Study

We research education and teach it in a wide and accessible range of courses and formats from those interested in vocational careers to those wanting to do expert research.

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I found the course to be interesting, informative and hard work. The staff in the Education department are extremely supportive and I always felt that they fought my corner when I needed it, which was amazing.

Andrea Louise Harris
The courses require students to be fairly self-motivated, which helps instill and reinforce the analytical and research skills required as a PhD student.

Ashmita Randhawa
The other interns are an amazing source of support as we can share stories with each other and turn to each other for our opinions on certain things. The tutors in the department are also a great help and are available for you to meet whenever you need them.

Bethany Graham

I found the course to be interesting, informative and hard work. The staff in the Education department are extremely supportive and I always felt that they fought my corner when I needed it, which was amazing.

Andrea Louise Harris
The courses require students to be fairly self-motivated, which helps instill and reinforce the analytical and research skills required as a PhD student.

Ashmita Randhawa
The other interns are an amazing source of support as we can share stories with each other and turn to each other for our opinions on certain things. The tutors in the department are also a great help and are available for you to meet whenever you need them.

Bethany Graham

Director’s Welcome

As Director of Graduate Studies, I am very proud of the exciting intellectual community that we enjoy here at the Department of Education.

Our Department has been in existence for more than 100 years, and is an integral part of the University’s Social Sciences Division, one of the largest groupings of social scientists in Europe.

We offer a set of internationally recognised MSc courses, including a number of innovative part-time programmes for professional educators, and an ‘outstanding’ PGCE.  We also have a thriving doctoral programme, with around 120 doctoral students who work closely with the Department’s academic staff and its research groups.

We think we have a great deal to offer to students keen to learn and research in Education. Click on the relevant programmes below to read about what we provide for taught courses and research students. We look forward to hearing from you.

Associate Professor Victoria Elliott, Director of Graduate Studies

Courses

Postgraduate Diploma

PGDip in English as an Additional Language

Postgraduate Diploma

PGDip in Early Childhood Education

DPhil

DPhil in Education

Master's

MSc in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition

Master's

MSc in Applied Linguistics for Language Teaching

Master's

MSc in Education

Master's

MSc in Educational Assessment

Master's

MSc in Learning and Teaching

Master's

MSc in Medical Education

Master's

MSc in Teacher Education

PGCE

PGDip in English as an Additional Language

A pioneering new part-time, one-year course for education professionals working with multilingual learners in the national and international sectors.

See the PGDip in English as an Additional Language course

PGDip in Early Childhood Education

An innovative new part-time, one-year course for education professionals working with young children in the national and international settings.

See the PGDip in Early Childhood Education course

DPhil in Education

A programme that provides graduates with a wide range of research skills and an in-depth knowledge, understanding and expertise in their chosen field. Can be studied full or part-time.

See the DPhil in Education course

DPhil in Education

The courses require students to be fairly self-motivated, which helps instill and reinforce the analytical and research skills required as a PhD student.

Ashmita Randhawa

MSc in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition

A one-year full-time course introducing students to key issues within the field of Applied Linguistics, with a focus on topics relating to second language learning.

See the MSc in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition course

MSc in Applied Linguistics for Language Teaching

A part-time distance learning programme aimed at professionals teaching English in higher education, which also covers research on additional languages and other levels of education.

See the MSc in Applied Linguistics for Language Teaching course

MSc in Applied Linguistics for Language Teaching

Studying education gives me a chance to contemplate upon my own learning process so that I can more effectively teach my students.

Hao Wu

MSc in Education

A one-year full-time course, which provides a grounding in educational research methods as well as a theoretical and methodological understanding of the field of education through one of our specialist pathways.

See the MSc in Education course

MSc in Educational Assessment

A two-year part-time professional development programme aimed at researchers and professionals in the field of educational assessment.

See the MSc in Educational Assessment course

MSc in Educational Assessment

We learn actively together as a community. With our staff working with us closely, we are inspired by their strong expertise in their subject and their great care towards students to deliver the best experience possible.

Robert Tsui

MSc in Learning and Teaching

A part-time programme aimed at qualified teachers who are interested in developing their knowledge, understanding and practice.

See the MSc in Learning and Teaching course

MSc in Learning and Teaching

Lifelong learning is something I try to instil into all my students. For me, studying education allowed me to continue to develop my own practice as a teacher through reflecting on my pedagogy and engaging with research.

Jodie Coller

MSc in Medical Education

A part-time, two-year professional development course for medical education professionals, spanning all medical specialisms.

See the MSc in Medical Education course

MSc in Teacher Education

A part-time degree aimed at new and experienced educators of teachers based in the UK, EU and internationally that considers innovative and sustained ways of teaching.

See the MSc in Teacher Education course

MSc in Teacher Education

The introduction of special interest groups as an opportunity to engage with issues outside of the course content and in which even the course coordinator participates is a marvellous addition to the course.

Isabelle Thaler

PGCE

Our 'outstanding' Ofsted-rated PGCE programme runs on a full-time basis and provides training to students for the teaching of a variety of subjects at secondary school level.

See the PGCE course

PGCE

I can’t recommend the PGCE at Oxford highly enough. It kick-started my career in education by giving me the skills to develop situated methodologies for my classroom, drawing on practical understandings as well as education research.

Laura Molway

Why Study at the Department?

We are an open, welcoming, international and diverse community which is reflected in the friendly and strong links between students and staff and the connections we make between one another.

World leading researchers

Our teaching work is done by academics who are leaders and experts in their research fields and are able to bring the latest thinking, knowledge and research to the courses we offer.

Rated outstanding and #1 in the REF

Our PGCE course is rated outstanding by Ofsted and our research is highly rated. We are regarded as one of the top education departments in the UK and teach to the rigorous standards expected by the University of Oxford.

Carefully designed courses

Our courses are designed for you and the careers you are choosing to follow. If you are working towards a vocational career the PGCE and our specialist Masters are practical and focus on learning how to teach.