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Course type: Masters degree
Credits: 180

Credits

Credits measure the student workload required for the successful completion of a module or qualification.

One credit represents about 10 hours of study over the duration of the course.

You are awarded credits after you have successfully completed a module.

For example, if you study a 60-credit module and successfully pass it, you will be awarded 60 credits.
How long it takes: 3 years part-time study
Read more about how long it takes
Study method: Distance learning
Course cost: Postgraduate loan available
See Fees and funding
Entry requirements: Find out more about; Entry requirements

Masters degree in Education

: Course code: F70

This flexible masters degree is suitable for education professionals who wish to acquire qualities and transferable skills that are highly prized by employers. There are three specialist routes to choose between – learning and teaching, leadership and management or inclusive practice. You can change your specialism after Stage 1, so you can study two specialisms within one qualification. The final dissertation module gives you the option of conducting a small-scale inquiry on a topic of your choice, or completing an extended literature review and research proposal relevant to your educational professional interests and practice.

Module	Credits	Next start
Stage 1
Equity, inclusion and social justice in educational practice (EE844) ¹ This module introduces contemporary issues in equity, inclusion and social justice in educational practice, including disability, gender, poverty and race. See full description Register	60	03 Oct 2026
Stage 2
Social justice, equity and equality: inclusive practice for all (EE845) This module explores social justice issues from different perspectives and how inclusive practices can be fostered to effect change in education settings across a wide range of contexts. See full description Register	60	03 Oct 2026
Stage 3
Masters multi-disciplinary dissertation: education, childhood and youth (E822) Complete your masters with a dissertation tailored to your qualification, offering hands-on research or a literature-based proposal in education, childhood or youth studies. See full description Register	60	03 Oct 2026
¹We strongly recommend you study this module if you intend to choose this specialism, or subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued module EE814. However, you may choose any Stage 1 module, or if you have successfully completed EE806, you may also count this module towards Stage 1.

Module

Credits

Next start

Stage 1

Equity, inclusion and social justice in educational practice (EE844) ¹

This module introduces contemporary issues in equity, inclusion and social justice in educational practice, including disability, gender, poverty and race.

See full description

03 Oct 2026

Stage 2

Social justice, equity and equality: inclusive practice for all (EE845)

This module explores social justice issues from different perspectives and how inclusive practices can be fostered to effect change in education settings across a wide range of contexts.

See full description

03 Oct 2026

Stage 3

Masters multi-disciplinary dissertation: education, childhood and youth (E822)

Complete your masters with a dissertation tailored to your qualification, offering hands-on research or a literature-based proposal in education, childhood or youth studies.

See full description

03 Oct 2026

¹We strongly recommend you study this module if you intend to choose this specialism, or subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued module EE814. However, you may choose any Stage 1 module, or if you have successfully completed EE806, you may also count this module towards Stage 1.

Module	Credits	Next start
Stage 1
Educational leadership: concepts, change and challenges (EE841) ² Explore educational leadership and management concepts, change, and challenges in local and global contexts. See full description Register	60	03 Oct 2026
Stage 2
Exploring educational leadership: values, context and strategy (EE842) Explore strategic, contextual and values-based educational leadership for the 21st century. See full description Register	60	03 Oct 2026
Stage 3
Masters multi-disciplinary dissertation: education, childhood and youth (E822) Complete your masters with a dissertation tailored to your qualification, offering hands-on research or a literature-based proposal in education, childhood or youth studies. See full description Register	60	03 Oct 2026
²We strongly recommend you study this module if you intend to choose this specialism, or subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued module EE811. However, you may choose any Stage 1 module, or if you have successfully completed EE806, you may also count this module towards Stage 1.

Module

Credits

Next start

Stage 1

Educational leadership: concepts, change and challenges (EE841) ²

Explore educational leadership and management concepts, change, and challenges in local and global contexts.

See full description

03 Oct 2026

Stage 2

Exploring educational leadership: values, context and strategy (EE842)

Explore strategic, contextual and values-based educational leadership for the 21st century.

See full description

03 Oct 2026

Stage 3

Masters multi-disciplinary dissertation: education, childhood and youth (E822)

Complete your masters with a dissertation tailored to your qualification, offering hands-on research or a literature-based proposal in education, childhood or youth studies.

See full description

03 Oct 2026

²We strongly recommend you study this module if you intend to choose this specialism, or subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued module EE811. However, you may choose any Stage 1 module, or if you have successfully completed EE806, you may also count this module towards Stage 1.

Module	Credits	Next start
Stage 1
Learning and teaching: educating the next generation (EE830) ³ This masters module will challenge you to think about what purposes of education could have and how education can be made fit for the future. See full description Register	60	03 Oct 2026
Stage 2
Learning and Teaching: Understanding your educational practice (EE831) This module focuses on the fundamental concepts of learning, pedagogy, and assessment and explores them from the perspectives of learners, teachers and whole school issues. See full description Register	60	03 Oct 2026 FINAL
Stage 3
Masters multi-disciplinary dissertation: education, childhood and youth (E822) Complete your masters with a dissertation tailored to your qualification, offering hands-on research or a literature-based proposal in education, childhood or youth studies. See full description Register	60	03 Oct 2026
³We strongly recommend you study this module if you intend to choose this specialism. However, you may choose any Stage 1 module, or if you have successfully completed EE806, you may also count this module towards Stage 1.

Module

Credits

Next start

Stage 1

Learning and teaching: educating the next generation (EE830) ³

This masters module will challenge you to think about what purposes of education could have and how education can be made fit for the future.

See full description

03 Oct 2026

Stage 2

Learning and Teaching: Understanding your educational practice (EE831)

This module focuses on the fundamental concepts of learning, pedagogy, and assessment and explores them from the perspectives of learners, teachers and whole school issues.

See full description

03 Oct 2026 FINAL

Stage 3

Masters multi-disciplinary dissertation: education, childhood and youth (E822)

Complete your masters with a dissertation tailored to your qualification, offering hands-on research or a literature-based proposal in education, childhood or youth studies.

See full description

03 Oct 2026

³We strongly recommend you study this module if you intend to choose this specialism. However, you may choose any Stage 1 module, or if you have successfully completed EE806, you may also count this module towards Stage 1.

Credit transfer

If you’ve successfully completed some relevant postgraduate study elsewhere, you may be able to count it towards Stage 1 of this qualification, by applying for credit transfer, reducing the number of modules you need to study. Credit transfer will impact the time you have to complete this qualification, and the six-year time limit will start from the time the qualification submitted as credit transfer was completed. So, for example, if you use as credit transfer a qualification that you were awarded two years ago, you would need to complete the remaining 120 credits in four years.

You should apply for credit transfer as soon as possible, before you register for your first module. For more details and an application form, visit our Credit Transfer website.

On completion

On successfully completing this course, we’ll award you our Master of Arts in Education or Master of Education. You’ll be entitled to use the letters MAEd (Open) or MEd (Open) after your name.

If you choose a specialist route, your degree title will show that:

MA in Education (Leadership and Management) or MEd (Leadership and Management)
MA in Education (Learning and Teaching) or MEd (Learning and Teaching)
MA in Education (Inclusive Practice) or MEd (Inclusive Practice)

If your masters degree is awardable with a distinction or a merit, the qualification regulations explain how you can achieve these.

You’ll have the opportunity to attend a degree ceremony.

You may be able to claim the related Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Studies in Education (K27) – although this is not available if you have used credit transfer or counted previous study towards your qualification – and/or the Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Studies in Education (E88).

To gain all three qualifications, you must study them in sequence (postgraduate certificate, postgraduate diploma and then the MA/MEd).

Regulations

As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the qualification-specific regulations below and the academic regulations that are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.

Masters degree in Education

We regularly review our curriculum; therefore, the qualification described on this page – including its availability, its structure, and available modules – may change over time. If we make changes to this qualification, we’ll update this page as soon as possible. Once you’ve registered or are studying this qualification, where practicable, we’ll inform you in good time of any upcoming changes. If you’d like to know more about the circumstances in which the University might make changes to the curriculum, see our Academic Regulations or contact us. This description was last updated on 18 March 2025.

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Masters degree in Education

Modules

Inclusive practice

Leadership and management

Learning and teaching

Learning outcomes, teaching and assessment

Credit transfer

On completion

Regulations

How long it takes

Career relevance

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