Education (Wales)

The course is 3 years part-time. There is no full-time option. Applicants who have completed a PGCE (or equivalent) with 60 credits at level 7 and/or significant professional experience are likely to be exempt from the first year of study. To be eligible for consideration, applicants must provide appropriate academic and/or professional evidence of this in the application process via the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Form. Please contact us for more information on this.  

The programme consists of 200 hours of study per 20 credit module, of which 22 will be contact hours.

Learning will be a blend of online independent study and face-to-face activities. This will include a combination of activities.

Students on this course will join students on the same course at 6 other HEIs. This includes joining for face-to-face sessions online at the National Saturday events.

Assessments are all coursework assignments and will be submitted at the end of each module. Wherever possible, assignments have been designed to complement the working contexts and schedules of full-time teacher. More information about assessment can be found on the specific module pages. The final year will focus on completing a dissertation.

The course can be study via the medium of Welsh.

The School of Education has been offering stimulating and innovative study programmes for over 100 years.

School of Education staff are either qualified to PhD standard or are experienced practitioners in their field.

Course Duration

The MA Education (Wales) is a part-time Masters over three years.

Prospective students are encouraged to contact Dr Megan Hicks, Programme Director for the MA (meh19@aber.ac.uk) or Dr Andrew Davies, Head of Department (ajd2@aber.ac.uk) for more information about the course and to sign up for one of our online open evenings (these will take place in March, April, June, July).

To start the application process, applicants should:

• Complete the general application form by clicking the ‘Apply now’ icon.
• Following this, you will be contacted by the Postgraduate Admissions Team who will send you 2 additional application forms to complete: the ‘Supplementary Application’ and ‘Recognition of Prior Learning’ form. You will be asked to complete and submit both of these. These will then be forwarded to the department for consideration.
• Applicants are encouraged to speak with the programme director prior to completion of the additional forms.

 For further information regarding policies and to view/obtain the application forms, please visit the dedicated MA Education (Wales) webpage.

Entry Requirements

Candidates must hold Qualified Teacher Status and be currently employed in the compulsory education sector in the UK. 

Course Fees

Welsh Government funding for this course is available to support teachers in years 3-6 of their careers. All teachers, regardless of length of experience, are welcome to apply for the MA as self-funded candidates.

Welsh Government funding for this course is available to support:

• Teachers in years 3-6 of their careers 
• Teachers and FE college teachers to follow the ALN pathway 
• Teachers and FE college teachers to follow the Leadership pathway.

Please see conditions/eligibility for the funding.

Additional Costs

Access to your own digital device/the appropriate IT kit will be essential during your time studying at Aberystwyth University.

You may face additional costs while at university, including (but not limited to):

• Travel to and from campus
• Printing, photocopying, binding, stationery and equipment costs (e.g. USB sticks)
• Purchase of books or texts
• Gowns for graduation ceremonies.

How is the course structured?

All students undertaking the National MA Education (Wales) will follow the course structure below (unless you are applying for RPL in Year 1):

Year 1

·      Collaborative and Professional Practice

·      Evidence Informed Practice

·      Pedagogy and Practice.

Year 2

·      Two optional modules from Term 1, Term 2 or Term 3.

·      Advanced Research and Enquiry Skills.

Year 3

Dissertation.

Module tutors and personal tutors are provided for the students studying the MA Education (Wales).

For those who wish to study the MA Education (Wales) with a specific pathway, there will be specialist modules required to follow. For more information, please view the relevant course profiles. 

I chose the Masters in Education (Wales) because I was looking for a new challenge and way to ensure research continued to inform my teaching and leadership in the school. As we move towards the new curriculum and Schools as Learning Organisation I identified my own professional development need to engage more broadly with educational thought. The idea of University staff and teachers across both primary and secondary sector across Wales collaborating together sounded exciting and I wanted to be part of it. I chose Aber University because it is where I did my PGCE so I knew the department and the quality of teaching I would receive. As one of the 7 partner universities in the Masters of Education (Wales) I also knew they would be at the forefront of educational thought in Wales, which is heading in an exciting direction. The most rewarding element of the course so far has certainly been the National Conference Days which see experts and lecturers from across Wales explaining their latest research and sharing their knowledge with us. The course is designed well so that assignments are due after school holidays and lots of the work is related to what I am doing day to day in school which all makes it easier to achieve.” 

Andrew Morel, MA Education (Wales) student