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.
| Key facts | |
|---|---|
| Code | F70 |
| Made up of | 180 credits |
To study for this masters degree, you must hold a bachelors degree from a UK university or other recognised degree-awarding body, or a qualification at an equivalent level.
In order to study this qualification you do not need to be employed in an educational setting. However, it is important that you have some experience in engaging or working with learners, children or young people as our specialisms are all explored through the lens of education. Therefore you will need to be able to apply your learning to a relevant context or learning environment. This can be through employment or other means, such as volunteering and/or special arrangements undertaken for the purposes of your study. Apart from schools and colleges, other organisations providing educational services – such as health and care education environments, youth, play, or early years work, armed forces, business and commercial environments – all could provide suitable settings to apply your learning and later carry out your dissertation.
Please note: It is a legal requirement in the UK, rather than an Open University requirement, that you must obtain Enhanced DBS clearance (or equivalent in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) in order to work with children on the module, Masters multi-disciplinary dissertation: education, childhood and youth (E822). This is the responsibility of you and your employer and not The Open University. If you are in doubt about your eligibility or to find out more, you should contact the relevant agency in the country in which you are proposing to conduct your study for more information.
Your spoken and written English must be of an adequate standard for postgraduate study. If English is not your first language, we recommend that you will need a minimum score of 7 under the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Please see their website for details.
Learning and Teaching, Inclusive Practice, and Leadership and Management specialisms: The minimum time to complete is three years, and the maximum time to complete is six years.
Applied Linguistics specialism: This must be completed by 31 December 2026.
Throughout the world, there is an increasing demand for creative, innovative education professionals who have highly developed skills and a deep understanding of learning. In many countries, a masters degree is becoming essential for career advancement in education, training and professional development settings.
This qualification is designed to enrich your knowledge and improve your professional practice. On completing your studies, you should be able to:
You will be guided through the materials on how you can recognise and acknowledge these additional skills.
Please note that this masters degree does not qualify you for teacher registration in any country.
Careers and Employability Services have more information on how OU study can improve your employability.
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 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:
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).