University of Sunderland

Education (Independent Distance Learning)

* Exceptions may apply.  Please see Fees and Finance for further information.

Introduction

This programme is aimed at students living overseas or in other parts of the UK. It is expected that all students will be practitioners from an educational field and would include those working in schools or as administrators at local or national level. A first degree, normally at honours level, and some experience of an educational system post graduation would normally be expected.

Applicants who have completed a Postgraduate Teacher Training programme recently may have successfully completed some M Level modules during their study for that programme. This may enable an applicant to be exempt from the first stage of the MA Education programme, please contact the University for advice.

To gain a Master of Education award 180 credits must be achieved. All students taking the Masters programme will take EPDM 93 (Thesis), a 60 credit module, which will be a study of their own choice agreed with the University. Before that is studied EPDM 95 (Research Methods), a 30 credit module must be taken and this is a module that prepares the groundwork for the Thesis.

These two will give 90 credits of the 180 credits needed.

The other 90 credits will be a choice of three 30 credit modules. Students will have to indicate their selection at the start of the programme and we may offer the modules in a particular order. If possible we will allow a student to change options at any point before they begin studying the particular module.

Some modules have quite open content so that students can steer their study to a particular subject or aspect of education and in these modules we would negotiate with the student beforehand to set the parameters of the content.

Any student who gains 60 credits can leave the programme with a certificate. To progress to a diploma they must gain another 60 credits by taking the research methods module which is compulsory and will count for 30 credits plus one other 30 credit module.

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Course Content

Level 1
Postgraduate Certificate (PgC)
Any 2 x 30 credit module:

• Mentoring and Coaching EPDM 01
• Leading Organisational Effectiveness in Education and Training EPDM 15
• Assessment: Theory into Pedagogic Practice EPDM 16
• The Nature of Teaching and Learning EPDM 83
• Negotiated Individual Study in Education EPDM 97
• Barriers to Learning EPDM 98
• Learning with ICT ESSM 04
• Advanced Pedagogic Practice ESSM 14

Level 2
Postgraduate Diploma (PgD)

Core modules:

• Research Methods in Education EPDM 95
• plus one other 30 credit module from the above

Level 3
Masters (MA) 60 credits

Core modules:

• Thesis EPDM 93

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Entry Requirements

A first degree, normally at honours level and some experience of an educational system post graduation would normally be expected. For those for whom English is their second language the IELTS test scores must be at least 6.5 in each element of the test.

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Fees and Finance

The fees for this course are as specified in the table at the top of the page.

Please note that different fees apply to students studying for "Equivalent or Lower Qualifications" (ELQs). For more information about ELQs, please see the page Information for applicants who already have an HE Qualification.

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Career Opportunities

It is envisaged that potential students will be teachers wishing to enhance their career prospects in schools by having a higher degree or those who are working for state or national ministries who wish to broaden their pedagogical understanding of modern education practice.

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Facilities

*World Class Web/Design Tools*
The University of Sunderland has made a significant investment in providing students with access to the latest releases of Adobe products.

Selected PCs within the St Peter's and Murray Libraries have been pre-loaded with the Creative Suite 4 (CS4) Adobe Design Premium Suite for your exclusive use.

CS4 Creative includes key products such as Indesign, Illustrator, Dreamweaver as well as Photoshop and a range of many others. 

Further information is available from:

http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/creativesuite/design/

For information regarding locations of PC or Macs within your own faculty that have access to Adobe products please contact your Faculty IT Support.

If you are interested in purchasing Adobe products for your own PC/Mac Adobe offer significant savings for student purchases via any of its approved re-sellers.

Please visit:

http://www.student-software.co.uk/

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