Page last updated 11 November 2024
This flexible part-time online course is for those working in, or working towards, leadership roles in education. It will enable you to develop your leadership skills while progressing your career in education. Study leadership theory, evidence-based approaches and explore exemplars to apply your specific professional context to expand your impact and extend your career.
Education plays a central role in individuals' lives and effective leadership is crucial for ensuring high-quality, purposeful education. Whether you're a teacher, administrator, policymaker or moving into the area of education, developing your leadership knowledge and skills within the educational context equips you to be a successful education leader. Understanding your own strengths, collaborating with others, navigating complex environments and making impactful decisions are essential components of effective educational leadership.
Our MA Education Leadership course allows you to personalise your studies to suit your own professional development. By linking leadership theory with educational contexts applied to your role, you’ll be equipped to make a real contribution to leadership within the field of education.
Critically analyse and explore the relationship between models of both leadership and education practice. You’ll also learn how to conduct ethical and robust enquiry, developing your evidence-based leadership skills to prepare you for the next steps in your career.
The course takes both a learner and learning-centred approach, ensuring you’ll reflect on your own role and develop expertise based on the real-world challenges you face in your professional life. Build a critical, enquiring and solutions focused mindset that you’ll be able to apply to any educational workplace.
Study remotely through our online learning community, where you’ll benefit from online discussion boards and group forums with your peers and tutors. You’ll have the opportunity to share experiences, provide mutual support and gain expertise from other professionals working in the field.
With all materials provided weekly in advance, you’ll have the opportunity to work through your online course at your own pace and at the times which suit you. Our delivery is designed to support career progression including for those working overseas in international contexts.
This course is suitable for students coming from a wide range of backgrounds. You may be about to start, or recently started, in an organisational leadership position in education. You may already be in a leadership position and you’re now looking to pursue this within an educational setting. You could be new to education but have a leadership aspect to your role. Alternatively, you may work in an educational organisation, and you wish to move into leadership. The course is for you too if you’re an education professional looking to move into leadership, or you’re looking to expand your knowledge and practice in leadership within education.
Depending on your background and goals, the MA Education Leadership offers you the chance to carry out a final project on a work-based focus in your role; to improve and refine your leadership practice; to better understand yourself as a leader when working with others; to develop a deeper understanding of both the theory and practice of leadership; and to gain skills and experiences in education leadership to enhance your career.
Graduates from this course will advance and extend their careers in education environments. Developing your own leadership role whilst gaining wider insights and opportunities in training, education, policy and development as well as leading in a range of contexts where education is a key element.
At the start of this MA Education Leadership course, you’ll complete an initial 15 credit module, designed to help you reflect on your own strengths, values, understanding of leadership and personal goals. This will provide the basis for supporting your professional and academic skills.
You’ll then work through a range of modules that support the development of your education leadership approach, as well as enhancing your skills in evidence-based-practice.
At the end of the course, you’ll engage in an enquiry applying the skills and knowledge you have gained throughout the course to a work-based challenge.
You’ll create a portfolio to showcase your learning and development.
You'll study:
The University continually enhances our offer by responding to feedback from our students and other stakeholders, ensuring the curriculum is kept up to date and our graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need for the real world. This may result in changes to the course. If changes to your course are approved we'll inform you.
Your teaching will be delivered in an online, asynchronous format to give you maximum flexibility to arrange your studies around your existing commitments.
We use a range of methods, including online lectures, tasks, project work, discussion forums and supervision. Our learner-centred approach enables you to follow your interests by selecting the focus of your work and assessments, feeding into the specific context of your professional role. All course activity will be context-based relevant to leading in a variety of educational environments.
As part of your learning, you’ll complete self-directed study, such as independent reading and assignment preparation, as well as directed tasks, such as exploring case studies and reviewing literature.
Engage with our supportive virtual learning community and collaborate with your peers using online group forums and discussion boards.
See our glossary of learning and teaching terms.
You’ll complete the course over two years. This involves self-directed study and participation in online activities (12-18 hours per week) with the support of an online tutor.
There is an expectation of significant weekly engagement with learning materials and resources, but the course has been designed to fit flexibly alongside work and other life commitments.
We welcome students from a range of backgrounds and acknowledge that some students may be returning to study after some time away. We therefore provide a range of sources of support to help you throughout your master's level study.
You’ll be assessed using a variety of methods to enhance your learning experience. These methods have been designed to develop your skills and reflect authentic professional roles. These include action plans, proposals, needs analyses, interviews, self-assessment, peer assessment, blog posts and reports, all incorporated into portfolios and case studies of work. You’ll complete a final module portfolio-based assessment which includes an in-depth evidence-based report, reflection and professional conversation.
Each assignment will provide evidence of your professional learning,. demonstrate the skills you’ve gained and support the development of your practice as a leader. Assignments will also involve feedback (self, peer and/or tutor) designed to encourage you to build a reflective approach towards your education leadership practice.
Throughout the part-time online MA Education Leadership course we model a values-based approach to leadership, which you’ll learn to analyse in relation to your own professional context. You’ll develop your enquiry-based skills to gain insight into your professional leadership practice. This enables you to become an authentic leader, preparing you for the next steps in your career.
Learn more about our assessments.
Take our questionnaire to find out if you are eligible to study on one our online postgraduate degree courses.
Eligibility testAs a skills-focused course, our MA Education Leadership award offers you a tailored learning experience, applying theoretical models to contextualised practice.
When you graduate, you’ll be equipped to lead in educational environments, making a contribution to workplace developments while progressing your career as a leader.
Develop skills in critical thinking, decision making, evidence-based practice and reflection, building your confidence in your ability to become a leader in education. You’ll also boost your professional development by enhancing your team based interpersonal skills, ensuring you’re able to work with others and demonstrate impact.
Whether your career is focused working within in the UK or overseas, we’ll support your career progression.
We welcome applicants from a variety of backgrounds whether you want to develop your skills and competencies in your current role or those who require a postgraduate level qualification to progress to more senior roles.
Learn more about our graduate destinations.
Students pay on a modular basis.
Domestic UK students may be eligible for UK postgraduate student loan assistance. Students in receipt of this funding need to remain on track to complete the course within 2 years otherwise payments will be interrupted or stopped.
Usually applicants will be required to hold an undergraduate degree (or equivalent). Applicants without a degree will be required to demonstrate suitability for study at master's level.
Accredited Learning will be available up to a maximum of 90 credits for relevant qualification, eg PGCE, Cert Ed, Dip Ed. Accredited Experiential Learning may be available for attaching academic credit to recognised professional training/CPD courses, eg NPQH/SL/ML, MAST.
We welcome international students onto this course.
For country specific entry requirements, please find your country on the country information pages.
International and EU applicants are required to have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 with 5.5 in each component (or approved equivalent*).
*The University accepts a large number of UK and international qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades you'll need, in our English Language section.
We want to ensure that the course will suit your needs, so we pay especially close attention to the Personal Statement which forms part of your application to the University. Please take particular care over this statement.
You should say in around 300–500 words:
Wherever possible, your statement should draw on relevant personal experience. When describing the personal attributes and qualities which you believe equip you for a career in education leadership, include actual brief examples from your experience where you displayed those attributes and qualities.