MA Education and Development
Key Details
- Attendance
- Full Time
- Award
- Degree of Master of Arts
- Course Length
- 1 years
- Course Start Date
- September 2023
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Course Overview
Prepare for a career in a range of areas, including educational policy and programming in countries in the Global South, government departments, and national and international development agencies and non-governmental organisations.
UEA is the perfect place to help you gain that all-important competitive edge. And this course will help you shine.
You’ll become part of a community dedicated to excellence and to making a difference on a local, national, and global scale.
Explore the ways that education can contribute to international development, both theoretically and empirically. You’ll look at a variety of perspectives, including human rights, social and human development, and human capital.
This course will enable you to understand current debates and global education goals, and their implications for policy, programming and practice at national, regional and international levels. In doing so, it locates educational debates within a wider development perspective.
Topics in the core modules include current challenges and opportunities in education and international development, including inclusive education, gender inequalities, and school violence, pedagogical reform, teacher supply and quality education, non-formal models of education, including Islamic education, as well as decolonising education, education for sustainable development, and the impact and mitigation of conflict, humanitarian and public health emergencies.
You’ll have the opportunity to attend the joint ‘Education and Development Public Seminar’ series hosted by the Schools of International Development and Education and Lifelong Learning, which showcases cutting-edge educational research from renowned international academics and leading research institutes.
You will also benefit from course lecturers’ close association with the UEA’s UNESCO Chair for Adult Literacy and Learning for Social Transformation.
Study and Modules
Structure
This course is made up of a total of 180 credits:
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Compulsory and optional modules (120 credits)
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Dissertation/ Work Placement (60 credits)
The first of your two compulsory modules is “Introduction to Education and Development”, which lays the foundations for analysis and understanding of key theoretical and practical perspectives on Education and its role in International Development. This is complemented by the second of your compulsory modules, available in the Spring semester – “Educational Policy and Practice for Development”. This module will see you applying your knowledge from “Introduction to Education and Development” and developing skills in policy analysis to investigate a range of development challenges, with a focus on low-income and fragile states.
In addition, you will have the freedom to choose from a set of optional modules available across both semesters of your study, as well as choose from a variety of research methods modules to integrate into your MA programme. You’ll not only be able to choose from modules on offer within the School of International Development, but also from a selection offered by UEA’s School of Education and Lifelong Learning.
Alongside your core and chosen modules, you will work towards completing a supervised dissertation or work placement report. A range of optional seminars and workshops are also offered, which help to strengthen your academic and professional skills. Housekeeping sessions to support your learning – in particular, essay and dissertation writing – occur throughout the year.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 60)Optional B Modules
(Credits: 40)Optional C Modules
(Credits: 40)Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
The teaching on the course involves a combination of teaching and learning methods, including lectures, seminars, and skills-based tutorials. The education modules use a combination of formal lectures and participatory styles of learning. Seminars provide opportunities for collaborative work, student led presentations and research skills. You’ll also read academic books and journals and international reports to access state of the art theories and evidence.
Independent study
You’ll be expected to be a self-directed learner, working individually and in groups to study between module lectures. This gives you the chance to prepare for in-class sessions and assignments, and to concentrate on the areas that interest you the most.
Assessment
The main form of assessment is written coursework assignments, which will enable you to demonstrate learning in depth. In most cases, there is plenty of scope for you to focus on areas that you are particularly interested in. Assessments in your compulsory modules also allow you to develop a range of transferable skills, such as writing for development stakeholders and policymakers. Further assessment methods will differ depending on the optional modules you choose.
You’ll receive oral feedback on your arguments and ideas during seminars, which helps you develop skills in articulating an argument verbally. Your compulsory modules include opportunities for peer-led presentations and review.
You’ll also be encouraged to prepare assignment outlines in advance of coursework deadlines and receive feedback to support your writing of the main assignment.
You will undertake either an academic dissertation or an assessed work placement. The dissertation enables you to build research and information management skills as you use primary and/or secondary data to explore in-depth a specific topic of interest. Critical analysis, application of theory to real world problems and extended report writing skills are developed in both the dissertation and the assessed work placement. The latter also provides an opportunity to gain career-enhancing work experience.
Entry Requirements
- Degree Classification
- UK 2.1 or equivalent
- Degree Subject
- Social Science
- English Foreign Language
We welcome applications from students whose first language is not English. To ensure such students benefit from postgraduate study, we require evidence of proficiency in English. Our usual entry requirements are as follows:
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IELTS: 6.0 (minimum 5.5 in only two components with 6.0 in the others)
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PTE (Pearson): 64 (minimum 59 in only two components with 64 in the others)
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.
Other tests, including Cambridge English exams and the Trinity Integrated Skills in English are also accepted by the university. The full list of accepted tests can be found here: Accepted English Language Tests
INTO University of East Anglia
If you do not meet the English requirements for this course, our partner INTO UEA run pre-sessional English courses which can be taken prior to the start of your course. For further information and to see if you qualify please contact intopre-sessional@uea.ac.uk
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- Intakes
This course is open to UK, EU and International applicants. The annual intake for this course is in September each year.
Additional Information or Requirements
Applicants should normally have a good undergraduate degree from a recognised higher education institution. The University will also take into account the employment experience of applicants where relevant.
INTO University of East Anglia
If you do not meet the academic requirements for this course, you may be able to study one of the International Graduate Diploma programmes offered by our partner INTO UEA. These programmes guarantee progression to selected masters degrees if students achieve the appropriate grade. For more details please click here:
Fees and Funding
Tuition fees for the Academic Year 2023/24 are:
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UK Students: £9,650 (full time)
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International Students: £19,800 (full time)
If you choose to study part-time, the fee per annum will be half the annual fee for that year, or a pro-rata fee for the module credit you are taking (only available for Home students).
We estimate living expenses at £1,023 per month.
Further Information on tuition fees can be found here.
Scholarships and Bursaries
The University of East Anglia offers a range of Scholarships; please click the link for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
Please see Additional Course Fees for details of additional course-related costs.
How to Apply
Applications for Postgraduate Taught programmes at the University of East Anglia should be made directly to the University.
To apply please use our online application form.
FURTHER INFORMATION
If you would like to discuss your individual circumstances prior to applying please do contact us:
Postgraduate Admissions Office
Tel: +44 (0)1603 591515
Email: admissions@uea.ac.uk
International candidates are also encouraged to access the International Students section of our website.
Employability
After the Course
Upon completing your MA, you’ll be well placed to pursue a variety of exciting careers both in and beyond international development.
You’ll also be well qualified to enter a PhD programme with a view to continuing to an academic career both in the UK and overseas.
Careers
A degree at UEA will prepare you for a wide variety of careers. We've been ranked 1st for Job Prospects by StudentCrowd in 2022.
A career in international development can take you in all kinds of directions, such as:
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International organisations and UN agencies,
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Governmental and non-governmental organisations
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Local governments
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Private sector
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Our previous graduates have gone on to work for the British High Commission in Ghana, UNITAR in Japan, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, a variety of development and research agencies, such as JICA, FCDO and NFER, international and national NGOs, as well as PhD studies in related fields.