Education (Primary Education)

Entry requirements

Applicants for this course should have achieved a UK High II.i Honours Degree.

If your degree is not from the UK, please check International Qualifications to find the equivalent in your country.

IMPORTANT: This course is only open to students who have completed the PGCE at the Faculty of Education.

PGCEM applicants are NOT required to submit transcripts or references.

Please ignore the 'Things you'll need' instructions below on this page and instead refer to the step-by-step application instructions on the Faculty of Education website. View the 'How to Apply' section.

Months of entry

October

Course content

The part-time Primary Education route is intended for education professionals, policymakers and researchers at any stage of their career. Many students have relevant international experience and interests. We aim to fuse research and theoretical understandings about primary or elementary education with current priorities in policy and practice.

To apply to finish your Masters through the PGCEM route you will have already completed the Postgraduate Certificate Education (PGCE) at the Faculty of Education. You will then join the Primary Education route for your second year of study. On the Primary Education Masters course you will have the opportunity to:

enhance your educational understanding and practice through critical reflection, study and research;

critically engage with the best quality national and international educational research that has relevance to primary education;

carry out an individual and collaborative critical enquiry into significant educational issues and practice; and

develop your thinking in order to contribute to informed policy and practice analysis and improvement in the primary phase and your own work setting.

The education aims are:

to examine the theoretical frameworks used in the study of education and its constituent disciplines;

provide training in research methods appropriate to education;

advance students’ capacity for professional reflection and judgment;

cater to a range of specialists interested within the field of education or one of its constituent disciplines.

Course modules:

Critical perspectives on primary education policy and practice

Creative approaches to the curriculum

Pedagogy, talk and learning

The school and communities

Note: Pairs of modules run on a rolling programme. In 2024-2025 the course modules will be the top two on the list. (i.e. Critical perspectives on primary education policy and practice; and Creative approaches to the curriculum)

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the programme, students will have:

a comprehensive understanding of research techniques, and a thorough knowledge of the literature applicable to their specific educational domain;

demonstrated originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in their field;

shown abilities in the critical evaluation of current research and research techniques and methodologies;

demonstrated self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and acted autonomously in the planning and implementation of research.

Information for international students

Language Requirement

IELTS (Academic)

Element Score

Listening 7.0

Writing 7.0

Reading 7.0

Speaking 7.0

Total 7.5

TOEFL Internet Score

Element Score

Listening 25

Writing 25

Reading 25

Speaking 25

Total 110

CAE

Score: Grade A & B (overall score of 193, with no element lower than 185 plus a Language Centre assessment)

CPE

Score: Grade A, B, or C (with at least 200 with no element lower than 185).