The MSc Education (Higher Education) at Oxford University attracts students from a wide range of educational and professional backgrounds and offers them a critical introduction into research, theory, and practice in the complex field of higher education at a global level.
During this course, students will have the opportunity to consider a wide range of issues that higher education systems around the world are facing today, including internationalisation, the relationship between higher education and labour markets, access and social justice, student fees, and rankings. Teaching sessions will combine tutor input, class discussion, and working in small groups in order to examine these key issues and the discourses that shape them. In addition to seminars on core concepts, students are taught by leading researchers, giving them the opportunity to engage directly with current thinking and evolving themes in the field.
This mix, which builds on the firm foundations of the Oxford Department of Education’s research strengths, is relevant to people at different stages in their professional lives – from recent graduates, those hoping to forge an academic career in higher education studies, to those who have established careers in, or are working closely with, higher education institutions.
Recent graduates of the programme have continued onto doctoral research and academic careers, or have taken positions in higher education management, administration, and policy-formation.
The programme is studied full-time for a year, with the final term devoted to work on a dissertation.
Aims of the course
The course is aimed at future academic, professional and policy leaders in the field of higher education and provides a strong foundation for:
- conducting doctoral, post-doctoral and professional research.
- using research to analyse and evaluate current structures and past and future reforms of higher education in different international contexts.
- developing higher education provision to meet a range of local and international needs.
- understanding the economic impacts of higher education and their implications for policy making.
- analysing transitions of higher education graduates into the labour market and further studies.
The Department offers a challenging but supportive atmosphere for conducting graduate studies. The course draws on the expertise of colleagues elsewhere within the University and more widely.
Studying for the MSc Education (Higher Education)
Course sessions consist of a combination of seminars, lectures and collaborative course work. These sessions take place three half-days a week during the first two terms. Throughout the course:
- you will have the opportunity to work together with your course colleagues on selected higher education topics and problems.
- you will reflect on your own higher education experience, and on the University of Oxford as your new educational context.
- you will be able to select the focus for your MSc dissertation from a range of relevant international higher education contexts.
- you will have one-to-one meetings with your dissertation supervisor to discuss your progress and the design of your own research study.
- you will spend extended time in your chosen research setting during the third term in order to carry out fieldwork for your dissertation.
- you will be assessed through a combination of course-work, examination and dissertation.
Examples of recent dissertations
- Kira Brayman A love-hate relationship”: Canadian laypeople’s construction of academic theories as diffusing innovations
- Rachel Kolb All-Around Inclusion: Mainstreamed Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students’ Perceptions on Accommodations and Access in American Universities
- Tara Nicola Measuring Success? The Predictive Validity of the Undergraduate Admissions Interview at the University of Oxford
- Naveen Amblee The Development of managerial competencies in MBA programmes: An empirical Study of MBA core curricula
- Yushi Inaba Higher Education in a depopulating society: survival strategies of Japanese Universities
- Elizabeth Miller Degree apprenticeships in England: how do they work and who and what are they for?
- Yu Yang Who got the information – an investigation into the equity and equality of China’s Gaokao reform
Who should apply?
The full-time Master’s is aimed at students and professionals with an interest in higher education at all levels and areas:
- Researchers and those interested in research in higher education
- Higher education tutors and lecturers
- Administrators and managers
- Policy and decision makers
The course will help you to develop your knowledge, expertise and skills in the following aspects:
- Higher education theory, research and policy
- International higher education systems and comparative questions
- Higher education institutional and administrative structures
- Access, completion and transition to the labour market
- Philosophical and historical underpinnings of higher education research and policy
- Research strategies, design and methods
We accept students from a wide range of disciplines and educational backgrounds – a previous degree in education is beneficial but not necessary for successfully participating in and completing the MSc in Higher Education. However, a keen interest in the key debates in higher education nationally and internationally and an openness to engage with new and challenging ideas is necessary.
Structure of the course
The course consists of six modules and a dissertation. For 2024/2025, the required modules are:
- Higher Education: Systems, Structures and Institutions
- Higher Education in the Economy and Society
- Global Higher Education
- Foundations of Educational Research 1: Concepts and Design
- Foundations of Educational Research 2: Strategies and Methods
Students also choose one option from a list of option papers. The following list provides an indication of papers usually available (please note, this is not a guarantee of availability for any particular elective in a given year):
- Core Principles of Child Assessment
- Critical Digital Innovation
- Education in Africa
- Education, the Internet and Society
- Intermediate Quantitative Research
- Perspectives and Debates in Qualitative Research
- The Implementation of the Rights of Children
These papers are taken during the first two terms. In their third term, students undertake work towards the production of a dissertation of between 15,000 and 20,000 words.
Learning approaches and strategies
Learning is organised around tutor presentations, small group work, student led presentations, seminars and workshops, project work, input from external experts and tutorials.
All students participate in course projects and co-operate with other class members to produce presentations on a given topic. Supervisions support students in identifying research questions, selecting areas for literature review, carrying out field work, and reviewing drafts of the dissertation. Library staff will provide supported ICT sessions and literature searching skills (including electronic searches)
Additionally, students are expected to attend departmental research seminars and seminars hosted by the Centre for Global Higher Education which will help students broaden the scope of their learning and further develop their own critical skills. Oxford University provides the opportunity to participate in a wealth of further academic-related activities and students are encouraged to attend lectures and research seminars in other departments within the University.