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Education (Early Childhood Studies) MA

2025-26 (also available for 2024-25)

This course is eligible for Master's loan funding. Find out more.

Start date

22 September 2025

12 January 2026

18 May 2026

Duration

1 year full-time
2 years part-time (Sept. only)

About the course

Reasons to study

  1. Develop your career within the specialist field of early childhood education.
  2. A broad range of module options means you can tailor your studies to suit your current role or future career ambitions.
  3. 91.3% of our postgraduates are in work and/or further study fifteen months after graduating*

*HESA Graduate Outcomes 21/22, UK domiciled graduates from the School of Business, Education and Law.

If you’re looking to develop your career within the specialist field of early childhood education (0-7 years), then this course could be for you.

Why Education (Early Childhood Studies)?

  • In this course you’ll reflect on a range of international attitudes to early childhood education. You’ll also consider the relationship between theoretical perspectives and aspects of practice in early childhood education.
  • You’ll have the opportunity to focus on current issues faced by early years professionals and you’ll study early childhood education in international contexts. Themes include children’s rights, sociology of childhood, psychological perspectives on childhood and international approaches to early years education. The course combines knowledge about practical aspects of the early years curriculum with the opportunity to bring a theoretical understanding to help to deepen and challenge your thinking.
  • The course is tailored around you. You can expand on your early years focus by choosing from a range of options to match your role, experience or organisation to help you progress as an informed, reflective and inspirational practitioner.
  • On this course you’ll have the opportunity to develop an understanding of critical reflection and how to employ independent learning strategies to enable you to evaluate and inform your professional practice.You’ll also develop and deepen your knowledge and understanding of educational research and be able be able to use these skills in researching an aspect of early childhood studies for your dissertation.
  • You’ll be taught by an outstanding team of teachers, and will have access to our extensive professional and academic network which feeds directly into course design and delivery and to excellent facilities and specialist equipment.

Course detail

Core modules:

International Approaches to Early Childhood Education

The module will help you to reflect on a range of international perspectives on early childhood education. It will emphasise the relationship between theoretical perspectives and aspects of practice in early childhood education. You'll critically engage with debates about early childhood education and will focus on the education of children in a range of settings.

Methods of Enquiry
Introduction to Action Research
Dissertation

You will study either ‘Introduction to Action Research or ‘Methods of Enquiry’.

Option modules:

In addition, you choose two modules from the ‘Option modules’ tab below.

Please note: If you start your course in September, you will complete four modules and then your dissertation. If you start your course in January, you will complete two modules, then your dissertation, then the remaining two modules.

Entry requirements

You should have an honours degree in a relevant subject at 2:2 or above, or a professional equivalent.

The University will determine whether a degree can be recognised as UK equivalent.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.

Your career


**Percentage of graduates from the School of Business, Education and Law who are in work and/or further study fifteen months after graduating (HESA Graduate Outcomes 21/22, UK domiciled graduates).

91.3%** Graduates employed

Student support

​At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

Important information

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

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