Course Summary
This flexible masters degree is suitable for education professionals who wish to acquire qualities and transferable skills that are highly prized by employers
College Link
Career Sectors
This course prepares you for working in the Career Sectors below. Follow the links to get a fuller understanding of the sectors you are preparing for.
Entry Requirements
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.
Application Details
See Course Web Page link for next start date.
Fees
The Student
Career Interests
This course is typically suited for people with the following Career Interests. If these interests do not describe you, this course may prepare you for work you may not find satisfying.
Social
The Social person's interests focus on interacting with the people in their environment. In all cases, the Social person enjoys the personal contact with other people in preference to the impersonal dealings with things, data and ideas found in other groups.
Many will seek out positions where there is direct contact with the public in some advisory role, whether a receptionist or a counsellor. Social people are motivated by an interest in different types of people and like diversity in their work environments. Many are drawn towards careers in the caring professions and social welfare area, whilst others prefer teaching and other 'informing' roles.
Administrative
Administrative people are interested in work that offers security and a sense of being part of a larger process. They may be at their most productive under supervisors who give clear guidelines and while performing routine tasks in a methodical and reliable way.
They tend to enjoy clerical and most forms of office work, where they perform essential administrative duties. They often form the backbone of large and small organisations alike. They may enjoy being in charge of office filing systems, and using computers and other office equipment to keep things running smoothly. They usually like routine work hours and prefer comfortable indoor workplaces.
Career Progression
This qualification is designed to enrich your knowledge and improve your professional practice. On completing your studies, you should be able to:
demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems at a professional or equivalent level
reflect critically and constructively, in the light of ideas and frameworks presented in the modules, on how these apply to your practice and organisational context.
You will also acquire qualities and transferable skills that are highly prized by employers within education and related fields, such as:
exercising initiative and personal responsibility
the ability to make decisions in complex and unpredictable situations
the ability to draw on appropriate research and ethical understanding
the production of reports/outputs for academic and professional purposes.
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.
Duration
How long it takes
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.