Education Studies BA Honours

Program Overview

Education Studies BA Honours

Why choose Education Studies BA Honours at Middlesex?

The education sector requires a skilled and confident workforce with a range of academic knowledge, transferrable skills, practical experience and critical reflection skills.

This ambitious and challenging course responds to sector-wide demands, by offering confident graduates with a broad range of academic knowledge, transferrable skills, practical experience, professional values and critical reflection skills relating to the Education sector and becoming an education professional.

This course will prepare you for employment both within the education sector and other sectors working with children and young people.

What you will gain

You will gain a wealth of knowledge of and experiences in the education sector, including critical knowledge around current Education policy, practice and issues, and through experiences such as undertaking a placement in an educational setting, learning how to plan and deliver a classroom session, as well as public speaking skills.

Typically, graduates go on to careers in educational settings, training programmes, and charities. It's also a route into a teaching role through a Primary or Senior PGCE.

You will be studying on a course with an excellent reputation and a high student satisfaction rate:

• 89% of students were positive about the learning resources and facilities on their course – National Student Survey (NSS) 2023
• We are in the top 100 of Young Universities in the world for Education – Times Higher Education, 2022.

We have over 145 years of experience delivering professional, creative and technical education that prepares students – like you – for success in global careers, so find out more today.

What you will learn

We blend theory and practice to extend and apply your knowledge, skills and understanding of education studies throughout your time with us. You’ll be taught by experienced academics who are research leaders across areas of diversity, child development, multilingualism and education. This course draws from a range of disciplines so you’ll learn about subjects such as history, sociology, law, and philosophy, and how they relate to education.

Gaining real-life experience is an important part of your learning. The course’s timetable is specifically arranged to give you the opportunity to arrange voluntary or paid work experience or shorter placements. You’ll receive a Placement Planning Pack to help with structuring and planning for work experience, ensuring you get the most out of it. Additionally, you’ll undertake a practitioner-based module, set within a workplace, and build a digital portfolio that showcases the development of your knowledge and skills throughout the course.

The strong themes of social justice and inclusion running through the course will enable you to feel confident to challenge inequality, to promote children’s and young people’s rights, and to embrace diversity and inclusion.

Your learning will also be supported by:

• Highly experienced, supportive and approachable tutors who will encourage you to understand, apply and debate the material from this course
• A personal tutor and committed student learning and graduate academic assistants who have studied your subject and can support you based on their own experience
• Encouragement to develop your graduate and employability skills, such as professionalism, reflection, communication skills and teamwork, to develop a value-led professional identity.

3 great reasons to pick this course

• Top 6 UK university in Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2024
• Good education links: Our connection to local schools, early years and childcare settings, and nurseries can lead to placement opportunities in your later years of study
• Excellent facilities: We have a collection of specialist resources, online resources and dedicated spaces including a classroom focused on creative subjects and Primary Education.

Part-time study

Study at your own pace alongside work and other commitments and get the skills and knowledge you need to progress in your career.

When choosing a part-time course, you will study the same modules as the full-time course but over a longer period.

Find out more about the many benefits of studying part-time at Middlesex University.

About your course

Year 1 overview

You will be provided with opportunities and resources to begin to critically reflect and debate theoretical perspectives and policies across a range of disciplines within relevant educational contexts, including Psychology, Sociology, Philosophy and Law. You are also encouraged to develop academic skills, conduct an audit of your professional skills, and to reflect on your learning experiences so far.

Modules

• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Educational Contexts (30 credits) - Compulsory
• Historical and Contemporary Issues in Education (30 credits) - Compulsory
• Literacy, Language and Learning through Lifespan (30 credits) - Compulsory
• Psychological Approaches to Learning (30 credits) - Compulsory

Year 2 overview

This year provides you with an inclusive, flexible, responsive and adaptable curriculum experience and offers a wide range of personalised opportunities to gain insight into current and emerging research issues, methods of enquiry and debates in education policy, through a Social Justice lens.

You will also undertake a placement of your choice which reflects your career interests, as well as plan and deliver a classroom session- both tasks enable you to develop as an educational professional through the placement module, and to identify priority areas for professional development to achieve your career goals.

Modules

• Curriculum Studies: Primary Education (30 credits) - Compulsory
• Developing Professional Practice in Educational Settings (30 credits) - Compulsory
• Education for Social Justice (30 credits) - Compulsory
• Researching Lives: Social Investigation Contemporary World (30 credits) - Compulsory

Year 3 overview

This year enables you to build upon the previous two years to develop your abilities to participate in reasoned arguments relating to educational policy, justify different positions on a wide range of educational matters, and to offer recommendations to improve educational policy and practice. These experiences increase your competence to become an autonomous, reflective learner, team worker and leader.

Modules

• Independent Research Project for Education Studies (30 credits)
• Childhood, Youth and Families in Context (30 credits) - Compulsory
• Dissertation Module for Education Studies (30 credits) - Compulsory
• Comparative Education & Children’s Rights in a Global Context (30 credits) - Optional
• Creativity and the Arts in Education (30 credits) - Optional
• Special Educational Needs, Disability and Inclusion (30 credits) - Optional
• The Social and Emotional Aspects of Teaching and Learning (30 credits) - Optional

Teaching and learning

How we'll teach you

In collaborative classroom spaces, you’ll study, develop and apply skills through a wide variety of inclusive, interactive and engaging teaching and learning approaches, including seminars, discussions, individual and group activities, debates and presentations, to support creative and critical thinking, reflection and professional development.

Our teaching and learning methods are inclusive, supporting you in developing your academic voice, and communicating ideas with integrity that celebrate your background and identity, with a commitment to decolonising curricula.

You'll be taught by an experienced teaching team with a wide range of expertise and professional experience. Your learning is supplemented by a range of additional supportive interactions with staff, through individual tutorials and academic tutoring which support your learning. You will also be supported by individual and group guided independent study, including key concept videos provided in advance, directed reading and online activities, including EduCare professional short online courses (widely recognised across the Education sector and by Ofsted). You’ll also have access to our Learning Enhancement Team to help you develop your academic skills, and a specialist librarian is available to help you find literature. On placement, you will be supported by your placement supervisor, your seminar leader and our placement co-ordinator.

Where will I study?

You will be studying at our north London campus in Hendon using innovative teaching spaces designed for collaboration, discussion and student-centred learning.

During your second year, you will spend time in your placement location.

Fieldwork and external visits also take place in a number of modules.

Typical weekly breakdown

During your first year, your weekly timetable will look something like this:

• 10 hours of teaching and learning sessions
• 1 hour per month of one-to-one meetings
• 1 hour of group work
• 1 hour of support from a Student Learning Advisor
• Additional support as offered.

Teaching and independent learning

Outside of teaching hours, you’ll learn independently through self-study which will involve reading articles and books, working on projects, undertaking research, and preparing for assessments including coursework, presentations and exams.

Here is an indication of how you will split your time:

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Timetable

Typically students will be on campus for two days a week, with the expectation that students will be on placement (or undertaking relevant voluntary experience) for one day per week.

Whether you are studying full or part-time – your course timetable will balance your study commitments on campus with time for work, life commitments and independent study.

We aim to make timetables available to students at least 2 weeks before the start of term. Some weeks are different due to how we schedule classes and arrange on-campus sessions.

Academic support

Our excellent teaching and support teams will help you develop the skills relevant to your degree from research and practical skills to critical thinking. And we offer free 24-hour laptop loans with full desktop software, free printing and Wi-Fi to use on or off campus, even over the weekend.

Coursework and assessments

The knowledge, understanding and skills you develop on the course are assessed by formative and summative assessment methods that include essays, reports, digital media, designing classroom resources, case studies, micro-teaching, book reviews, portfolios, reflective journals, posters, presentations, placement reflections and research projects. Choice is often built into assessments, allowing a wide range of personalised opportunities for study and flexible learning.

You’ll receive continual formative feedback through the year in a range of formats (tutor led, peer review), which monitor learning, focus teaching, and feed directly into the limited number of summative assessments. These enable you to gain knowledge, produce reasoned arguments, hold justifiable points of view, make effective decisions and solve problems in relation to the learning objectives and outcomes of each module.

Facilities and support

Student support

We offer lots of support to help you while you're studying including financial advice, wellbeing, mental health, and disability support.

Additional needs

We'll support you if you have additional needs such as sensory impairment or dyslexia. And if you want to find out whether Middlesex is the right place for you before you apply, get in touch with our Disability and Dyslexia team.

Wellness

Our specialist teams will support your mental health. We have free individual counselling sessions, workshops, support groups and useful guides.

Work while you study

Our Middlesex Unitemps branch will help you find work that fits around uni and your other commitments. We have hundreds of student jobs on campus that pay the London Living Wage and above. Visit the Middlesex Unitemps page.

Financial support

You can apply for scholarships and bursaries and our MDX Student Starter Kit to help with up to £1,000 of goods, including a new laptop or iPad.

We have also reduced the costs of studying with free laptop loans, free learning resources and discounts to save money on everyday things. Check out our guide to student life on a budget.

Careers

How can the Education Studies BA support your career?

Graduating from the course you’ll be a reflexive, confident, highly skilled and inclusive education professional with clear career aspirations and goals. Our graduates enter a wide range of highly skilled professional careers and destinations.

Students completing the programme may apply for the PGCE / QTS Training in Education (Primary and Early Years) or related professional programmes, such as Social Work and Youth Work. Students also progress onto other roles in the Education sector, including careers in Special Educational Needs support services, unqualified teaching positions in independent and free schools, teaching assistant roles in Primary and Higher Education, Local Authority education administration and Parenting Support programmes. Others seeking a more academic or research route may continue to develop their careers studying for master's programmes, including our very own MA programme or taking up work as research assistants.

Typically, graduates go on to careers in a range of educational settings or work for charities and other organisations in a range of educational, supportive, staff development or administrative roles.

The course is an ideal preparation for a route into Teacher Teaching when combined with a subsequent Primary or Secondary PGCE qualification. Graduates opt for other professional training programmes working with children and families, such as Social Work, Nursing, Speech Therapy, Youth Work etc.

Others seeking a more academic or research route may continue to develop their careers by choosing employability service or seek employment as research assistants.

We help you develop employability skills and this is often built into the modules from the start. These skills, sometimes referred to as soft skills, include reflection, professional development and teamwork.

MDXworks

Our postgraduate studies, MDXworks will launch you into the world of work from the beginning of your course, with placements, projects and networking opportunities through our 1000+ links with industry and big-name employers in London and globally.

Global network

You’ll study with students from 122 countries who’ll hopefully become part of your global network. And after you graduate, we'll still support you through our alumni network to help you progress in your chosen career.

Placements

In your second year, you’ll undertake a 40 hour placement, ideally over a number of weeks. This enables you to assess and develop your professional skills and knowledge base, as well as enabling you to identify priority areas for professional development to achieve your career goals. Supported by your tutors, you'll choose an educational setting of your own choice, helping to support your personalised learning.

It is strongly recommended that you also gain additional work/ voluntary experience in educational settings throughout the programme to give you further opportunities to gain broader experiences to enhance your employability and to enable you to reach your career goals. The timetable is arranged to permit students to volunteer for at least 1 day a week during the academic year. There may also be opportunities to find a block work experience (e.g. over the summer break).

Entry requirements

Qualifications

• GCSE: English Grade 4/C and above or Level 2 Functional Skills in English
• A Levels: CCC
• BTEC: MMM
• Access requirements: UCAS Tariff points from Access to HE Diplomas are accepted. Must include 45 credits at level 3
• Combinations: A combination of A level, BTEC (Diploma and/Extended Diploma), T level, other relevant qualifications and work experience that total approx. 96 UCAS Tariff points

Students who are taking Level 3 or higher qualifications but not on the UCAS tariff can apply and will assess suitability on a case by case basis.

Mature applicants without formal qualifications, who have been out of study for a while, can apply if they have the relevant life/work experience to succeed on the course. We will assess based on the information provided to us.

Academic credit

If you have a qualification such as a foundation degree or HND or have gained credit at another university, you may be able to join us in year two or three. Find out how you can transfer courses.

If you have relevant qualifications or work experience, we may be able to count this towards your entry requirements. Find out more about prior learning accreditation.

Interviews

You won’t be required to attend an interview for this course.

Fees and funding

Fees

The fees below are for the 2026/27 academic year:

UK students

• Full-time: £9,535
• Part-time: £79 per taught credit

International students

• Full-time students: TBC
• Part-time students: TBC

Additional costs

The following study tools are included in your fees:

• Free access to the resources, learning materials and software you need to succeed on your course
• Free laptop loans for up to 24 hours
• Free printing for academic paperwork
• Free online training with LinkedIn Learning

The following course-related costs are not included in the fees, and you will need to budget for these:

• The cost of travelling to field trips/ visits
• The cost of traveling to your placement in year two
• The cost of books that you might wish to purchase

Scholarships and bursaries

To help make uni affordable, we do everything we can to support you including our:

• MDX Excellence Scholarship offers grants of up to £2,000 per year for UK students
• Regional or International Merit Awards which reward International students with up to £2,000 towards course fees
• Our MDX Student Starter Kit to help with up to £1,000 of goods, including a new laptop or iPad

Find out more about undergraduate funding and all of our scholarships and bursaries.

Fees disclaimers

1. UK fees: The university reserves the right to increase undergraduate tuition fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions. The tuition fees for part-time UK study are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.

Based on the current fee, for a typical three-year degree, the total costs for your studies will be £28,605.

2. International fees: Tuition fees are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.

Any annual increase in tuition fees as provided for above will be notified to students at the earliest opportunity in advance of the academic year to which any applicable inflationary rise may apply.