Education, Public Policy & Equity

    Education, Public Policy & Equity

    Duration12 month(s)
    Tuition Fee
    GBP 36,601 / Year
    Next IntakeSeptember 19, 2026

    Education, Public Policy & Equity

    About

    The Masters in Education, Public Policy & Equity provides the broad preparation needed for work in education policy. The teaching methods emphasise dealing with applied issues and facilitate your development as a critical thinker through engaging with real life issues.

  • This interdisciplinary programme draws on sociology, political science, and economics to provide you with a rigorous and broad grounding in theory for studying education as a vital component of public policy.
  • This academic programme places joint emphasis on qualitative and quantitative analytical methods, which are reinforced through application to real policy issues under the guidance of experienced tutors.
  • The teaching and assessment methods emphasise working critically with complex arguments. This will prepare you for the normative judgements required by decision makers once the limits of positive analysis have been reached.
  • This programme was developed by the Robert Owen Centre for Educational Change to address the increasingly wider range of contemporary challenges in education policy, particularly public policy aims relating to equity, health, social policy and the economy.
  • You will explore how equity in education influences equity in society and vice versa. Educational disadvantage and inequity do not exist in isolation from other forms of disadvantage. Therefore, the programme critically analyses the ability of education policy to influence wider social issues.
  • The programme builds on an international tradition of postgraduate programmes studying education policy and reinterprets this through an integrated focus on equity.
  • Education at Glasgow is ranked 6th in the UK by the Complete University Guide 2025.
  • Watch: Education, Public Policy & Equity MSc programme overview
  • Requirements

    Entry Requirements

    2.1 Hons (or non-UK equivalent) in Accepted Subjects: Education, Social Sciences, Business, Law, Public Administration, or other related subjects. Those with prior degrees in non-cognate subjects but with relevant work experience will also be considered.

    A personal statement of around 300 words is required. This should cover two areas: Your motivation for applying for this programme specifically. The degree to which your previous educational and professional experiences and interests make you a suitable candidate for the programme - and how completing the programme will benefit you professionally, please be explicit.

    English Requirements

    • PTEMin 60
    • IELTSMin 6.5
    • TOEFLMin 90

    English Program Requirements

    For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level.

    International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic and Academic Online (not General Training)

    • 6.5 with no subtests under 6.0
    • IELTS One Skill Retake Accepted
    • Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

    Common equivalent English language qualifications for entry to this programme

    TOEFL (ibt, mybest or athome)

    • 90 overall with Reading 20; Listening 19; Speaking 19; Writing 21
    • Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements, this includes TOEFL mybest.

    Pearsons PTE Academic

    • 59 with minimum 59 in all subtests
    • Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

    Cambridge Proficiency in English (CPE) and Cambridge Advanced English (CAE)

    • 176 overall, no subtest less than 169
    • Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

    Oxford English Test

    • 7 overall with no subtest less than 6
    • Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

    LanguageCert Academic SELT

    • 70 overall with no subtest less than 60
    • Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

    Password Skills Plus

    • 6.5 overall with no subtest less than 6.0
    • Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

    Trinity College Tests

    • Integrated Skills in English II & III & IV: ISEII Distinction with Distinction in all sub-tests
    • Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

    University of Glasgow Pre-sessional courses

    • Tests are accepted for 2 years following date of successful completion.

    Alternatives to English Language qualification

    • Degree from majority-English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI including Canada if taught in English)
      • students must have studied for a minimum of 2 years at Undergraduate level, or 9 months at Master's level, and must have completed their degree in that majority-English speaking country within the last 6 years.
    • Undergraduate 2+2 degrees from majority-English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI including Canada if taught in English)
      • students must have completed their final two years study in that majority-English speaking country within the last 6 years.

    For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use these tests to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level programmes. The University is also able to accept UKVI approved Secure English Language Tests (SELT) but we do not require a specific UKVI SELT for degree level programmes. We therefore still accept any of the English tests listed for admission to this programme.

    Pre-sessional courses

    The University of Glasgow accepts evidence of the required language level from the English for Academic Study Unit Pre-sessional courses. We would strongly encourage you to consider the pre-sessional courses at the University of Glasgow's English for Academic Study (EAS) Unit. Our Pre-sessional courses are the best way to bring your English up to entry level for University study. Our courses give you:

    • direct entry to your University programme for successful students (no need to take IELTS)
    • essential academic skills to help you study effectively at University
    • flexible entry dates so you can join the right course for your level.

    For more detail on our pre-sessional courses please see:

    We can also consider the pre-sessional courses accredited by the below BALEAP approved institutions to meet the language requirements for admission to our postgraduate taught degrees:

    • Heriot Watt
    • Kingston Upon Thames
    • Middlesex University
    • Manchester University
    • Reading University
    • Edinburgh University
    • ST Andrews University
    • UCL
    • Durham.

    For further information about English language requirements, please contact the Recruitment and International Office using our enquiry form

    Career

    Employment: Past Graduates have found employment across the globe; they are working as administrators, lecturers, and researchers in Higher Education; as teachers, of all subjects, in primary and secondary schools; as advisors in education and policy making relating to a variety of topics, including privatisation, marketability, sustainability; and there are those who are developing their own initiatives utilising the skills they gained in this programme. Opportunity: Education is increasingly part of a broader spectrum of public policy issues relating to health, social policy, and the economy. Experience in this growing field, particularly as it relates to an ever-widening range of objectives and policy discourse on an international scope will be invaluable. This programme is designed to provide individuals with that necessary skillset and international outlook.

    Fee Information

    Tuition Fee
    36,601 / year

    Education, Public Policy & Equity

    University of Glasgow

    University of Glasgow

    United Kingdom

    United Kingdom, Glasgow