Why study the Open Pathway?

The MSc Education Open Pathway allows you to design a programme of study based on your areas of interest, rather than tying you in to a particular subject area. You can therefore choose units from across the eight different specialist pathways as well as from our wider bank of optional units (subject to availability and timetabling constraints). For example, if your interests spanned both educational policy and the use of technology in education you might combine units from the Leadership and Policy Pathway with units from the Learning, Technology and Society Pathway.

Students opting to follow the Open Pathway can also import up to 60 Master’s credits (subject to meeting the University eligibility requirements). If you choose to import any amount of credits, please note that you will not be eligible for the postgraduate loan. 

Who is this pathway for?

A diverse range of students take this pathway, attracted by the options that it offers. Many students on the course are international students and come from a range of countries. Some have recently completed their undergraduate studies, while many also have experience of teaching, volunteering or professional work experience in schools or the education field more broadly.

Other students are mature and returning to education after a longer period of work, bringing a wider wealth of experiences and wishing to formalize their learning. This diversity in backgrounds and experiences creates a rich learning environment and sharing of ideas among students and academics alike.

After completing the MSc, most students go on to work in education in some form. But here too there is a range in students’ goals and aspirations. Other students use the Master’s year to develop their skills as educational researchers in order to go on to study for a PhD with us or elsewhere.

The pathway aims to:

The Open Pathway aims to align with the more general aims of the MSc Education Programme, namely to develop student interest in and knowledge and understanding of:

• Specific theories, ideas and practices, and the relationships between perspectives from different disciplines.
• A range of research methods appropriate for their professional practice.
• The importance of developing clear lines of argument that are underpinned by critical thinking, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
• The role of reflective practice in the development of professional identity and expertise.
• Complex issues surrounding innovation and change and preparation for employment in changing and varied contexts.
• The skills and abilities required for successful engagement in focussed, professionally relevant independent learning through the production of a supervised dissertation.
• A range of practical and transferable skills.

The key feature of the MSc Education Open Pathway is that students are able choose a combination of units (as available and within timetabling constraints) that interest them and that relate to their own experience, goals and aspirations.