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MA Global Citizenship Education

Study ways of preparing learners for the global challenges of the 21st century

Year of entry: 2023 (September)

Length

1 year full-time

Start date

September 2023 (semester dates)

Online Open Day

Wednesday 7 June 2023
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Globalisation is a key driving force of modern education systems.

Schools and other educational organisations play a crucial role in our global network. This course will give you an understanding of the central role education has in forging more tolerant and inclusive societies by encouraging young people to become informed, socially-connected, ethical and engaged global citizens.

If you are a current or future teacher, researcher or a policy maker who wants to understand more about education and contemporary society then this is the course for you.

It was a year of fun and learning - learning from great scholars, access to huge resource banks, making friends, learning about different cultures, and the wonderful overall experience of being in York and belonging here. I decided to stay longer, and have continued at York for my PhD in Education.
Ghazal, MA Global Citizenship Education

Global networking

We host the Centre for Research on Education and Social Justice, meaning you will have opportunities to connect with researchers and students from across the world.

Course content

You'll explore what it means to be a citizen in a global world – and what could and should be done by educators to respond to the needs of individuals and groups in nation states and the new global society.

You’ll develop an awareness of issues about education rights, duties and communities globally, as well as in Europe and the UK.

You’ll study how this links to learning, teaching and assessment methods in schools and elsewhere. You will investigate education social studies, including political education, moral and community education, character education and diversity issues. This broad field includes global education, comparative education, international education, intercultural understanding and citizenship education.

You will take a total of 180 credits, including four core modules, two option modules and a dissertation.

Modules

Core modules

Option modules

You will also study two option modules. In previous years, options have covered topics such as:

The options available to you will be confirmed after you begin your course. For further information please get in touch.

Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff.

Dissertation

You'll develop, design, implement and manage your own original research project, supervised by a member of staff with the relevant experience for your topic. To complete this masters, you will produce a 12,000-word dissertation based on your research project.

Previous studies have included an examination of global education in schools and elsewhere, universities as sites of global citizenship, and the role of the media.

The York approach

Every course at York is built on a distinctive set of learning outcomes. These will give you a clear understanding of what you will be able to accomplish at the end of the course and help you explain what you can offer employers. Our academics identify the knowledge, skills, and experiences you'll need upon graduation and then design the course to get you there.

Students who complete this course will be able to:

  • Apply in-depth knowledge of sustainable development goals to understand concepts of citizenship and critical approaches for educating global citizens.
  • Contribute to changing education practice by embedding critical, reflective practice in pedagogies for citizenship education.
  • Apply critical thinking to resources, theories, and curriculum approaches for teaching social, political and moral education.
  • Identify systemic barriers to equality and inclusiveness, giving attention to perspectives which differ from their own.
  • Initiate and conduct independent, focused research projects by engaging in thorough planning, rigorous ethics procedures and the selection and application of appropriate principles, methodologies and approaches.
  • Collate, manage and critically analyse complex empirical data using appropriate software in order to support presented arguments.
  • Communicate complex information and arguments clearly, confidently and in a professional manner, making use of oral, written and visual formats.
  • Contribute to debates about the nature of pedagogical initiatives in educating critical global citizens.

Fees and funding

Annual tuition fees for 2023/24

Study modeUK (home)International and EU
Full-time (1 year) £9,990£22,250

Students on a Student Visa (formerly Tier 4 Visa) are not currently permitted to study part-time at York.

Fees information

UK (home) or international fees? The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.

Find out more information about tuition fees and how to pay them.

Additional costs

There are no mandatory additional fees, but we do recommend that you set aside some money for photocopying. Course books will be available from the Library and online reading packs are available for most modules, but you may wish to buy your own copies. Each book typically costs £20 to 40.

Funding information

Discover your funding options to help with tuition fees and living costs.

We'll confirm more funding opportunities for students joining us in 2023/24 throughout the year.

If you've successfully completed an undergraduate degree at York you could be eligible for a 10% Masters fee discount.

Funding opportunities

Departmental scholarships

We offer some departmental scholarships. View details of funding and scholarship opportunities.

Living costs

You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.

Teaching and assessment

You’ll work with world‐leading academics who’ll challenge you to think independently and excel in all that you do. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace.

Teaching format

You will be taught through a combination of formal lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical exercises and workshops.

You'll spend time working on your own, reading assigned texts and researching supporting materials, as well as working with others in seminars to discuss and present your work.

There will also be opportunities to attend seminars from visiting scholars on a wide variety of educational topics.

You'll be supported academically and pastorally by a tutor who you will have one-to-one meetings with.

Teaching location

You will be based in the Department of Education on Campus West. Teaching for this course takes place at various locations on Campus West, including Vanbrugh, Derwent and Alcuin Colleges; and the Spring Lane teaching building.

About our campus

Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around campus - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can always use the fast and frequent bus service.

Assessment and feedback

Types of assessments used throughout this course include:

  • three 3,500-word assessed essays
  • a 3,500-word portfolio
  • online exams
  • a research proposal and ethics audit
  • a 12,000-word dissertation on an original piece of your own research.

Careers and skills

This course is an ideal foundation for postgraduate students looking to go on to further study such as PhD or for a career in schools, an international organisation, government or the third sector. The communication and cultural knowledge developed will be highly valued by any organisation with international interests. The wide variety of module options available allows you to select a route aligned with your individual interests and professional goals.

Career opportunities

  • Study abroad programme facilitator
  • Editor in press
  • Executive for an NGO 
  • HR advisor
  • Social researcher
  • Policy officer

Transferable skills

  • Qualitative and quantitative research methods
  • Data analysis
  • Design and completion of original research
  • Critical reasoning
  • Communication skills (including intercultural communication)
  • Academic and professional language skills in English

Entry requirements

Typical offer
Undergraduate degree 2:1 or equivalent undergraduate degree in a relevant field such as: Education, Politics, Geography, Sociology, Philosophy, other Social Sciences
International pre-masters programme Pre-masters from our International Pathway College
Other international qualifications Equivalent qualifications from your country

English language

If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:

Minimum requirement
IELTS (Academic and Indicator) 6.5, minimum 6.0 in each component
C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency 176, minimum 169 in each component
Duolingo 120, minimum 105 in all other components
LanguageCert SELT B2 with 33/50 in each component
LanguageCert International ESOL B2 Communicator: Pass with 33/50 in each component
PTE Academic/PTE Academic Online 61, minimum 55 in each component
TOEFL 87, minimum 21 in each component
Trinity ISE III Merit in all requirements

For more information see our postgraduate English language requirements.

If you've not met our English language requirements

You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.

The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.

After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York.

Applying

You can apply and send all your documentation electronically through our online system. You don’t need to complete your application all at once: you can start it, save it and finish it later.

Make sure you enclose a personal statement with your application. This should be between 300 and 400 words in length, and cover:

  • Relevant details of your academic and education background
  • Details of relevant activities you have undertaken, like designing teaching materials, or organising short courses
  • How this course suits your needs and what attracts you to it
  • How it fits into your future plans

More detailed advice on writing your personal statement

Apply for this course

Next steps

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