Dance Science and Education MSc

Your learning will incorporate a variety of approaches including lectures, student-led seminars, presentations, practical skills training and project work.

To earn an MSc, on completion of your course credits, you will also produce an independently researched dissertation.

Compulsory courses

• Dance Pedagogy
• Preventive Dance Medicine
• Sources of Knowledge: understanding and analysing research literature
• Conceptualising Research: Foundations, Assumptions and Praxis

The compulsory courses are designed to be delivered in intensive blocks of study. This enables students with other commitments some flexibility to complete the degree by combining the intensive blocks with online optional courses.

Option courses

You will also choose 1-3 option courses (40 credits) from a range offered at Moray House School of Education and Sport and may include for example:

• Professional Development and Leadership in Dance Teaching
• Assessment of physical activity and body composition
• Child and adolescent development
• Education for all
• Physical activity for health
• Psychology for physical activity
• Strength and conditioning for specific populations

Additional options may be chosen from courses offered by relevant schools within the University, subject to approval by your Programme Director and Course Organiser.

MSc Dance Science & Education with Teaching Qualification (TQs) pathway

The pathway is offered as a Master of Science and can be completed over 15 months (full-time).

To earn the Master's with TQs, you will not take any option courses, instead completing 'Professional Development and Leadership in Dance Teaching' as a compulsory course.

Please note that the MSc Dance Science and Education with TQs starts in mid-to-late August which is earlier in the academic year than the regular MSc Dance Science and Education.

Graduates of this degree pathway are recommended to the GTCS for provisional registration. Upon completion of the required probationary period of teaching, eligible graduates may register with the GTCS as a teacher with a subject specialism in dance.

Many dance teachers work in school and community contexts. However, it is a legal requirement for any teacher in the Scottish state school system to be registered with the GTCS. Being registered not only allows you to teach but also provides assurances to employers, parents and children that you meet a national standard of teaching.

• General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS)

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses

We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

The Teaching Qualification (TQs) pathway includes 18 weeks of placement experience in schools and community settings.

Students wishing to gain practical teaching experience but do not wish to work toward GTCS registration can enrol on Professional Development and Leadership in Dance Teaching in the Community as their option course. This course includes a minimum of 12 weeks of placement experience in school and community contexts.

Whether you are a recent graduate or a mid-career professional, this programme will prepare you for further research, which can be channelled into an academic career or used to advance your performing, teaching or educational career. The transferable skills you gain, such as communication and project management, will also be valuable in enhancing any career options.

If you choose the GTCS-accredited Teaching Qualification (TQs) pathway, this degree will enable you to apply for GTCS registration and teach in schools with a subject specialism of dance across 3-18 years.

Recent graduate destinations include lecturing and teaching positions in Higher Education, teaching positions in schools, dance development officers for local authorities, research positions, further study at PhD level and physiotherapy programmes.

Students make use of excellent on-campus facilities that include St Leonard’s Land dance studio and BASES-accredited scientific research laboratories.

Because of the University's historic and well-founded reputation in Dance Education, students can access extensive and rare resources related to the field of dance and medical practice in the University's libraries.

These entry requirements are for the 2025/26 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2026/27 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2025.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a relevant discipline.

We may also consider your application if you have relevant employment or professional experience; please contact us to check before you apply.

With your application, you will be required to submit a digital portfolio (maximum 15 minutes in length) evidencing your professional dance practice. This could include, for example, footage of your own performance, your own original choreography performed by your students/dancers, and/or you in a teaching context.

MSc Dance Science & Education with Teaching Qualification (TQs) pathway-specific requirements

If you are applying for the MSc Dance Science and Education with TQs, in order to be eligible for provisional registration as a teacher, you must have achieved a level of competence in English and Mathematics which is approved by the GTCS upon completion of your degree. This would normally be:

• SQA Higher Grade pass at levels A, B, C (or equivalent) in English

• SQA Standard Grade (Credit Level 1 or 2) pass in Mathematics or its equivalent

Selection for the MSc Dance Science and Education with Teaching Qualification involves a professional interview. If you are not sure of your eligibility, please contact PG Admissions to find out more about these requirements.

Protecting Vulnerable Groups

All successful applicants to the Teaching Qualification (TQs) pathway will be required to join Disclosure Scotland's Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme before starting the programme. Applicants who don't live in the UK, or who have spent more than a year abroad, will need to provide equivalent verification from the relevant national authority. Students on the general MSc Dance Science and Education programme do not need to join the PVG Scheme.

Students from China

This degree is Band C.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency which will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 169 in each component.
• Trinity ISE: ISE III with passes in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 73 with at least 59 in each component. We do not accept PTE Academic Online.
• Oxford ELLT: 8 overall with at least 6 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about our language requirements:

• English language requirements

Tuition fees

Funding for postgraduate study is different to undergraduate study, and many students need to combine funding sources to pay for their studies.

Most students use a combination of the following funding to pay their tuition fees and living costs:

• borrowing money
  • taking out a loan
  • family support
• personal savings
• income from work
• employer sponsorship
• scholarships

Explore sources of funding for postgraduate study

GREAT scholarship: Mexico

One GREAT scholarship will be available to applicants from Mexico who apply for 2024 entry. This award is for £10,000 towards postgraduate taught (Masters) degree tuition. Further details on eligibility criteria and how to apply can be found on the GREAT scholarship website.

• GREAT scholarship 2024: Mexico

India Merit Scholarship

The University is offering a new international scholarship for the most academically gifted Postgraduate Taught (PGT) Masters students applying from India. These awards cover £5,000 towards tuition fees for PGT Masters students studying on campus during the 2024/25 academic year. The Scholarships will be tenable for the first year of study only and will be automatically deducted from your student tuition fee balance. 

• India Merit Scholarship

UK government postgraduate loans

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments. The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

• your programme
• the duration of your studies
• your tuition fee status

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

• UK government and other external funding

Other funding opportunities

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding