Program Overview

BA (Hons) Education

The BA (Hons) Education programme explores key educational theories, policies, and practices, with a strong focus on inclusion, sustainability, and the wider social context of learning. You’ll study alongside students from related disciplines in shared lectures, then dive deeper into specialist seminars and assessments tailored to your chosen path within education.

Course Overview

• The course is designed to offer a personalised journey that supports your future career development priorities.
• You will learn through a mix of lectures, tutorials, group projects, presentations, and discussions, along with the opportunity to put your learning into practice through developing projects, volunteering, and placements.
• This degree is designed to offer you a blend of shared learning and subject specialism, allowing you to study core concepts in a collaborative environment and then explore how they apply specifically to education.

Features and Benefits

• Blend of shared learning and subject specialism: Study core concepts in a collaborative environment, then explore how they apply specifically to education through targeted seminars, tutorials, and assessments.
• Specialist modules to shape your path: Tailor your degree from the start and grow your expertise year by year – with specialist study in your final year focused on your career goals.
• Real-world learning and research: Develop your professional and academic skills through placements, applied research, and a final-year independent project.
• Career-ready focus: Gain transferable skills in communication, critical thinking, and reflective practice – preparing you for a range of careers in education and beyond.

Accreditations, Awards, and Endorsements

• The university has received an overall gold status in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), meaning it's rated as an outstanding university for its student experience.
• 100% of students were positive about teaching staff being good at explaining things, according to the National Student Survey 2025 (NSS).

Year 1

In Year 1, you will begin to understand the principles and features of education and learning, alongside exploring the variety of contexts in which learning takes place, as well as getting you familiar with what’s required for academic study at university level.

• Theories of Learning and Development: Engage with ecological, psychological, philosophical, and sociocultural theories of learning and development.
• Introduction To Studying Education: Build your academic study skills through engaging with literature, participating in debates, and beginning to critically analyse research.
• Sociological Perspectives: Explore sociological perspectives in education, childhoods, and inclusion, gaining insights into how society impacts on groups and individuals.
• Policy And Professional Frameworks: Explore the complex landscape of policies and frameworks (legal and professional) that shape the practice and management of early years provision, SEND, family support, and education.

Year 2

In Year 2, you will explore how educational policies are shaped by ideological beliefs, political circumstances, and national, international, and global influences.

• Everyday Inclusion: Explore the various ways in which barriers to learning can be effectively managed to promote inclusion and equity in educational settings.
• The Professional in Practice: Engage in a placement in a sector-specific setting to give you experience of the world of work.
• Becoming a Researcher: Develop your knowledge of key principles in social and educational research and how to apply these concepts to education, childhoods, and related fields.
• Policy And Politics In Education: Examine how educational policies are formulated, implemented, and evaluated, and the political ideologies and power structures that influence these processes.

Year 3

In Year 3, you will undertake an independent research project, with supervision from a designated tutor, allowing you to explore a set of questions or issues in education that interest you.

• Global Education: Examine the concept of global education and its significance in an interconnected world.
• Graduate Futures: Carry out a literature review in your chosen field which will be used to develop research questions and an appropriate methodological approach.
• Education For Social Justice: Study the principles and practices of education aimed at promoting social justice.
• Independent Project: Carry out a small-scale independent project, which you have designed and planned as part of the Graduate Futures Module.

Study and Assessment

• Year 1: 30% lectures, seminars or similar; 70% independent study. 100% coursework.
• Year 2: 20% lectures, seminars or similar; 60% independent study; 20% placement. 100% coursework.
• Year 3: 20% lectures, seminars or similar; 80% independent study. 100% coursework.

Placements

You will have the opportunity to develop and apply your skills and knowledge learnt in class to real-world settings. In year two, you will enhance your experiences, skills, and knowledge within education.

Entry Requirements

• Typical offer: 104 -112 UCAS tariff points.
• IELTS score: IELTS 6.0 with no component below 5.5, taken within two years of course start date.
• UK students:
  • Level 3 qualifications: 104 -112 UCAS tariff points.
  • GCE A levels - grades BCC or equivalent.
  • Pearson BTEC National Extended Diploma - grade DMM.
  • Access to HE Diploma - Pass overall with a minimum 106 UCAS Tariff points.
• International students:
  • IB Diploma with minimum 26 points overall or 104 UCAS Tariff points from three Higher Level subjects.
  • IELTS 6.0 with no component below 5.5, taken within two years of course start date.

Fees and Funding

Tuition fees for the 2026/27 academic year are still being finalised for all courses.

Careers Support and Prospects

• Employed or in further study: 88.7% of our UK-domiciled, full-time, first degree graduates are employed or in further study 15 months after graduation.
• Through our Careers Service, you will be supported and encouraged to get ready for further study or working life, including starting your own business.
• Our groundbreaking research with industry means we have unrivalled business connections that can help open doors to your dream career.

Related Courses

• BA (Hons) Early Years and Childhood Studies
• BA (Hons) Education Foundation Year
• BA (Hons) Early Years and Childhood Studies (Foundation Year)