Professional Education (Taught)

Course summary

This is an MA in Professional Education for ambitious teachers, mentors and leaders working in professional contexts within Primary, Secondary and Further Education. We encourage you to be curious about what works in education and why, to be creative in your approach to researching as a practitioner, and to have high expectations about the impact your research might have in your classroom and more widely. Upon enrolment, the first half of the academic credit recognised towards our Master's in Professional Education will either be drawn from a recent PGCE with teaching practice or from our Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Education Programme. All Master's pathways then share the same ‘taught’ MA course structure, although this is tailored towards your research interests and objectives. The step-by-step module process takes teachers through designing a research study, applying for ethical approval and conducting the study over an appropriate time-period. The final assessment is a dissertation which communicates the findings of the substantial research project in an appropriate academic form; preparing teachers to share the research more widely with other practitioner researchers, colleagues and the wider profession. This information is applicable for 2025 entry. Given the interval between the publication of courses and enrolment, some of the information may change. It is important to check our website before you apply.

Modules

Core modules Research in Professional Practice This module aims to develop understanding of the research process and its relevance to your professional practice as a teacher, mentor or leader in education, including designing and carrying out research in your own field of practice. This includes identifying research questions and appropriate research strategies and gathering and analysing sources using a variety of methods. It will enable you to carry out research into an aspect of career development or current practice of interest and relevance to you. Ethics Portfolio The Ethics Portfolio module is designed to facilitate students on the MA Professional Education to carefully consider the challenges of researching ethically in schools as a practitioner, particularly with regards to how this might differ to teaching ethically. The process of completing the portfolio will help you to work through common problems that teachers researching in school commonly face such as working with school data, negotiating the focus of their research with school leaders and working with vulnerable individuals. The module will help you prepare for the various conversations that need to take place in school with school leaders, colleagues, students and parents. Successful completion of the ethics portfolio will result in your formal ethics application being put forward to the ethics board. Prior to the module you will have already completed a draft of your Research Proposal. Dissertation This is the final major project of the MA Professional Education, providing an opportunity for you to consider in depth an area of academic and professional interest related to education. Optional modules There are no optional modules for this course.

Assessment method

Research in Professional Practice Assessment by:

A short evaluation of a research paper relevant to an area of education that interests you.

A research proposal for a research study you plan to conduct in school.

Ethics Portfolio Assessment by:

Submission of a full ethics application to carry out your research study including accompanying documents such as participant information forms.

Dissertation Assessment by:

A 20,000 word dissertation outlining your completed research study: including rationale, literature review, methodology and ethics, results and discussion of findings.

Entry requirements

Minimum requirements You must hold a PGCE (completed in the last 5 years) and also a UK Bachelor's degree with Honours at 2:2 or above, or equivalent level. If your PGCE was completed more than 5 years ago you can consider our PGCert Professional Education which provides a way to receive academic credit for your work-based learning. English language requirements You can find out more about our English language requirements. This course requires the following: Band B IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above. International qualifications We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

No fee information has been provided for this course

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

As well as tuition fees and living expenses, some courses may require you to cover the cost of field trips or costs associated with travel abroad. General costs to be considered: - Core text books - Printer credits - Dissertation binding As well as tuition fees and course costs, students should budget for: - Accommodation - Food - Clothes and leisure - Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Sponsorship information

We offer a variety of postgraduate funding options for study at the University of Warwick, from postgraduate loans, university scholarships, fee awards, to academic department bursaries. It's important that you apply for your postgraduate course first before you apply for a University of Warwick scholarship. Please visit the University's scholarship webpages.