Explore our Educational Leadership and Management taught Master's degree.

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P-X31M

MA

1 year full-time; 2-5 years part-time

30 September 2024

Education Studies

University of Warwick

Educational Leadership and Management MA is for those looking to pursue a leadership role within an educational organisation. Warwick's Education Studies uses a client-orientated focus, with multi-pronged routes to train you for a scholarly career or research-informed professional practice.

This course is designed to develop your knowledge and skills in leadership and management in an educational setting. This programme offers you a unique opportunity to customise your learning to match your professional background, needs and aspirations. Assessments are individually tailored making each topic highly relevant to your particular context and professional needs.

To maximise your learning potential, you will receive individualised attention and the flexibility to select from a wide range of modules. The programme is research driven but with a strong focus on professional practice, making it suitable for establishing an academic career or pursuing middle and senior leadership roles in education organisations. At the end of the course, we anticipate that you will have developed reflective and critical capabilities, providing you with a sound basis for your next career move, alongside the necessary knowledge and skills to respond to a variety of educational leadership challenges within your organisation.

Skills from this degree

• Applying knowledge and understanding of research methods in planning, undertaking and evaluating a research project
• Informed understanding of concepts and theories of leadership and management in education, and their relationship
• Understanding of strategy and strategic perspectives in education
• Human resource management in education and its links with strategy
• Identifying factors affecting learner achievement and ways to improve it

For full-time students, all of our modules are delivered in person at our well-equipped university campus. Please note that if you wish to study on a part-time basis you should be aware that most modules are taught during the normal working day and there is no out-of-hours provision. If this is a consideration for you please contact us prior to applying so that we can advise you further. Part-time students are able to complete some of their modules as asynchronous distance-learning modules. 

Most modules include weekly teaching sessions, giving you the opportunity to join with your colleagues to discuss and debate the topics being explored. These sessions are delivered in a range of formats that suit the module (these may include lectures, seminars, group work and practical workshops, for example). In addition, you will be given various pre- and post-session tasks and readings to support your learning. 

Class Size

You will attend one or two 3-hour lectures and/or seminars each week during the Autumn and Spring Terms of modules plus research methods training lectures and seminars throughout all three terms.

Assessment types vary depending on modules selected but may be a mixture of assignments and oral presentations. You will also complete a dissertation based on an individual research project, with support from a research supervisor. 

Additional course costs

You may wish to undertake some research with children or young people that may require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check or a Certificate of Good Conduct for students from outside of the UK. A Certificate of Good Conduct can vary in price.

Please contact your academic department for information about department specific costs, which should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below, such as:

• Core text books
• Printer credits
• Dissertation binding
• Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Find out more about our additional course costs.

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you and you will be able to choose your optional modules when you join us.

2:2 undergraduate degree (or equivalent).

• Band B
• IELTS score to 7 overall, no more than two components at 6.0/6.5 & rest 7.0+

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Leading Educational Change and Improvement (alternative online module available for part-time students if required)

This module will develop an understanding of educational change and improvement from research and practical perspectives, and look at how that can impact teaching and learning outcomes. You will be comparing, evaluating and critiquing international reform efforts and developing knowledge about the dynamics of improvement as a strategy for change.

Research Methods in Education (alternative online module available for part-time students if required)

This module encourages students in understanding, designing and implementing research in the field of education. It will introduce you to a range of established research strategies and techniques, including data collection and analysis. These skills will enable you to design and carry out a dissertation research project, as well as to disseminate its findings. As part of this module, you will present your research design and have the opportunity to receive feedback ahead of completing your dissertation.

Dissertation

The dissertation is an opportunity to explore, in depth, an area of academic and/or professional interest related to your degree. Building on the knowledge and skills developed during the Research Methods module, and your other modules, you will conduct an independent research project, developing a deeper understanding of your chosen topic.

From your research project, you will produce a dissertation, with guidance from a supervisor who will be allocated to you. Through the dissertation you will demonstrate the ability to analyse and synthesise relevant literature, produce coherent arguments supported by relevant evidence and logical discussion, and acknowledge sources of ideas and information.

Optional modules

This programme has a number of optional modules to choose from. Our optional module lists are subject to change each year to keep the student learning experience current and up-to-date.

Find the most up-to-date optional module list on the Education Studies website.Link opens in a new window

This programme has a number of optional modules to choose from. At least one optional module should have a childhood focus. Our optional module lists are subject to change each year to keep the student learning experience current and up-to-date.  

Find the most up-to-date optional module list on the Education Studies website.

We have revised the information on this page since publication. See the edits we have made and content history.

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