Education

Education at Cambridge

Education is the study of human development and transformation in all its forms and contexts: from the individual mind to the social and political processes taking place within communities, institutions and global networks to the cultural encounters that shape ideas, beliefs and imaginations. Our course allows you to explore these themes across academic disciplines, or develop specialist knowledge in areas such as psychology, international development, or literature and theatre. Creativity, contemporary research and global dimensions are key to this critical understanding and the programme has a particular focus on nurturing independent, reflexive inquiry through the development of critical research skills.

Facilities and resources

The Faculty of Education has excellent resources and facilities within a purpose-built building, designed to support teaching, learning and research. There is a library that houses an extensive collection of material on education and related fields. Active research forms the foundation of our teaching so you're taught by academics at the forefront of their fields, who specialise in cutting-edge research.

Further study and professional qualifications

Our course provides excellent preparation for a wide range of Masters and doctoral research programmes, both at Cambridge and elsewhere.

Alternatively, for those intending to teach, the course provides a foundation from which to proceed to initial teacher training in primary education.

Course outline

This flexible interdisciplinary programme offers a broad, compulsory introduction in year one, followed by the opportunity to select papers across a range of disciplines, or to focus more closely on a particular area you may be interested in exploring in more depth.

You attend approximately four to six lectures and seminars, and one or two hours of supervision per week.

You are assessed at the end of each year. Depending on the papers studied, this will be through practical work, coursework, written examination, or a combination of these. In the third year, all students also submit a dissertation.

Year 1 (Part I)

You take four compulsory papers, which together will engage you with elements of history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, literature and the arts, drawing on scholarship from the UK and a range of international contexts, which will provide a strong foundation to support you in a range of more specialist options in Part II.

• Introduction to Education, Systems and Disciplines
• Learning and Human Development
• Education, Creativity and Culture
• Education and Social Justice

Year 2 (Part IIA)

In Year 2, you take four papers. Two are compulsory, and are designed to provide you with the foundations of Education research, in preparation for the dissertation in Part IIB.

• Designing Educational Research
• Dissertation: Literature Review

You will then choose two further papers from a list designed to build on the core foundations provided in Part I. You will have the opportunity to design your own pathway, which can be pursued further in Part IIB. You may choose to specialise, for example in psychology, literature or international development. Alternatively, you may select papers which allow you to pursue your interests across a range of disciplines. For examples of the papers which may be offered, please see Part IIB.

Year 3 (Part IIB)

In Year 3, you take four papers: a compulsory dissertation of 8,000 to 10,000 words which will allow you to pursue a research project into a relevant area of particular interest to you, and three further papers from a list of options, again designed to give you the flexibility to pursue your interests, whether these are specialist or more general. Examples of papers which may be offered include:

• Language, Communication and Literacies
• Children's Literature
• Modernity, Globalisation and Education
• Theatre: Text and Production
• Education, Neuroscience and Society
• Formal and Informal Contexts of Learning
• Changing Landscapes of Childhood and Youth: History, Experience and Culture
• Critical Debates in Education and International Development
• Case Studies in Education, Policy and International Development
• Towards a Transnational Sociology of Education: Space, Power and Politics
• Play, Creativities and Imagination
• International Literatures and Cultures
• Performance, Education and Society

For further information about studying Education at the University of Cambridge, see the Faculty of Education website.

The application process

The Cambridge application process is slightly different to other universities. You still need to apply through UCAS, however, at Cambridge the process starts earlier to give us time to collect and consider all of the application information. The steps below and the following pages will guide you through the process.

You’re going to be studying to a very high level for several years so make sure you choose a course you’re personally interested in and will really enjoy studying! Check, also, that you meet the entrance requirements of the course you want to study.

Most applicants need to take a written admission assessment as part of the application process. Some applicants will also be asked to submit examples of their written work.

Please check the type of assessment required for your course as early as possible as some assessments require you to be registered before the UCAS application deadline (15 or 30 September).

Where would you like to live when you’re here? In your UCAS application, you can apply directly to one of our 29 Colleges or make an open application. 

You need to submit your UCAS application by 15 October – our institution code is CAM C05. Please note:

• Earlier or later deadlines may apply for Mature Students, Foundation Year and Organ Scholarship applicants.
• There's an additional application form if you're applying for the Graduate Course in Medicine.
• You can’t apply to both the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford in the same year.
• Some applicants will be required to submit an academic transcript.

After you’ve submitted your UCAS application, you will need to fill in an additional Cambridge-specific application form, which we’ll send you a link to by email.

Everyone with a good chance of being offered a place is invited to attend an interview. If you decide to apply, you can find videos and full information on what to expect and how to prepare, in our interviews section.

We’ll advise you of our decision before the end of January.