Language Education MSc

The Language Education programme is studied full time. You will complete five compulsory courses and two option courses, plus a dissertation, to be awarded an MSc in Language Education.

Compulsory courses:

• Language and the Learner
• Languages, Society and Education
• Professional Practice
• Sources of Knowledge: Understanding and analysing research literature
• Conceptualising Research: Foundations, Assumptions and Praxis

Option courses are subject to change each year but have previously included:

• Bilingual Education
• Critical Literacies and Critical Pedagogies in L1 and L2 contexts
• Corpus Linguistics and Language Teaching
• Evaluation and Design of TESOL Materials
• Intercultural Language Learner Identity
• Investigating Individual Learner Differences
• Language Awareness for Second Language Teachers
• Language Testing
• Online Language Learning
• Second Language Teacher Education
• Teaching Languages to Young Learners
• Teaching texts across borders - from picture books to teenage fiction and film
• Text, Discourse and Language Teaching

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.

Graduates of the MSc Language Education can:

• Show understanding of seminal as well as recent concepts and theories in the field of language education.
• Critically review and engage with key principles underlying the field of language education.
• Plan and execute a significant piece of research of your choice relevant to the field of language education.
• Creatively apply theory to practice in a context-sensitive manner.

This programme will develop your love of language and its teaching. It will give you the knowledge and professional skills you need to enter the challenging field of language education or to extend your current career.

Whether you are a newly qualified or experienced teacher, or you are involved in a related area of language teaching, such as curriculum development, you will benefit from the blend of educational and linguistic foundations on offer.

This qualification will allow you to pursue opportunities in foreign or second language teaching, either as:

• a newly qualified teacher looking to enter the profession
• an experienced practitioner seeking to diversify or reinforce your current career
• a non-qualified teacher with an interest in foreign language tuition

You will also gain a host of valuable transferable skills that you can carry into any career situation.

The MSc Language Education is led by a team of language professionals and researchers with expertise in a wide variety of areas. We are a multilingual and multicultural team with professional experience gained all over the globe in the field of language education.

• The Language Education team

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 July 2025.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a relevant discipline. Previous teaching experience is not required.

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

Students from China

This degree is Band C.

If applicants are studying in a Chinese university on our priority list, they must have a minimum overall average of 80% for courses and at least 80% on the dissertation. For applicants at any recognised university not on our priority list, they must have an average of 85% for courses and 80% on the dissertation.

• 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 6.5 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 23 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 176 in each component.
• Trinity ISE: ISE III with passes in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 73 with at least 65 in each component. We do not accept PTE Academic Online.
• Oxford ELLT: 8 overall with at least 7 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