Professional Education (MA) (2025 Entry)

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Course code

P-X3AS

Start date

January 2025

Duration

20 months part-time

Qualification

Led by

Centre for Teacher Education (CTE)

Location

Online

Course code

P-X3AS

Start date

January 2025

Duration

20 months part-time

Qualification

Led by

Centre for Teacher Education (CTE)

Location

Online

Meet us

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Find out more about our Professional Education taught Master's degree at Warwick

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.

Course overview

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.

Entry requirements

General 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 requirementsLink opens in a new window. This course requires the following:

Band A
IELTS overall score of 6.5, minimum component scores not below 6.0.International students

We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.

International qualifications

We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.

For more information, please visit the international entry requirements pageLink opens in a new window.

Additional requirements

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

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.

Teaching and learning

Teaching

Our online delivery allows for the flexibility teachers need whilst working, supporting them to study from anywhere within the UK, or internationally, thanks to our high-quality online materials and tutorials and many teaching sessions delivered remotely. Course timelines, assignment deadlines and teaching sessions are released one academic year in advance to enable teachers to plan their time effectively. Teaching occurs at weekends so as not to impact school commitments (although appropriate flexible working may be offered by some employers).

The course is taught by staff with expertise across all phases of education, with specialist knowledge and research profiles across a wide spread of subject specialisms (Mathematics, English, Science, the Visual and Performing Arts and Design Technology, History, Geography and Religious Education, Modern Foreign Languages, and Physical Education) and areas of education including the broad areas of inclusion, social justice, literacy, numeracy, teacher resilience, knowledge and creativity.

Class sizes

The class size for this course is approximately 15 to 20 students.

Assessment

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.

Reading lists 

If you would like to view reading lists for current or previous cohorts of students, most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library on the Talis Aspire platform. 

You can search for reading lists by module title, code or convenor. Please see the modules tab of this page or the module catalogue.  

Please note that some reading lists may have restricted access or be unavailable at certain times of year due to publication dates. If you cannot access the reading list for a particular module, please check again later or contact the module’s host department.

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for each module, and you have been allocated to your seminars. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you when you join us.

Careers

Your career

Our students will already be working in the education sector. The MA is designed to enable you to tailor your research interests to your professional aspirations, which may be concerned with classroom teaching, pastoral or leadership roles. Our students gain promotion in school-based contexts, pursue further research at PhD level moving into Higher Education teaching and research, or find that their research opens doors into associated careers in fields such as social work and youth services.

Our department has a dedicated professionally qualified Senior Careers Consultant offering impartial advice and guidance together with workshops and events throughout the year. Previous examples of workshops and events include:

Applications and Interviews for Teaching Jobs
Preparing for Teaching Job Interviews
Writing a Personal Statement for Teaching Jobs
Careers Drop In (for applications and interview support)

About the Department

Centre for Teacher Education (CTE)

Our vision and ambition for the Centre for Teacher Education (CTE) derives from a commitment to continue the long history of Teacher Education at the University of Warwick where generations of new teachers gain employment in our partner schools to improve the life chances of the children they teach. Our programmes are underpinned by our core values of social justice, intellectual curiosity and creativity.

Our commitment is to ensure we support and develop you as an Early Career Teacher and engage you as part of our alumni community. CTE’s Master's in Professional Education is aimed at practising teachers and school leaders and is designed to ensure the content aligns with an individual’s educational research interest. You will focus your research on an area of your own choice to ensure your studies and learning has real value and impact within your school context.

We pride ourselves on making a difference to our students. We place high-quality teaching and student support at the heart of what we do and recognise that our success is built on the strength of our partnership with our students and schools. Teaching is our top priority and our commitment to our students is paramount.

Learn more about us from our website.Link opens in a new window

Our Postgraduate Taught courses

Tuition fees

Tuition fees are payable for each year of your course at the start of the academic year, or at the start of your course, if later. Academic fees cover the cost of tuition, examinations and registration and some student amenities.

Find your course fees

Fee Status Guidance

We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Students will be classified as Home or Overseas fee status. Your fee status determines tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available. If you receive an offer, your fee status will be clearly stated alongside the tuition fee information.

Do you need your fee classification to be reviewed?

If you believe that your fee status has been classified incorrectly, you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire. Please follow the instructions in your offer information and provide the documents needed to reassess your status.

Find out more about how universities assess fee status

Additional course costs

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.

For departmental specific costs, please see the Modules tab on the course web page for the list of core and optional core modules with hyperlinks to our Module Catalogue (please visit the Department’s website if the Module Catalogue hyperlinks are not provided).

Associated costs can be found on the Study tab for each module listed in the Module Catalogue (please note most of the module content applies to 2022/23 year of study). Information about module department specific costs should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below:

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

Scholarships and funding

Scholarships and bursaries

Scholarships and financial support

Find out about the different funding routes available, including; postgraduate loans, scholarships, fee awards and academic department bursaries.

Living costs

Find out more about the cost of living as a postgraduate student at the University of Warwick.

How to apply

This course has a January start date, with applications typically closing in the November before the proposed start date. For entry in January 2025, applications close on Monday, 25 November 2024. 

How to apply for a postgraduate taught course

After you’ve applied

Find out how we process your application.

Applicant Portal

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Admissions statement

See Warwick’s postgraduate admissions policy.

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We understand how important it is to visit and explore your future university before you apply. That's why we have put together a range of online and in-person options to help you discover more about your course, visit campus, and get a sense of postgraduate life at Warwick. Our events offer includes:

Warwick hosted events
Postgraduate Fairs
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2024 entry

Find out how to apply to us, ask your questions, and find out more.

See 2024 entry »

Why Warwick

Discover why Warwick is one of the best universities in the UK and renowned globally.

Why Warwick

Discover why Warwick is one of the best universities in the UK and renowned globally.

8th in the UK

in the Guardian University Guide 2025

6th Most Targeted University

by the UK's top 100 graduate employers (The Graduate Market in 2024, High Fliers Research Ltd)

69th in the World

out of 1,500 institutions across 104 locations (QS World University Rankings 2025)

Page updates

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

About the information on this page

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. Please read our terms and conditions to find out more.

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Professional Education (MA) (2025 Entry)

Find out more about our Professional Education taught Master's degree at Warwick

Scholarships and financial support

Living costs

After you’ve applied

Applicant Portal

Admissions statement

Join a live chat

Find out how to apply to us, ask your questions, and find out more.

Why Warwick

Why Warwick

Why Warwick

Why Warwick

8th in the UK

6th Most Targeted University

69th in the World

5th best student city in the UK

Gold standard teaching

92% of our research

Page updates

About the information on this page

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