Education, Public Policy and Equity

Entry requirements

2.1 Honours degree or equivalent in education, social sciences, business, law, public administration, or a related subject.

You should also submit a personal statement of around 300 words. This should cover two areas:

• Your motivation for applying for this programme specifically.
• The degree to which your previous educational and professional experiences and interests make you a suitable candidate for the programme - and how completing the programme will benefit you professionally, please be explicit.

While this programme is designed for professionals, it will benefit anyone aspiring to become an education policy professional. We welcome all applicants, whether you are just finishing your degree, or have several years of experience, this programme will serve you well in your future endeavours.

Months of entry

September

Course content

This programme provides the broad preparation needed for work in education policy. The teaching methods emphasise dealing with applied issues and facilitate your development as a critical thinker through engaging with real life issues.

WHY THIS PROGRAMME

This interdisciplinary programme draws on sociology, political science, and economics to provide you with a rigorous and broad grounding in theory for studying education as a vital component of public policy.

This academic programme places joint emphasis on qualitative and quantitative analytical methods, which are reinforced through application to real policy issues under the guidance of experienced tutors.

The teaching and assessment methods emphasise working critically with complex arguments. This will prepare you for the normative judgements required by decision makers once the limits of positive analysis have been reached.

This programme was developed by the Robert Owen Centre for Educational Change to address the increasingly wider range of contemporary challenges in education policy, particularly public policy aims relating to equity, health, social policy and the economy.

You will explore how equity in education influences equity in society and vice versa. Educational disadvantage and inequity do not exist in isolation from other forms of disadvantage. Therefore, the programme critically analyses the ability of education policy to influence wider social issues.

The programme builds on an international tradition of postgraduate programmes studying education policy and reinterprets this through an integrated focus on equity.

Information for international students

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)

• 6.5 with no subtests under 6.0.
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.