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Education and Professional Development BA/BA(Hons)

2026-27 (also available for 2025-26)

Start date

21 September 2026

Duration

2 years part-time

About the course

Reasons to study

  1. Our Education and Professional Development course achieved an overall satisfaction score of 93% in the National Student Survey 2022
  2. Flexibility: blended learning allows you to study at degree level and enhance your career prospects without having to leave the workplace.
  3. Support: develop your academic skills and career prospects with the support of our professional staff.

This course is designed for professionals working in the education and training sector or related fields such as healthcare, careers, and the uniformed services who wish to advance their professional knowledge and skills.

Delivered through an innovative ‘blended learning’ approach, the course combines in-person Saturday sessions with engaging online activities that include both individual and collaborative study. Your own professional practice serves as the foundation for building confidence in critical analysis, developing entrepreneurial ideas, influencing policy, and enhancing digital and academic expertise. Access to appropriate technology and a willingness to engage with emerging tools are essential.

Central to the course is a supportive and dynamic learning community that values critical friendships, social networking, tutor guidance, and exemplary online and in-person teaching practices. This programme fosters adaptability, knowledge, and skills essential for thriving in fast-evolving professional environments. Emphasising a ‘students-as-researchers’ approach, the course offers unique opportunities to showcase practitioner-led research at annual festivals.

The top five job titles advertised in the UK for graduate roles associated with Education and Professional Development BA/BA(Hons) are Graduate Teaching Assistants, School Administrators, School Business Managers, Psychology Teaching Assistants and Academic Mentors. *

*Lightcast data extracted from Graduate Career Explorer – job postings from Dec 2023 to Nov 2024 showing jobs advertised associated with a selection of relevant graduate.

Course detail

Core modules:

Professional Practice (Advanced)

This module is focused on enhancing your professionalism and practice through structured workplace learning. You'll have the opportunity to explore work-based learning opportunities and employability together with student occupational and professional concepts, principles and techniques, including reflective practice and using established analytical tools. You'll develop and maintain a systematic approach to evidencing and reviewing your professionalism and employability. There's an emphasis on you setting your own work related learning objectives, developing reflective practice and using learning agreements. Your development will normally be supported in the workplace through supervision arrangements,

Improving Teaching and Learning

This module will allow you to explore innovative and creative developments in teaching and learning practice. You'll have the opportunity to develop a proposal for innovative practice in your own professional context through a presentation and supporting paper and to evaluate the effectiveness of your intervention through a short presentation and discussion.

Critical Education

This module seeks to explore the social, cultural, political and economic context of education. Assessment is typically via the development of a portfolio analysing the influences on education, a reflexive account of your own personal and professional development and an evaluation of a specific aspect of current educational practice.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for this course are normally one of the following:

  • Cert Ed or level 5 teaching/training/education qualification
  • Foundation Degree from the University of Huddersfield

Candidates not meeting the above academic requirements but who are able to demonstrate significant and relevant experience will be considered on an individual basis. Please get in contact for further advice.

In addition you must also demonstrate at least two years teaching or training experience and be in an educational or training role.

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


We know you're coming to university to undertake your course, meet new people and broaden your horizons. However, we also help you to focus on life after you have graduated to ensure that your hard work pays off and you achieve your ambition.

While you're here (and even after you graduate) the Careers and Employability Service offer professional help, support and guidance, including industry-supported workshops and one-to-one guidance sessions.

*86.5% of undergraduate graduates from the School of Business, Education and Law who are in work and/or further study within fifteen months of graduation. (HESA Graduate Outcomes 21/22, UK domiciled graduates)

86.5% 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

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by our terms and conditions, Handbook of Regulations and associated policies. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.

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

Changes to a course you have applied for but are not yet enrolled on

If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment. We may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will discuss with you other suitable courses we can transfer your application to. If you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

Changes to option modules:

Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have an equivalent range of options to that advertised for the course. We will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

Major changes:

We will only make major changes to non-optional modules on a course if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that substantially changes the outcomes, or a significant part of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum. For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators or a commissioning or accrediting body. We may also make changes to improve the course in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback or to ensure you are being taught current best practice. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment, or pandemics.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but may happen sooner in an emergency. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed in accordance with the student protection plan.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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