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  • About the course
  • Why choose this course?
  • What will I learn?
  • How will I be assessed?
  • Entry Requirements
  • Career prospects
  • Fees and Funding
  • Extra Costs
  • Facilities
  • How to Apply
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Education (Special Educational Needs) MA

About the course

This MA is designed for practising professionals, or those interested in research, in special educational needs and disability (SEND) – usually in schools, the lifelong learning sector and universities.

Its modular structure allows you to personalise your choice of units and progress at a pace that best suits you, with a final phase focused on educational research via a dissertation.

The MA Education engages you with key issues in education and aims to encourage your evidence-based practice, as you make direct and meaningful connections between the course and your own experiences and aspirations.

The course helps you to broaden your knowledge educational ideas and research findings, as you identify and justify recommendations for further action. This places you in a better position to develop your work as a classroom practitioner or school leader.

Intermediate qualifications available:

  • Postgraduate certificate – 60 credits at Masters level
  • Postgraduate diploma – 120 credits at Masters level

  • Apply Via - DIRECT ENTRY
  • Course Level - Postgraduate
  • Campus Location - Bedford Campus
  • Start Dates - Oct
  • Duration - 3 Years
  • Attendance - Part-time evening
  • Download Course Specifications

Why choose this course?

  • Study on a modular course designed for professionals in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), that allows you to accumulate credit at a pace that suits you, with assessments based around needs specific to your role in your educational organisation
  • Explore the process of teaching, learning support and/or educational leadership, focusing on personal, academic and vocational interests relevant to your educational context
  • Develop your understanding of assessment formats with a negotiated focus in support of both individual and organisational needs
  • Gain from undertaking primary research that informs your current practice, as well as acquiring the necessary research skills to engage in future research and progress to a PhD or EdD programme
  • Benefit from a course that provides a clear progression route following completion of your Initial Teacher Education (ITE) course, develops both you and the organisation within which you work and could be used as the basis for further study at doctoral level (PhD and EdD).
Visit the School of Education and English Language

 

Unit Information - What will I learn?

Units

  • Dissertation In Education (Special Educational Needs) (EDC119-6) Compulsory
  • Meeting Diverse Needs (EDC128-6) Compulsory
  • Research Methods In The Workplace (EDC129-6) Compulsory

How will I be assessed?

Each unit in this course has its own assessment. Wherever possible, the specific focus of assignments is negotiated individually between the unit tutor and the student, within the parameters of the unit, in order to ensure that the assignment meets the personal and professional needs of the student. The course provides you with a carefully planned and coherent sequence of learning opportunities that facilitate your development through formative and summative assessments. At this level the expectations, in terms of the quality of work produced, are high and you will need to take active control of your learning. At Master's level the expectation is that you are an autonomous and confident learner, particularly when you are undertaking distance learning units, that you will undertake assessments that are challenging and require mature argument developed from sustained research, and that you will demonstrate fluent and cogent presentation. You are encouraged in your assessments to draw upon an extensive range of sources to demonstrate a deep theoretical understanding and the ability to apply that to current issues and contexts. The assessments test the ability to construct a reasoned, sustained and coherent argument, and to articulate it fluently, in a range of contexts. You are required to demonstrate an appropriate level of research, of independent argument, and to reference in an appropriate and accurate manner. Through the assessments designed for individual units, you will practise and reinforce skills in researching, evaluating and synthesising materials with a critical eye; quantitative and qualitative data collection and handling, together with skills associated with conventional academic tasks. Unit assessment is based on specified learning outcomes and assessment criteria. The unit information forms state clearly the aims, objectives and learning outcomes of the unit, and delineate the criteria of assessment for each outcome. The unit assessment feedback offers detailed comment to the student on the assessment piece. The taught stage of the course (stage 1) requires you to pass 120 credits before progressing to stage 2, the 60 credit dissertation.

Entry Requirements

  • UK
  • EU
  • International

Applicants should have a good undergraduate degree at Honours level, or equivalent.

To apply for a place on a postgraduate course (MA/MSc/MBA) at the University of Bedfordshire you should have a good first degree and the required English language qualification

Find out more about specific entry requirements for your country

To apply for a postgraduate degree (MA/MSc/MBA/LLM) at the University of Bedfordshire you should have a good honours degree (or equivalent qualification) in an appropriate subject from a recognised university or HE institution.

We will also consider candidates with other relevant qualifications or appropriate work experience.

You also need to have the required English language qualification

Contact your country’s International Admissions Team for more information.

 

How will this course enhance my career prospects?

This Master’s qualification will enhance your chances for promotion and for employment in other contexts. Master’s study supports promotion to senior positions in the field of education.

The course is designed to help you engage, study and critique key issues in education as well as to be able to identify and justify recommendations for further action.

As a Master’s graduate, therefore, you will have the confidence, knowledge and critical skills to prepare and present a strong application to senior posts in the field of education.

Previous graduates have gone on to take up enhanced roles within their organisation; some have undertaken PhD study.

This MA Education (Special Educational Needs) offers a substantial opportunity to engage in structured and supported distance learning through two optional units focusing on behavioural and literacy difficulties.
Quote from a lecturer

Go Global

Whether you want to learn a new language, build networks, simply have the travel bug, or want to develop new skills and life experiences, our Go Global programme offers the opportunity to broaden your horizons, enhance your CV, and gain a truly international experience, all at the same time as studying towards your undergraduate degree. The Go Global programme is open to students from the UK and EU.

Travel to exciting destinations, including:

  • China
  • Vietnam
  • India
  • New York
  • Malaysia and Singapore

At the University of Bedfordshire we ensure that your experience here is cultural, as well as academic. That’s why a whole host of opportunities are opened up to you, providing you with that all important experience to make you stand out from the crowd when it comes to getting graduates jobs.

Go Europe

Our International students meanwhile, can make the most of trips to a series of exciting European destinations. From France and Belgium, to Holland and Germany, there are plenty of places to visit, network and broaden your knowledge of the global market place, by seeing and experiencing it for yourself, first-hand.

At the University of Bedfordshire we ensure that your experience here is cultural, as well as academic. That’s why a whole host of opportunities are opened up to you, providing you with that all important experience to make you stand out from the crowd when it comes to getting graduates jobs.

Fees and funding

  • UK /EU
  • International

The full-time standard fee for a taught Master's degree for the Academic Year 2020/21 is £7,840 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees and living costs. Visit www.gov.uk/postgraduate-loan

The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.

Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk

The full-time standard fee for a taught Master's degree for the Academic Year 2020/21 is £13,000 per year

The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.

Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk

Scholarship Available

The University of Bedfordshire is proud of its alumni and is delighted to offer a tuition fee discount for those who choose to continue or return to the University for on campus Postgraduate level studies.

We offer a 20% discount on full and part-time Masters courses to those who were successful in completing an Honours Degree with the University of Bedfordshire, DMU’s Bedford campus or the University of Luton.

  • Terms and Conditions

 

Extra Costs

Find out more about additional costs while studying at Bedfordshire. Click here.

Facilities

 

Gateway Building

Gateway Building

Campus Centre

Campus Centre

Gateway Building Front

Gateway Building Front

Gateway Building Interior

Gateway Building Interior

Campus Gym

Campus Gym

Campus Library Entrance

Campus Library Entrance

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Gateway Building

Gateway Building

The Gateway Building located at the entrance of the Bedford campus holds a wide range of facilities including the main reception, student information desk, a café on the ground floor, large lecture theatres as well as a range of study rooms & breakout spaces on all floors.

Part of the University's 'greening of the campus' initiative, the £25m investment in the Gateway includes a number of sustainable and low carbon technologies such as rainwater harvesting. The project team are aiming towards a BREEAM sustainability rating of 'excellent'.

Bedford campus centre

Campus Centre

The Bedford Campus Centre holds the large 280 seat professional theatre on the ground floor and the 80 seat studio theatre on the first floor as well as a box office just inside the entrance where students, staff and the wider community can get tickets for the variety of student performances that are held by our School of Media & Performance

Also on the ground floor is the main campus café which offers a wide variety of tasty food & drink and is a great social space for meeting friends and group working.

Bedford Campus accommodation

Bedford Campus Accommodation

The University guarantees accommodation to all new students.

Choose from Liberty Park's en-suite study bedrooms or the Student Village which offers standard rooms with shared bathroom facilities, and en-suite rooms with a private shower. All have fully-equipped kitchens.

Our rooms are on-campus and have easy access to the town centre and train station.

Sports Science Labs

Sports Science Labs

Our specialist labs give students a fantastic environment to develop their research skills and expertise, where a student can explore the biology of an elite athlete who could be performing simultaneously within the sports hall.

Few Sport Science courses in the country offer students such unique discipline leading research experience and skills, alongside intimate access to world leading researchers within their field. Students are regularly offered the opportunity to be involved within discipline defining Sport, Health and Exercise Science research

Our state-of-the-art laboratories are purpose built for research and teaching in the fields of exercise and nutrition science. This includes specialised equipment and facilities for assessing human health risk and delivering exercise and diet interventions for health promotion.

Bedford Campus theatre

Campus Theatres

Set within the Campus Centre is a 260 seat professional theatre on the ground floor with industry-standard lighting, media desk, roll-down screen, full backstage comms system and large dressing rooms with en suite showers. On the first floor there's also a well-equipped 80 seat studio theatre.

Our theatres welcome new and existing audiences to see a range of student work including contemporary dance, theatre and performing arts; holding regular performances. The performance facilities are designed to emulate professional working conditions.

Aspire gym - Bedford

Aspire Gym - Bedford

The Aspire Gym has state of the art cardiovascular equipment with smart phone compatibility.

There is also an extensive range of fixed resistance machines and a small free weights area.

Changing rooms with showers and lockers are available for members to use.

Teacher Education Centre

Teacher Education Centre

The teacher education centre is set out over a number of blocks on campus containing realistic mock classrooms for students to learn and train within.

As part of this our Forest School also provides the opportunity for teachers to be trained in outdoor learning and the educational benefits of outdoor play.

We have a long-established history in teacher training and education with over 500 partnerships with schools, colleges and other organisations.

Bedford Campus Sports Hall

Sports Hall & Fields

The sports hall is an integral space in the School of Sport Science and Physical Activity, complementing discipline leading Sport and Exercise Science and modern biological analysis laboratories, all co-located on the Bedford campus.

The sports hall is proud to host all Bedfordshire Bulls students' sports matches as well as national standard sporting events including British University College Sports championships – one of the few indoor sporting venues in the county to host prestigious tournaments all year round.

The facility also plays host to a number of University promoted Get into Sport activities which are open to all University students and staff.

Alongside the large sports hall the campus is surrounded by sports fields and a multi-use games area for the University's Sport and Physical Education degree students.

Bedford - Location

The Bedford campus is located just outside the centre of town within easy walking distance. For students and staff travelling by train we also run a free regular bus service from Bedford Station to the Campus. Bedford has excellent transport links to the rest of the UK as it sits between the M1 and the A1. The town connects by train to Luton (20 minutes) and London (40 minutes).

How to Apply

  • UK
  • EU
  • International

UK students applying for most postgraduate degrees at the University of Bedfordshire should apply direct using our admissions form

International students applying for a full-time postgraduate degree at the University of Bedfordshire should apply direct using our admissions form or via our representatives in your home country. You can also apply online

Find out more about how to apply as an International student

International students applying for a full-time postgraduate degree at the University of Bedfordshire should apply direct using our admissions form or via our representatives in your home country. You can also apply online

Find out more about how to apply as an International student

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