Professional Education (MA) (2022 Entry)
About this taught graduate course
Course overview
The first half of the academic credit that we recognise towards our Masters in Professional Education upon enrolment will either be drawn from a recent UK PGCE with teaching practice or from our Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Education Programme. All Masters 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.
General entry requirements
Minimum requirements
You must hold a UK PGCE (completed in the last 5 years) and also a UK Bachelors degree with Honours at 2:ii or above, or equivalent level.
If your PGCE was completed more than 5 years ago you may like to 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.
For more information, please visit the international entry requirements page.
Additional requirements
There are no additional entry requirements for this course.
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 into your own practice field. 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
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
Most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library. If you would like to view reading lists for the current cohort of students you can visit our Warwick Library web page.
Your timetable
Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you when you join us.
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)
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 a newly-qualified 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.
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.
Taught course fees Research course fees
Fee Status Guidance
The University carries out an initial fee status assessment based on information provided in the application and according to the guidance published by UKCISA. Students are classified as either Home or Overseas Fee status and this can determine the tuition fee and eligibility of certain scholarships and financial support.
If you receive an offer, your fee status will be stated with the tuition fee information, however we are awaiting guidance from the UK government regarding fee status for EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals and their family members living in the UK for academic year 2021/22 onwards. We are not able to confirm the fee status for these students until the relevant eligibility criteria have been confirmed. Once we have received further information from the UK government, we will provide you with an update on your fee status and let you know if any additional information is required. If you believe your fee status has been incorrectly classified you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire (follow the instructions in your offer) and provide the required documentation for this to be reassessed.
The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) provides guidance to UK universities on fees status criteria, you can find the latest guidance on the impact of Brexit on fees and student support on the UKCISA website.
Additional course costs
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
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.
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Taught course applications
Here is our checklist on how to apply for taught postgraduate courses at Warwick.
Research course applications
Here is our checklist on how to apply for research postgraduate degrees at the University of Warwick.
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