Higher and Professional Education MA

What you will study

Our distance learning course offers you the flexibility to create a programme that suits your professional development needs in the field of university teaching. Offered on a part-time basis over three to five years, the qualification recognises the importance of balancing your studying alongside your teaching roles.

This course allows you to tailor your learning according to your interests and preferences through a choice of optional modules. You’ll do this by engaging with the connections between concepts, theory and practice, teaching and research, disciplinary methods, and teachers and students.

As a fully online course, teaching is delivered via a range of live and recorded or guided learning activities that you can engage with at a time that suits you. These activities support the learning outcomes of each module and reflect the needs of the student group. As such, whilst you register for the full masters, you may step off from the course at either the postgraduate certificate or postgraduate diploma levels.

Throughout your studies, you’ll analyse issues relating to your everyday teaching practice. In addition, you’ll debate alternative ideas, challenges, and explore solutions with your peers and tutors. Your experience on the MA can provide evidence to support your application for Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (HEA).

Examples of graduate dissertations

Recent graduates dissertations have covered:

• A lecturer’s journey into the gamification of a design thinking course at Paragon International University, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
• Skill gap analysis on critical thinking based on data-driven decision-making – case of graduate employees in the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) industry
• The impact of work placements on professional and student identity of BSc Accounting and Finance students at the University of Surrey and transition to final year studies
• Facilitating chemistry students' understanding and use of disciplinary language in higher and professional education. The lecturers' views
• Digital education and learning design during the Covid-19 pandemic – what factors can influence the development of early career academics’ design and teaching practices?
• Doctoral writing as relational practice: materialities and timescapes
• From the prompt corner to the lecture theatre: making the move from professional to academic stage manager.

Types of certificates

As you’ll be working within your own higher education institution while you study, our MA course is offered on a part-time basis. It’s anticipated that the diploma would be completed within two years of registration and the dissertation would normally be completed within an additional year. You’ll be registered initially for the MA in Higher and Professional Education (180 credits). However, you can choose to step off at postgraduate certificate (60 credits) or postgraduate diploma (120 credits) level.

Postgraduate certificate

This is built around the compulsory module of Teaching in Your Own Discipline. You'll choose three optional modules that help build your own professional aims and suit your needs.

Postgraduate diploma

This is based on your personal/professional development plan. You’ll choose three further modules that fulfil your personal and professional aims, that strengthen your activities, knowledge and professional values in your career. You’ll also do the compulsory module of Researching in Higher and Professional Education, which aims to help you start thinking about how to investigate and explore issues that intrigue and challenge you in higher and professional education.

Masters

For the MA, you’ll complete a piece of independent research as part of the compulsory Research Dissertation module. This allows you to investigate an issue that you have personally selected that will contribute to your growing understanding of your professional practice.

Delivery method

The course will be delivered online so you can access the materials from your place of work, home or elsewhere. All materials will be available through the University’s virtual learning environment, SurreyLearn. You’ll also have your own personal tutor to support you from our Surrey Institute of Education.

IELTS Academic: 6.5 overall with 6.0 in writing and 5.5 in each other element.

These are the English language qualifications and levels that we can accept.

If you do not currently meet the level required for your programme, we offer intensive pre-sessional English language courses, designed to take you to the level of English ability and skill required for your studies here.