University College London (UCL)
Education (Citizenship) MA
London, United Kingdom
MA
DURATION
5 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
The Education (Citizenship) MA program is designed to explore how education shapes active citizenship in diverse societies. It looks at ways schools and educational policies influence social inclusion, civic engagement, and democratic participation. The course combines theoretical ideas with practical approaches, helping you understand the role of education in promoting social justice. Throughout the program, you'll examine contemporary issues like diversity, identity, and social cohesion, all within a global context. This helps students develop a deep understanding of how education can support positive community change.
The program encourages critical thinking about education's purpose and function in shaping responsible citizens. You’ll engage with a range of disciplines, including sociology, politics, and education studies, to gain a broad perspective on civic education. The coursework often includes research projects, discussions, and reflective practices, providing opportunities to connect theories with real-world issues. Whether you’re aiming to work in policy, teaching, or community work, the program prepares students to contribute thoughtfully to education reform and social development. It’s structured to support those balancing studies with work or other commitments, offering flexible learning options to fit different needs.
UCL Scholarships
There are a number of scholarships available to postgraduate students, including our UCL Masters Bursary for UK students and our UCL Global Masters Scholarship for international students. You can click the link below to search via the scholarships finder for awards that you might be eligible for. Your academic department will also be able to provide you with more information about funding.
External Scholarships
Online aggregators like Postgraduate Studentships, Scholarship Search, Postgraduate Funding and International Financial Aid and College Scholarship Search contain information on a variety of external schemes.
If you have specific circumstances or ethnic or religious background it is worth searching for scholarships/bursaries/grants that relate to those things. Some schemes are very specific.
Funding for disabled students
Master's students who have a disability may be able to get extra funding for additional costs they incur to study.
Teaching and learning
A range of teaching and learning methods will be used across different modules. The Teaching Controversial Issues (compulsory module) involves a range of activities including group and whole class discussions, silent debates and formal debates which are intended to mirror the ways teachers would approach different topics in schools.
Students will have a dissertation supervisor to support them through the development, execution, and writing of their dissertation project. These supervisions can be conducted face-to-face and/or online. The module includes workshops, lectures, and seminars that provide a foundation in research skills and methods.
Modules will include various forms of assessment, depending on their focus and topic.
Please note that the dissertation module listed below will change its name to 'Dissertation in Education with Integrated Research Methods' starting in 2025/26. This module supports students in undertaking an original, independent scholarly investigation in the field of education. Students often choose a dissertation topic relevant to their personal and professional interests, typically involving some fieldwork or empirical data collection.
Each 30-credit module has 300 nominal learning hours. This is made up of formal learning and teaching events such as lectures, seminars, tutorials as well independent study.
During term time you will be expected to study between 15-20 hours per module, per week, including personal time. Learning hours continue outside term and full-time study on the MA and would amount to 40 hours a week over 45 weeks.
Modules
Full-time
The programme consists of two compulsory modules (30 credits each), and two optional modules (30 credits each) and a dissertation (60 credits). The overall structure of the programme is as follows:
- What is Education? (compulsory)
- Teaching Controversial Issues (compulsory)
- Dissertation in Education with Integrated Research Methods (compulsory)
- Two optional modules
The Education (Citizenship) MA can be studied full-time within one academic year. If you complete the programme full-time you will usually take two modules in the Autumn term and two in the Spring term. In the Autumn term, you must complete the ‘What is Education?’ module. During the year, you must also complete the Teaching Controversial Issues module (which is compulsory on the citizenship education route) and two further optional modules (in addition to the dissertation).
Students are free to select their optional modules from the wider range of MA level modules offered across IOE/UCL subject to availability.
Part-time
The programme consists of two compulsory modules (30 credits each), and two optional modules (30 credits each) and a dissertation (60 credits). The overall structure of the programme is as follows:
- What is Education? (compulsory)
- Teaching Controversial Issues (compulsory)
- Dissertation in Education with Integrated Research Methods (compulsory)
- Two optional modules
The Education (Citizenship) MA can be studied part-time, the learning is spread out over 2 consecutive academic years. In year one, you take 3 modules (90 credits) and in year two you take one module (30 credits) and a dissertation (60 credits). The dissertation must be completed in the second year of study.
You can choose the order in which the modules are taken (provided they are available in the relevant term). Students are free to select their optional modules from the wider range of MA level modules offered across IOE/UCL subject to availability.
Flexible
The programme consists of two compulsory modules (30 credits each), and two optional modules (30 credits each) and a dissertation (60 credits). The overall structure of the programme is as follows:
- What is Education? (compulsory)
- Teaching Controversial Issues (compulsory)
- Dissertation in Education with Integrated Research Methods (compulsory)
- Two optional modules
The Education (Citizenship) MA can be studied on a modular/flexible basis, with up to five years to complete the program. You must complete your dissertation in your final year of study.
You can choose the order in which the modules are taken (provided they are available in the relevant term). Students are free to select one of their optional modules from the wider range of MA level modules offered across IOE/UCL subject to availability.
Compulsory modules
- What is Education?
- Dissertation on Education
- Teaching Controversial Issues
Optional modules
- Education and Identities: Citizenship, Rights, Narratives
- The Holocaust in the Curriculum
- Curriculum Research and Development in History
- Curriculum Development: Issues and Principles
- Assessment: Issues and Practice
- Educational Testing
- Curriculum, Policy and Practice
- Global Learning: Principles and Theoretical Perspectives
- Transforming the Geography Curriculum
- Understanding Mathematics Education
- Mathematics for Teachers
- Supporting Learners and Learning
- Feminist approaches to knowledge and pedagogy
- Independent Study
- Developing Mentoring Practices
- Action Research
- Education for Sustainable Development: Perspectives from Policy and Practice
- Educating Teachers
- Professional agency and teacher activism
- Multilingual Perspectives on Education (MPE)
- Teacher as Author: Curriculum Design and Development
- East Asian Philosophies of Education (EAPE)
- The Future of Education
- Communicating Knowledge: Possibilities and Opportunities
Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MA in Education (Citizenship).
What this course will give you
This Education MA is located in the Department of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment, a world-leading centre for subject-specialist education. By studying the citizenship education route, you will have the opportunity to reflect on theory and practice in citizenship education. Through assignments focused on contemporary research, you will have opportunities to develop theory, and, in some cases, practice, to enhance the quality of the teaching and learning of citizenship in educational settings and related contexts.
You will be encouraged to read widely in specialist literature and be introduced to world-leading theory and research in citizenship education and in education studies more broadly. You will be encouraged to innovate and test ideas and to contribute to ongoing discussions about improving citizenship education.
The Education (Citizenship) MA offers students the opportunity to study face-to-face, to combine online study with face-to-face sessions, or to pursue their studies entirely by online learning. Online learning and blended learning provide access to our courses for students studying at a distance.
With this programme, it may be possible to reduce the cost of studying to two-thirds of the total if you already have PGCE Master’s credits. This is valid for up to 5 years after the completion of your PGCE.
The foundation of your career
Graduates of this programme are currently working across a broad range of areas. Some are working as teachers, senior leaders in schools in the UK and internationally, while others work in a range of other educational settings and for governments in curriculum design and related areas.
Employability
The programme develops students' ability to think critically and analytically about theory and practice in educational settings and the ability to organise and evaluate empirical and theoretical claims and arguments about educational aims and practices. Students learn to organise, evaluate and present data and argument in robust and critically informed ways and to read, design, conduct and evaluate educational research, taking account of relevant practical, theoretical and ethical issues. In this way the programme will prepare students for further study or for work in the field of education.
Networking
Your experiences on the course will involve mixing with the large number of students completing post graduate courses at UCL. In addition, you will work with a range of lecturers, guest lecturers and visiting academics. The Citizenship Education route also involves some sessions with the latest cohort of student teachers who are training to be citizenship teachers in the UK.