Take the next step in your teaching career with a master's degree that develops your education practice through innovation.
- Flexible degree allowing you to participate via school hubs, in person at St Mary's University or through the blended and online options.
- Apply your learning to practical situations within your own school, using your learning to lead effective change.
- Access to excellent tutorial and supervisory support.
- Enables schools and staff to advance their professional skills and expertise in leadership through the development of a research culture.
If you currently work as a teacher or educational leader, our well-established master's degree will ideally suit your professional development needs. It's also suitable for other education professionals, such as:
- business managers
- chaplains
- librarians
- data managers.
The degree is designed to meet your needs, regardless of the educational phase you are working in or the stage of your career you're at.
It'll enable you, as a current or aspiring middle/senior leader, to reflect critically on your experience and understanding of leadership. You'll develop scholarly knowledge that allows you to link theory with your practice.
You'll have the opportunity to explore an area of interest and relevance to your professional role and career development as you undertake a small-scale practitioner research enquiry, leading to evidence-informed innovation.
Why St Mary's
We have a long and proud tradition of excellence in teacher education. You'll work with a group of experienced MA tutors who provide you with high-quality teaching. The team have experience in teaching, management and leadership, as well as research and consultancy.
Leading Innovation and Change offers you a flexible approach to obtaining master’s degree. You can choose to attend monthly Saturday schools in person or via distance learning.
For MA Education, distance learning is where students engage with lectures, alongside students on site, at set times through video conferencing.
You'll apply your learning to practical situations within you own school, using your knowledge to drive effective change, whilst critically engaging with contemporary educational debates.
Studying this degree will give you access to excellent online learning resources and facilities.
Education degrees in London
This degree is one pathway from within our Education Master's programme, which includes:
- Education MA
- Education: Coaching and Mentoring MA
- Education: Inclusive Practice MA
- Education: Leading Innovation and Change MA
- Education: Pedagogy MA
- Education: Special Educational Needs and Disabilities MA
- Education: Physical Education MA
- Education: Religious Education MA
- Education: Comparative and Global Studies MA
Complete a leadership apprenticeship
If you are interested in taking the MA Education: Leading Innovation and Change as an apprenticeship please contact Dr Mary Mihovilović, Subject Lead Postgraduate Taught Programmes Education, at mary.mihovilovic@stmarys.ac.uk.
Matthew Dell
Course Lead - MA Education
Upcoming Event
MA Education webinar (all pathways) - 9th July
Wednesday 09th July 2025, 06:00PM
Course content
Modules
The degree consists of five modules: four compulsory and one of our specialist optional modules. Your specialist module will allow you to focus on an area of interest within leadership or pedagogy.
Please note: it is possible that a module listed on the website will not be able to run due to reasons beyond our control. For more information please refer to our course information disclaimer.
Entry requirements
2:2
Previous degree
You will normally be expected to possess a good honours degree (2:2 or above) from a UK university or an equivalent qualification approved by the University.
St Mary's is committed to promoting equality of opportunity and nurturing an inclusive and diverse student population. As such, we welcome applications from all those interested in pursuing an academic programme of study. Throughout the application process and while a student is enrolled at St Mary's, we will ensure that individuals will not be discriminated against based on any of the characteristics protected by the Equality Act 2010.
Additional requirement information
Experience of working in an educational setting or a relevant professional interest is also required.
Accredited prior learning
Applicants with up to 90 Level 7 credits (for example from a PGCE, National Professional Qualification or National SENCo Award) are eligible to apply for exemption from up to three modules.
International Requirements
International students should check our country-specific pages for equivalents. If English is not your first language you will need to achieve an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with no less than 6.0 in any section.
We now accept IELTS Indicator test results as proof of your English language level.
The application process for international applicants will include an online interview.
Further Information
For more information about entry requirements please get in touch.
Fees & funding
September 2025
Home
£9,240
International
£17,820
Funding Information
Distance-learning
If you are studying the programme at distance, your fees may differ slightly:
- Home: £9,240
- International: £11,910
Additional costs
*Please note: Tuition fees are annual and may increase as detailed in our tuition fee variation disclaimer.
Your tuition fees will cover the cost of all mandatory elements of your programme. Additional costs could be incurred depending on optional modules chosen and other projects undertaken.
For further information about additional costs please see our additional costs webpage.
Alumni discount
A 20% tuition fee discount is available for our alumni (undergraduate and PGCE) planning to study this Master's degree. Those studying for a PGDip of PGCert are not eligible for the discount.
Funding
Except for any iQTS courses, you can check on the UK government website to see if you may be eligible for a loan of up to £12,167 to help with course fees and living costs while you study a postgraduate programme.
Home and international students for non-iQTS courses may also be eligible for external sources of funding. International students should check their eligibility for our International Scholarship.
For more information, please look at our postgraduate funding page.
How the degree is taught
Assessment methods
Learning is assessed through a variety of methods:
- Reflective journals
- Research proposals
- Essays
- Case studies
- Portfolios
- Seminar and conference presentations.
Career opportunities
This Master's programme supports your long-term career development. This is evident from the high proportion of graduates who achieve internal or external promotion to middle and senior educational leadership positions within a year of completing the programme.
Graduates of this programme are well placed to pursue doctoral studies on either a Professional Doctorate (Doctor of Education) or a PhD.
Apply now
September 2025
September 2025 (distance learning)
Make sure to check our step-by-step guide to application process.
More from St Mary's
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