub-Culture

All students research for a 60 credit Dissertation on a topic of interest to them.

MA Education Policy and Practice (part-time or full-time)

This programme is designed as professional learning for those working in teaching and other education professions. It is our most generic programme offering a wide range of optional modules, many of which are taught interprofessionally across our range of programmes. The programme is underpinned by an initial 20 credit core module 'Practitioner Research', and is completed with a 60 credit dissertation. Practitioner Research is designed to offer the underpinning skills for critical reflective analysis on professional practice. This enables students to base their assessments on analysis of their own professional context.

Students are able to select 5 additional modules from a wide range of 20 credit options as follows:

Online

• Curriculum Development, Evaluation, and Modification
• Social and Emotional Development
• Learning and Teaching Pedagogy

Blended

• Practitioner Research; CORE
• Education, Diversity, Equality and Equity
• Critical Appraisal of Educational Data
• Adolescent Development
• Young People and the Internet
• Holistic and Ecological Education
• Activism, Protest, and Community Organising
• Additional Learning Needs and Inclusion
• Youth Culture and Sub-Culture
• Mentoring and Coaching
• Teaching English to Young Learners
• Leading and Managing Professional Practice
• Multi-Agency Practice

All students research for a 60 credit Dissertation on a topic of interest to them.

MA Education Additional Learning Needs (part-time or full-time)

This programme is designed as professional learning for those working in teaching and other education professions wherein additional learning needs is a substantive area of practice. Ideally you would be in a professional role involving additional learning needs, or able to secure substantive work experience to offer the learning opportunities required for completion of this programme. Your suitability for this specialist programme may be assessed pre-application by contacting the Programme Director, or via the admission process.

The programme is underpinned by an initial 20 credit core module ‘Practitioner Research’, designed to offer the underpinning skills for critical reflective analysis on professional practice. This enables students to base their assessments on analysis of their own professional context. Additional core modules are: Specific Learning Difficulties; Autism Spectrum Disorder; and Additional Learning Needs and Inclusion.

Students are able to select two additional modules from a range of options as follows:

Online

• Social and Emotional Development

Blended

• Specific Learning Difficulties; CORE
• Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children and Young People; CORE
• Practitioner Research; CORE
• Additional Learning Needs and Inclusion; CORE
• Teaching English to Young Learners
• Leading and Managing Professional Practice
• Multi-Agency Practice

All students research for a 60 credit Dissertation on a topic of interest to them which should be related to additional learning needs.

MA Leadership in Education (part-time or full-time)

This programme is designed as professional learning for those working in leadership roles, or being prepared for leadership roles, in professions related to education. Many of the modules are taught interprofessionally across our range of programmes. This interprofessional ethos is very much attuned to the multi-agency context of leadership in contemporary education settings.

The programme is underpinned by an two 20 credit core modules: Leading and Managing Professional Practice, and 'Practitioner Research'. Each of these modules is designed to offer the underpinning skills for critical reflective analysis on professional practice. This enables students to base their assessments on analysis of their own professional context.

Students are able to select 4 additional modules from a range of 20 credit options as follows:

Online

• Curriculum Development, Evaluation, and Modification

Blended

• Practitioner Research; CORE
• Critical Appraisal of Educational Data
• Mentoring and Coaching
• Leading and Managing Professional Practice; CORE
• Multi-Agency Practice

All students research for a 60 credit Dissertation on a leadership related topic of interest to them.

Course Delivery

Delivery begins with an induction before the start of term. During induction you will hear about your timetable, expectations of your programme of study, assessment tasks, and have the opportunity to ask questions for clarification before the start of teaching.

Our modules are scheduled to offer a wide range of choices for students who work in education settings. All our modules deliver content imaginatively using the range of presentation tools and virtual learning environments available at Cardiff Met. 'Chalk and Talk' is avoided. Whilst some knowledge delivery is required, we work on the principle that adults learn through dialogue, discussion, and experimentation.

With a range of delivery formats including online, on-campus and blended online/on-campus, and a range of delivery times including day schools, blocked learning, twilight, and evening sessions, you will be able to consider the mode and time of delivery as well and the content of your module, when making your curriculum choices.

Contact Hours

All 20 credit modules are based on 24 hours timetabled delivery (online, on-campus or blended) augmented by a range of learning methods including online tasks, workplace learning, reading, and private study, to a total of 200 hours. The 60 credit Dissertation consists of up to 15 hours timetabled delivery and online workshops, plus 6 hours of tutorials with a supervisor to support your independent research project.

Support

All students are allocated a personal tutor who will schedule one tutorial per term plus additional time if necessary. Your personal tutor will discuss your progress, help interpret your assessment feedback, consider any matters that might be affecting your academic progress, and make you aware of the range of support services offered at the university.

Technology and Facilities

Module leaders make use of our Virtual Learning Environment, Moodle, to introduce essential information such as module handbooks and assessment points. Moodle is also used to introduce additional materials and resources, and to stimulate online dialogue and discussion between taught sessions.

A range of resources including e-book, academic journal articles, and a catalogue of our extensive range of library books is available via our MetSearch resource.

Staff Expertise

All of our modules are staffed by experienced education professionals, many of whom are also active researchers and who are able to deliver research-informed teaching. Many of our teaching staff are involved in research for the Welsh Government, putting the programme team at the forefront of education policy and practice.

There are no examinations on any of our programmes of study. Assessment tasks are planned to help students demonstrate how they have met learning outcomes. Students may be assessed by methods including presentations, reports, traditional essays, group work, and work-based portfolios. Where appropriate students will have the opportunity to apply their assessment task to their professional practice context.

Every module includes a session on assessment preparation. Feedback may be written or oral in the form of a recording made by the module leader. You will be given an explanation of how successfully you have achieved your assessment outcomes, and information on how your mark could have been improved – thereby preparing you for future assessments.

Many education professionals are achieving career enhancements from the skills and confidence developed by studying our MA programmes. Applicants will usually be offered a discussion with the programme director – this is an opportunity to discuss career aspirations and to select the most suitable pathway to support those aspirations.

Students coming to our full-time MA Education because they aspire to a new career in education, tell us they gain skills and knowledge to demonstrate their commitment and competence as preparation for professional practice, or for policy roles.

Students who are already employed in a professional education role will benefit from choosing one of our applied programmes (MA Education: Policy and Practice; MA Education: Additional Learning Needs; MA Leadership in Education). These programmes are designed to offer professional learning as an opportunity to develop existing practice.

Many of our students find they are able to secure promotions or enhanced professional roles, often before the programme of study has ended. The emphasis on analytical reflective practice helps students articulate their professional thinking and practice in interview situations.

Many of our graduates go on to study at doctoral level, and this may also lead to teaching or research roles in higher education. Our personal tutors and dissertation supervisors work with our students to discuss options for doctoral study.

Applicants must have a relevant initial degree at 2:1 classification or above. Applicants with a lower degree will be considered if they can demonstrate verifiable relevant professional experience or other forms of professional learning.

All students are interviewed for this course.​

Students whose first language is not English will need to provide evidence of fluency to at least an academic IELTS 6.0 standard with no sub-score lower than 5.5 or equivalent​. For full details about how to apply and English Language qualifications please visit the International pages on the website.

How to Apply

Applications for this course should be made direct to the University via our self-service facility. For further information please visit our How to Apply pages at www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/howtoapply.

Teach First candidates: Please select the Part-time pathway during the online application.

Recognition of Prior Learning

Credits Transfer from Other Universities

If you have previously completed a course accredited at Level 7 (Master's Level), or components of such a course, at another higher education institution within or outside the UK, you may be able to transfer credit from this course towards the degree of MA in Education at Cardiff Metropolitan University. This should be discussed with the Programme Director. Please submit a copy of your transcript with your application.

NPQH Accreditation

If you have completed the NPQH (National Professional Qualification for Headship) you may submit a bridging assignment (5,000 words) to gain 60 credit points towards the MA Education.

Tuition Fees and Financial Support:

For up to date information on tuition fees and the financial support that may be available. Please refer to www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/fees.

There is a fee discount of 25% available to students who are employed in one of Cardiff Metropolitan University’s partnership schools for Initial Teacher Education and Training or partnership community. For further information please contact Admissions.

Part-time fees:

Charges are per ​Single Module unless specified:
Undergraduate = 10 Credits; Postgraduate = 20 Credits

Please contact the programme leader for further information on modules to be studied part-time and how this will affect fees.

For general enquiries please contact the Admissions Team on 029 2041 6044 or email askadmissions@cardiffmet.ac.uk.

For course specific enquiries, please contact the Programme Director, Dr Jan Huyton:
Email: jhuyton@cardiffmet.ac.uk.