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Education (Leadership and Management) MA

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Start Dates

21 September 2026

Duration

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


Recent Awards For Excellence

Education - QS 2025
Find out more about these awards
About this course

Overview

Why choose Huddersfield for this course?

  • Enhance your leadership skills and progress your career to the next level.
  • Tailor your studies to your current role or future career ambitions with a broad range of module options designed to match your professional goals.
  • Develop the critical reflection and research skills to enhance your practice and become a confident, reflective, and inspiring educator.

If you're currently in a leadership or management role in the education or public service sector and are looking to advance into a senior management position, or if you're seeking to pursue a career in leadership and management, this course is the perfect next step for you.

The course will equip you with the skills and knowledge to become a more effective leader by exploring key leadership and management theories, and examining the distinct roles of leader and manager, along with the development required for each.

You’ll dive into the concepts of vision, values, culture, and strategic planning, all while reflecting on your personal professional practice. The course will deepen your understanding of learning and development, supported by a variety of teaching and learning strategies, and help you navigate the policy and practice context in which leaders and managers operate.

Why Education (Leadership and Management)?

  • Tailor your studies to your professional experience, helping you become a reflective, inspirational leader and manager.

  • Reflect on your practice, using current theories and research to enhance your leadership and management skills.

  • Develop your understanding of educational research and apply these insights to your dissertation on leadership and management.

  • Collaborate with a diverse group of professionals and benefit from expert teachers, a strong professional network, and access to top facilities and resources.

Who can apply?

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.

What will you learn?

Course Details

You will study the following modules:

This module provides a structured opportunity for students taking a leadership stance either formally or informally, or who aspire to a leadership role, to systematically consider and critically reflect upon leadership as a concept, and “effective leadership” in particular. Students will actively engage with such concepts as the role of the leader, how that role links to and differs from management, and how leaders can be developed.

This module will develop and deepen your knowledge and understanding of research methods, in both academic and professional contexts. It considers some of the theories, methods and implication of research and the complex role of researchers and of practitioner-researchers. You'll explore a range of methods of enquiry in order to enable you to understand the significance and ethics of research.

This module will help you design and develop a piece of individual research into a current work-related or contemporary issue or problem that is related to educational leadership and management. You will select and explain an appropriate research design, which can include action research, and techniques and you will interpret and evaluate the findings and report them in such a way as to encourage dissemination.

You will also choose 2 optional modules this year. The current optional modules are: **Please note that the optional module offerings available to you may vary depending on your start month.**

This module will develop your understanding of the ideas of curriculum: what is taught, how it is taught and why it is taught. You'll explore elements of the hidden curriculum, including hierarchy, power, values, confidence, stereotypes and labelling. The module will also help you to understand how a teachers’ role is constructed. What are teacher identities and how do these shape the role of teachers? Is teaching a professional activity? What are the ideas around this aspect? What is a reflexive/reflective teacher and how does this enhance professional development? You'll also consider some learning theories and their practical application within your setting.

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.

In this module, you'll study changing cultural and historical attitudes to disability including recent social changes that encompasses the disability rights, human rights and equality, and models of health and disability. You'll explore how our understanding of SEND has developed, and the impact of this on our understanding of inclusion, as well as investigate how the needs arising from specific SEND conditions are culturally and socially defined, and what this means for educational policy and practice.

This module will help you to develop an understanding of the links between learning and development, organisation goals and broader human resource policies and practice in a variety of organisational contexts. You'll explore how the learning and development agenda can be promoted by examining learning & development policies, roles, functions, as well as strategies, methods and techniques for establishing learning and development needs.

This module will encourage you to critically reflect on how curricula are developed for children in primary and early primary education, exploring the influence of social, political and cultural drivers in this development. You will consider how children's learning needs are identified and prioritised as curricula are established, and how appropriate pedagogies are promoted to support effective teaching and the assessment of learning.  

This module will help you to explore the role of mentoring and coaching. You'll have the opportunity to examine issues linked to implementing and managing mentoring/coaching schemes, the role of mentors and/or coaches, the strategies that could be used within a mentoring and/or coaching relationship and the ethical issues governing them.

You will explore how autistic people experience the world and consider these experiences through the lens of disability studies. You will study evolving theories of autism, starting with Kanner and Asperger in the 1940s through to current theories such as double empathy theory and monotropism. You will examine key features of autism, as well as societal barriers experienced by autistic people. The module will cover a range of contemporary issues in autism, including autism and mental health, autism in girls and neurodiversity. You will analyse educational policy and practice that supports the inclusion of autistic pupils in a range of educational settings.

This module explores the meaning of childhood in different social, cultural and historical contexts, from a range of theoretical perspectives, and how social, economic and political factors impact on children’s lives and their later development. We consider the positioning of children within society and identify current debates about children’s well-being and holistic development and how these are reflected in policy and practice. We discuss children’s understanding of social and/or cultural issues for example, gender roles and expectations, mental health, prejudice, developing sexuality and sexual identity. We explore how the voice and autonomy of the child is taken into account in responding to social and/or cultural issues. This module will be of interest to those wanting to work with children and young people in a range of educational and support roles, encouraging you to take a critical perspective in discussing how our understanding of childhood shapes policy and provision and supports the rights of the individual.

For more information on when and how we update our modules please see the ‘Legal Information’ section below.

Teaching and Assessment

Discover what to expect from your tutor contact time, assessment methods, and feedback process.

Where could this lead you?

Your Career

Previous graduates from courses in this subject area have gone on to work in a variety of roles such as Community Education Officer, Learning Mentor, Education Consultant, Family Support Worker, Education Mental Health Practitioner and Teaching Assistant.*

*Source: Prospects

98%
Percentage of our postgraduate students go on to work and/or further study within fifteen months of graduating.

* HESA Graduate Outcomes 2022/23, UK domiciled.

£38.5k
Average salary of our postgraduate students fifteen months after graduating.

* HESA Graduate Outcomes 2022/23, mean salary, UK domiciled, full-time UK employment as main activity.

I chose Huddersfield for its strong reputation in education. I gained valuable skills during my studies, and the supportive environment and excellent teaching make it highly recommendable. After graduating, I will return to Mongolia to deliver leadership training for educators.

- Bayanzul Gungaa
Education (Leadership and Management) MA, now the National Coordinator for KIX EMAP in Mongolia.

How much will it cost?

Fees and Finance

£8,225 per year

This information is for Home students applying to study at the University of Huddersfield in the academic year 2026/27.

Modules credits can range from 15 to 60, dependent on the content of the module. Read more about total credits required for a range of degrees, to allow you to calculate the potential total cost.

Please note that tuition fees for subsequent years may rise in line with inflation (RPI-X) and/or Government policy. 

For detailed information please visit https://www.hud.ac.uk/study/fees/

£685 per 15 credits

This information is for Home and International students applying to study at the University of Huddersfield in the academic year 2026/27.

Modules credits can range from 15 to 60, dependent on the content of the module. Read more about total credits required for a range of degrees, to allow you to calculate the potential total cost.

Please note that tuition fees for subsequent years may rise in line with inflation (RPI-X) and/or Government policy and/or to ensure our distance learning fees are competitive.

Tuition fees will cover the cost of your study at the University. Read more about what is and is not covered by Tuition Fees including compliance for Goods and Services Tax for International Students studying an online course. 

For detailed information please visit www.hud.ac.uk/distance-learning/fees-and-finance/

£18,700 per year

This information is for international students applying to study at the University of Huddersfield in the academic year 2026/27.

Please note that tuition fees for subsequent years may rise in line with inflation (RPI-X) and/or Government policy. 

For detailed information please visit https://www.hud.ac.uk/international/fees-and-funding/

Scholarships and Bursaries

Discover what additional help you may be eligible for to support your University studies.

Tuition Fee Loans

Find out more about tuition fee loans available to eligible postgraduate students.

What’s included in your fee?

We want you to understand exactly what your fees will cover and what additional costs you may need to budget for when you decide to become a student with us.

If you have any questions about Fees and Finance, please email the Student Finance Team.

Explore More

Why Hud

Explore the unique opportunities and resources that make our institution a top choice for students seeking a well-rounded and future-focused education.

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More Info

Careers support

We know you’re coming to university to study on your chosen subject, 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.

Find out more about careers support

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.

See our support services

Teaching Excellence

Great teaching is engaging and inspiring — it helps you reach your full potential and prepares you for the future. We don’t just teach well — we excel — and we have the awards and recognition to prove it.

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Inspiring Academics

Our researchers carry out world-leading work that makes a real difference to people’s lives. Staff within the School of Education may teach you on this course.

Find out more about our staff

Research Excellence

You’ll be taught by staff who want to support your learning and share the latest knowledge and research.

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Accommodation

Looking for student accommodation? Huddersfield has you covered. HudLets has a variety of accommodation types to choose from, no matter what your preference. HudLets is the University’s approved accommodation service, run by Huddersfield Students’ Union.

Take a look at your options

Further Study

Many of our graduates stay at Huddersfield to complete postgraduate research degrees at Masters or PhD level.

Discover research degrees
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