Program Overview

Education (Special Educational Needs) MA

This course will allow you to critically engage with current thinking about inclusive and special education. You'll study the changing cultural and historical attitudes to disability and reflect on the social changes that have encompassed disability rights, human rights and equality.

Why Education (Special Educational Needs)?

• You'll explore how our understanding of special educational needs and disabilities has developed and the impact this has on our understanding of inclusion. The course combines the theoretical knowledge with an exploration of what this means for educational practice from early years through to post-compulsory education.
• The course is tailored around you. You can expand on your special educational needs focus by choosing from a range of further options to match your role, experience or organisation to help you progress as an informed, reflective and inspirational practitioner.
• On this course, you’ll have the opportunity to develop an understanding of critical reflection and how to employ independent learning strategies to enable you to evaluate and inform your professional practice. You’ll also develop and deepen your knowledge and understanding of educational research and be able to use these skills in researching an aspect of special educational needs for your dissertation.
• You’ll be taught by an outstanding team of teachers. You’ll also have access to our extensive professional and academic network which feeds directly into course design and delivery and to excellent facilities and specialist equipment.

Key Information

Entry requirements

• Entry requirements for this course are normally:
  • An honours degree in a relevant subject at 2:2 or above, or a professional equivalent
• If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent.

Start dates

• 22 September 2025
• 12 January 2026
• 18 May 2026

Duration

• 1 year full-time
• 2 years part-time (September only)

Course Detail

• You will study the following modules:
  • Teaching and Assessment
  • Teaching excellence
• Core modules:
  • Special Educational Needs and Disability: Evaluating Policy and Practice
  • Methods of Enquiry
  • Dissertation (Special Educational Needs)
• Option modules:
  • Exploring Teaching and Learning
  • International Approaches to Early Childhood Education
  • Developing Effective Leadership
  • Managing Learning and Development in Organisations
  • Understanding Curriculum Development in Primary and Early Primary Education
  • Mentoring and Coaching
  • Understanding Autism
  • Children, Childhood and Society

Fees and Finance

• In 2025/26 the full-time tuition fee for UK postgraduate students on this course will be £7,900 (Band 1).
• In 2025/26 the part-time tuition fee for UK postgraduate students on this course will be £660 (Band 1) per 15 credit module and £1,320 (Band 1) per 30 credit module.

Career Support

• This MA course provides you with a broad range of module options allowing you the opportunity to tailor the programme to suit your current role and/or future career ambitions.
• Successful study at this level supports you in your current role, helps give you the confidence to tackle a wide range of workplace challenges and supports you in taking advantage of wider promotional and developmental opportunities.
• The course offers a recognised qualification, a broadening of horizons and a chance to pursue particular areas of interest.

Research Excellence

• Our researchers carry out work that makes a real difference to people's lives.
• We are in the top 50 UK universities for Research Power.
• Three quarters of all our research is world leading and internationally excellent.
• Over 60% of our research environment was classified as world leading and internationally excellent, especially in Music, Biological Sciences, Architecture and Built Environment, Social Work and Social Policy, History and Communication and Media Studies.

Student Support

• At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life.
• Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey.