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MA - Education Leadership

The University of Cumbria’s MA Education Leadership provides excellent opportunities for colleagues in both local and international contexts to gain an award at Masters level in just one year. Modules are designed to take account of the your own educational experience and background. Face to face and full time allows you to work within a focused and dynamic academic community on campus. Modules draw on current international research and the resources available to you reflect a wide range of educational research both in the UK and in an international context. This programme will provide professionals with the theoretical basis of education leadership, to inform their practice and understanding of the role of effective leadership as a catalyst for social change. Options at the stage of dissertation take account of the different interests and educational roles and contexts that you aim to work in when you graduate.

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Course Overview

Our full-time MA Education Leadership is designed to help you gain the mastery you need, in terms of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to respond effectively to the changes and challenges in the world of education today. It also provides a choice of themes for study and an approach to extend and develop your educational leadership knowledge, skills and interests for career development.

In this MA, you will be able to accumulate credit through the successful completion of modules which are geared to your needs and appropriate to your stage in terms of career and interests. It provides an opportunity to consider theory and practice in education through a wide range of professional lenses; including teacher, lecturer, governance, leadership and management.

On this course you will...

Join an established, world-class education department.
Be guided by tutors who are experts in their field.
Enjoy an academic community that has a reputation for excellence.
Authentic and purposeful assessment.
Completion of a dynamic, research informed MA Education Leadership in just one year.

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Key Details

Recruiting toUK / RoI / Settled in UK
EU / EEA / International
Course LocationLancaster
Institute Institute of Education, Arts and Society
Delivery StyleIn-Person
Course DurationFull-time: 1 Year
Course Start PointSeptember
AwardMA
More informationProgramme Specification
Prospectus
Open DaysLancaster
All

Minimum entry requirements

Bachelor Hons Degree 2:2 or equivalent

Honours degree

Tuition fees

£6,900

UK | Year

£14,900

International | Year

Tuition Fees Policy

Course Structure

What you will learn

This is an internationally recognised one-year advanced study master's degree (QAA, 2020). It consists of three semesters (36 weeks), with four shorter 30 credit modules and one longer 60 credit dissertation module. Collaboratively, students critically evaluate current research, scholarship and practice to systematically address a range of complex issues in education leadership. They critically engage with this complexity, develop skills and knowledge in relation to quality of education, communicate ideas and share findings.

This MA is specifically designed to support each student’s professional development and enrich their contribution or accelerate career development in their chosen leadership context. Learners on this programme demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of research in a chosen field of education leadership, enhancing their capacity to show originality in the application of knowledge and practical understanding.

Year one

This MA is designed to run as full-time face-to-face experience. We seek to create a stimulating and innovative community of learning that is facilitated by an expert tutor team. You will experience a learning environment that is well equipped, flexible, and stimulating. This provision will also allow you to access material and appropriate learning activities on programme and module virtual learning environments.

Theories of Education Leadership
During the first semester, this module aims to develop your understanding of theories relevant to leadership in a range of educational contexts. You will consider factors that contribute to good professional practice and select an aspect of this for further exploration throughout your MA journey. It will provide you with an understanding of the importance of the interplay between theory and practice and critically evaluate findings in published research. At its heart, is an opportunity for you to develop professional understanding in an area of your choosing and to consider the implications of this for your own career development. You will be supported to explore the interplay of theory and practice in relation to your chosen area of focus, and you will consider the impact of this on your own professional thinking.
Education Policy
With a particular focus on leadership, this module aims to critically examine the dynamic policy environment in which education operates; to consider a range of perspectives and theoretical frameworks relevant to the participant’s leadership role and use these to critically analyse educational leadership in an age of marketization, performativity and system leadership.
Leading Advanced Professional Learning
Evaluate academic discourse that underpins current issues in the leadership of Professional Learning; to evaluate the literature and theoretical frameworks; to reflect critically on the facilitation of professional learning the relationship between theory and current practice This module considers approaches that may impact on evaluation, quality assurance and continuous quality improvement in professional learning contexts.
Challenging Disadvantage
Moving into semester two, this module aims to encourage critical evaluation of the academic discourse relating to issues of social justice and disadvantage that specifically relate to students’ dissertation topic. It provides an opportunity to draw together learning from previous modules and to reflect critically on the role education might play in addressing inequalities.
Critical Analysis of Theory and Practice
In the final dissertation module, the aim is for students to develop a comprehensive knowledge in an area of practice that is relevant to their own interests and career progression. Identifying a topic and conducting a literature review is intended to draw together learning from previous modules and enhance their future employability through creative and critical thinking.

Teaching & Assessment

How you will learn

Learning and teaching on this course integrates a variety of methods and resources that support the needs, preferences and interests of different learners. The programme is delivered using a range of teaching and learning strategies appropriate to adult learning (andragogy). Expert knowledge contributions are combined with effective use of learning technologies to promote powerful social and individual learning opportunities.

Research-informed teaching on the programme draws on sector specific knowledge and expertise in a global/international context. Tutors supporting this programme are experts in their field and the team has substantial experience in tutoring MA and research students. The intention is to ensure you have a sense of being part of a learning community and that you are able to engage in learning experiences that are intellectually stimulating and enriching.

Academic, digital and professional graduate skills development sessions are built into the programme’s modules and the University’s academic skills team also provide support specifically designed for Master’s level study throughout the year.

International applicants will benefit from specific guidance and support relating to studying in the UK, developing English language proficiency and career, employability and CV development for the UK and international market.

How you will be assessed

You will engage in a variety of different forms of authentic assessment, to provide a creative and balanced strategy across the programme. A range of engaging and challenging opportunities, that are relevant to the needs of the workplace, allow for effective feedback to enable student success.

The focus of assessments is particularly designed to be relevant to the needs and interests of you as an individual with an emphasis on the interaction between leadership theory and practice in education. The programme promotes the concept of ‘assessment for learning’ through formative and summative assessment opportunities in each module.

Formative Assessment is designed to help you learn more effectively by giving them feedback on their performance in order to indicate how it can be improved and sustained. The formative assessment tasks included in each module will help you to make progress in terms of preparation for the summative assessment. There is a direct relationship between the formative and the summative assignment and academic skills/research skills development.

Each module in semester one has a short final, summative assignment. These summative assignments draw on a range of strategies and during the course of the year you will be assessed through literature review, construction of a critical reading log, academic poster and presentation. This aligns to the University-wide Learning Teaching and Assessment plan moving forward in terms of authentic assessment that will contribute to professional understanding and employability.

The assessment of skills culminates in the longer dissertation module. At this stage in the MA, a detailed module guide will ensure that your supervisor and Personal Tutor can track and monitor your progress and provide interim feedback to support and help you.

Career Outcomes

Current and future career prospects for successful graduates of this programme are excellent. This is based on the University’s employment data for our existing part-time programme (100% in the last academic year). This programme is designed for students to achieve significant career progression. This informs programme curriculum content, which supports career progression options. The programme’s learning, teaching and assessment strategies that intentionally focus on knowledge, skills and understanding that support career advancement.

Fees & Funding

Tuition Fees

2025 - 2026

£6,900 - UK
£14,900 - International

The figures above don't include accommodation and living costs.

Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The University may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible.

International Finance

At the University of Cumbria, we offer affordable tuition fees for international and EU students looking to study at one of our main four campuses. No matter your choice of course or career path, our International Team is here to support you.

More Information

We have a wide range of scholarships, bursaries, grants and funds available to support you throughout your studies with us. This includes the Cumbria Bursary - a non-repayable bursary designed to support first year students with a household income of less than £25,000..

Student Finance

Additional Costs

There may be some additional costs associated with the course including stationery, textbooks, field trips and membership fees although some of these features are optional.

Books and Journals

All sources required are available on loan or electronically from the University library.

Stationery

Stationary appropriate to note taking and writing are required for this programme (pens, highlighters, notebooks and/or a device for recording written notes).

Clothing and Equipment

Comfortable, casual clothing and footwear recommended for seminars.

Other

A portable device suitable for writing is recommended for seminar sessions, but laptops and computers are available on short-term loan from the library.

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Location
Lancaster Campus
Lancaster is the Red Rose heartland, a student haven full of history and culture. With iconic stone architecture, parkland, and a caring community, this is the place to get involved. The campus houses top-quality facilities tailored to the needs of life-savers, world changers, and future leaders.
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MA - Education Leadership