Program Overview

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Education Studies

Education Studies is a broad multidisciplinary degree, designed for the intellectually and practically curious. If you are fascinated by the social, political, psychological and philosophical aspects of education, this is the course for you.

Start Dates

• September 2026
• September 2025

Degree Type

• BA

Course Length

• 3 years

Location

• Durham City

UCAS Code

• x305

Typical Offers

• A Level: AAB
• BTEC: DDD
• International Baccalaureate: 36

Course Details

Are you interested in why people learn in different ways? Do you want to find out more about barriers to learning and how learning supports childhood development? Maybe you’d like to know more about the ways in which politics can impact education and education in diverse cultures?

The BA Education Studies is an ideal qualification if you are fascinated by the learning process and education as a global phenomenon and you want to keep your career options open. Learning and education profoundly shape all our lives and we consider these in the broadest possible sense.

From the philosophical foundations of schooling to the political implications of policy, education is a vast field that has multiple avenues to approach a seemingly straightforward subject. Our degree goes far beyond any classroom and considers education, people and their relationship to the ever-changing world.

This BA will prepare you for a career in many different areas, both in the education sector and beyond. It can provide the first step towards a career as a teacher or researcher, and supports roles in publishing, policy making, the voluntary and public sectors, as well as many more.

The curriculum draws on research carried out in the School to keep the course content relevant and up to date. The breadth of modules allows you to create your own pathway through the course. You can choose to focus purely on educational studies, or incorporate a sociology, psychology or geography element to your studies.

Course Structure

Year 1 Modules

Core Modules:

• Historical and Philosophical Ideas of Education: will introduce you to some of the major educational theorists and the foundational ideas informing education practice today. This will help you to develop a personal perspective on the longstanding debate about the purpose and value of education.
• International and Comparative Education: gives you the tools and opportunities to reflect on how diversity impacts education and what inequalities might emerge as a result. This helps you develop an understanding of attitudes towards others and to reflect on forms of communication in contexts of diversity and their implications for education.
• Contemporary Issues and Evidence in Education: will introduce you to a range of contemporary issues in education and the nature and scope of the supporting evidence. With a range of guest speakers from across the Department you will gain a grounding in a variety of issues at stake.
• Foundations of Psychology in Education: serves as a basis for an understanding of psychological principles, processes and theories in education. The module addresses cognitive and non-cognitive person characteristics that may explain individual differences in learning processes and outcomes.

Optional Modules:

• In recent years optional modules have included:
  • Disability and Educational Needs: What’s so ‘Special’ about SEND?

Year 2 Modules

Core Modules:

• Educational Research Methods: will help you understand the purposes and implications of educational research. You will develop a critical appreciation of the different ways in which research can be carried out in education, and learn how to assess the quality of educational research.

Optional Modules:

• In recent years optional modules have included:
  • Cultural Identity, Interculturality, and Education
  • Constructing Childhood and Youth
  • Higher Education: Issues of Exclusion and Inclusion
  • Assessing Education
  • Learning Lives
  • Learning and Development in Childhood
  • Disability and Educational Needs: Impairment, Empowerment and Education

Year 3 Modules

Core Modules:

• Dissertation: Disciplinary Contexts of Education: You will undertake an extended, independent piece of research with an appropriate educational focus. The dissertation is an opportunity to bring together all the skills, knowledge and understanding gained on the course into one in-depth piece of work.

Optional Modules:

• In recent years optional modules have included:
  • Education in a Global Age
  • Digital Society Theory and Practice
  • Science of Learning
  • Education, Mental Health and Wellbeing
  • Understanding the Arts in Education
  • The Social Life of Education
  • Digital Society Theory and Practice
  • Evidence and Educational Policy

Additional Pathways

Students can apply to be transferred onto either the with Year Abroad or with Placement pathway. Places on these pathways are in high demand and if you are chosen your studies will extend from three years to four or four to five depending on course.

Learning

The course is mainly delivered through lectures and seminars. Lectures often present, explain and critically analyse theories and relevant issues, whereas smaller group seminars normally focus upon peer-assisted interaction for debate and discussion.

There may be some opportunity for study visits and/or fieldwork within specific modules.

A large amount of time is spent on independent study and reading around topics, developing your capacity for critical analysis, reflection and evaluation.

Independent study is supported by supervision, monitoring your development against learning outcomes.

Assessment

We promote diverse and creative forms of assessment so whilst many modules are assessed by essays, other modules may include portfolios, blogs, presentations or posters.

The 12,000-word dissertation is worth one-third of your final-year marks.

Entry Requirements

• A level offer: AAB
• Contextual offer: BBC

Click here for more information on contextual offers and to check your eligibility.

• BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma/OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma: DDD
• IB Diploma score: 36 with 665 in higher level subjects.

In addition to satisfying the University’s general entry requirements, please note:

• We welcome applications from those with other qualifications equivalent to our standard entry requirements. Please see our ‘Alternative qualifications’ section, below.
• You are welcome to apply if you are taking resits; resitting your qualification(s) will not negatively affect your application.
• We are willing to consider applications for deferred entry. You can find further information regarding changes to your application here.
• If you have any questions regarding the entry requirements for this programme, please contact us via our Ask Us form.
• You can find further information on how we assess your application in our Admissions Policy.

Alternative Qualifications

• Other UK qualifications
• EU qualifications
• International qualifications

International students who do not meet direct entry requirements for this degree might have the option to complete an International Foundation Year.

Home students who do not meet our direct entry requirements, may be eligible for our Foundation Programme which offers multidisciplinary programmes to prepare you for a range of specified degree programmes.

Fees and Funding

The fees for this academic year have not been confirmed yet.

The tuition fees shown for home students are for one complete academic year of full-time study and are set according to the academic year of entry. Fees for subsequent years of your course may rise in line with an inflationary uplift as determined by the government.

The tuition fees shown for overseas and EU students are for one complete academic year of full-time study, are set according to the academic year of entry, and will be subject to an annual inflationary increase expected to rise throughout the programme of study.

More information is available here: Tuition Fees - Durham University

Please also check costs for colleges and accommodation.

Scholarships and Bursaries

We are committed to supporting the best students irrespective of financial circumstances and are delighted to offer a range of funding opportunities.

Find out more about Scholarships and Bursaries

Career Opportunities

Education and Teaching

Our BA in Primary Education offers the opportunity to gain Qualified Teacher Status with most graduates progressing directly into teaching.

Graduates of the BA Education Studies suite of degrees move into a diverse range of roles including the wider children's workforce in welfare and social care related roles, education administration and business. The commercial and digital education sectors are growing internationally and our graduates are also attracted into these areas of activity. Some of our graduates undertake postgraduate teacher training courses (e.g. PGCE). Our Education Studies-Psychology graduates often move into teaching and psychology allied professions with the longer term intention of becoming educational psychologists. Some of our students choose further study, progressing to Masters or doctoral programmes and research.

Of those students who graduated in:

• 95% in work or further study.

Of those in employment:

• 97% in highly or medium skilled employment.
• £28,000 is the average salary.

(Source: HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey. The survey asks leavers from higher education what they are doing 15 months after graduation. Further information about the Graduate Outcomes survey can be found here)

Department Information

Education and Teaching

Develop your expertise and deepen your knowledge at one of the UK’s leading Schools of Education. Gain all the knowledge, skills and experience you’ll need to become a first-rate primary teacher or choose a multidisciplinary course that takes a broader look at the role of education in society.

Embark on an Education degree at Durham and experience our innovative research-informed teaching and exceptional support. We offer courses for people who want to teach and for those with an interest in education in its broadest sense through academic studies in education.

The School of Education, Durham University offers a suite of undergraduate degrees linked to academic studies in Education. These include a single honours Bachelors degree in Education Studies and joint honours options. These allow students to develop specialism in Education studies with a partner subject. Current joint honours degree specialisms on offer are Education Studies - Geography; Education Studies - Sociology and Education Studies - Psychology (with the option of BPS accreditation). Students in our Education Studies suite of programmes can also tailor their degree by selecting optional modules from across the wider university.

Our undergraduate Bachelors degree in Primary Education (with QTS) combines an academic programme of study with practical preparation to become a teacher. The programme provides the tools and support you need to become an inspiring and outstanding teacher who will make a difference to the lives of pupils, both now and in the future.

For more information see our department pages.

Rankings

• 4th in The Complete University Guide 2025
• 7th in The Guardian University Guide 2025
• 1st in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025

Staff

For a current list of staff, please see our department web pages.

Facilities

Located on the main campus at Lower Mountjoy, we are conveniently located near the main Bill Bryson library, the Teaching and Learning Centre and lots of other departments and University services.