Master of Arts in International Education (Leadership and Administration)

at University of Bedfordshire - Bedford Campus United Kingdom

Are you an undergraduate dance or performing arts student who dreams of taking your professional performance and creative practice to the next level? Then this performance-based programme is designed with you in mind.

This exceptional course will enhance your skills across artistic, academic, educational and community contexts, offering you the opportunity for professional-level repertory performance practice along with membership of The Ensemble, our postgraduate university dance company. The programme also offers a truly global perspective with students and choreographers from around the world bringing a wealth of ideas and diversity.

Units include repertory and performance; choreographic and dance research; somatic practice; and dance psychology. The emphasis is on the health of mind and body through dance practice and includes contemporary dance, yoga, improvisation, fusion styles and dance science.

You can choose a written dissertation or a practical research project in performance, choreography, dance film-making, teaching/pedagogy or experimental performance.

Why choose this course?

• Gain high-level practical, professional and theoretical skills in performance and/or choreographic practice
• Work with a dynamic, experienced team of tutors with internationally significant experience as academics, practice-led researchers and dance artists
• Our recent choreographers include Julia Cheng, Urja Desai Thakore, Sung Im Her, Annie Lok, Simonetta Alessandri, Colin Poole and Tim Casson
• Benefit from professional-level facilities including four dance studios, an 80-seat studio theatre and a 300-seat main-stage theatre
• Develop your professional network through our existing relationships with key organisations such as Arts Council England; Youth Dance England; dance agencies and development organisations; performance venues; professional dance companies; independent artists; community arts organisations; colleges and schools
• Our graduates can be found working in the UK and internationally, in fields including freelance dance artist or choreographer; education or wider community environments; the film/video industry; and commercial sector
• Our graduates include Hayley Lemon, teaching artist at Dance East; Katie Boag and Ash Goosey, independent choreographers for Arts Council projects; Emma Bouch, lead artist at NK Dance; and Katie Bateman, dancer/entertainer on Disney cruises

Find your individual voice and put your passion into practice on a course that will see you graduate as a versatile and highly employable dance artist, ready to forge a portfolio career within the dance sector.

The course comprises daily technique classes including contemporary, ballet and commercial; fitness sessions; choreography and creative sessions; workshops in digital technologies, dance-teaching skills and community dance practices. You will also be encouraged to think, write and talk about how dance theory informs your work.

There are many opportunities to perform in works by professional choreographers for the University Dance Company, as well as works created by your fellow students. Performances are presented in our professional theatre.

The emphasis is on professional practice, technical competence, creativity and teamwork, a combination that supports students to be versatile, adaptable and employable.

Why choose this course?

• Learn from our highly experienced teaching team specialising in different areas of dance
• Develop your skills through visiting dance artists and choreographers
• Create your own work for performance, including a major piece for the annual student showcase and dance festival
• Gain performance experience in our up-to-the-minute dance studios and professional 280-seat theatre
• Explore extra-curricular activities including cultural exchanges, dance societies and trips
• Take up opportunities for internships and participation in external dance projects

Pursue your own intellectual interests and develop advanced critical thinking and literary analysis skills.

Research-active experts in their fields deliver the taught elements - small seminar groups enabling significant individual support and guidance.

A thorough knowledge of 19th century and 20th century texts and contexts, and specific units in Reading Ulysses, Literary Pilgrimages, and Children’s and Young Adult Literature allow you to reflect on significant historical, intellectual and philosophical debates.

Research Methods develops further skills necessary at postgraduate level.

Building on your interests, a final dissertation project allows you to conduct independent research in a topic of your choosing.

Why choose this course?

• Study on an interdisciplinary course that combines the fields of language teaching and learning, teacher training management and leadership in an international context.
• Gain relevant and practical teaching experience and professional practical experience with a work placement programme where you will meet home and international students at various levels in their career, enabling you to work in an international environment and learn from each other’s experiences.
• Develop your understanding of English language teaching and learning in order to operate successfully in a management and leadership role and support others.
• Learn from experienced lecturers and researchers whose expertise and research lie in the areas of ELT, Language Teaching and Learning and Assessment, Materials Development for Language Teaching and Learning, and Leadership Management in Education. They are also involved in consultancy work with colleges and schools preparing for acceptance into accreditation schemes and inspections.
• Enhance your professional thinking and develop your own personal initiative as you conduct research in a specific area related to the fields of ELT, Management and Leadership.
• Benefit from close links with our Centre for Research in English Language Learning and Assessment (CRELLA), a world-famous centre in language testing and programme evaluation.

If you want to take your love of literature to the next level, this course will give you a confident critical voice across prose, poetry and plays, from Chaucer to Zephaniah. As an English Lit graduate, the degree opens the door to a wide range of rewarding careers.

You study the development of English literature from Chaucer to the contemporary works of Benjamin Zephaniah and Monica Ali. The course introduces you to less well-known literary periods, critical approaches and world literature while offering deeper exploration of favourites such as the Romantics and Victorian literature. Plus you can follow a special interest with options in creative writing; gothic fiction; Shakespeare and his contemporaries; and language, power and ideology.

You will also develop your own critical or creative voice with a final dissertation choice of an extended essay on your preferred subject or a portfolio of your own creative writing.

Why choose this course?

• You work in small groups, guided by expert lecturers and supportive, enthusiastic tutors with strong research backgrounds in their specialist subjects
• Study all the major periods of English literature, including the Middle Ages; Renaissance; Restoration; Victorian; the Romantics; and the modern age
• Explore the exciting Hockliffe and Cinderella Collections, two of the most important archives of children’s literature in the UK, held at the University of Bedfordshire
• Develop valuable transferable skills including communication and debating
• Take the course over four years and include a fee-free year’s placement in industry, gaining practical experience while building your CV and your contacts for the future
• If you need to get up to speed with education at a higher level, take our Foundation Year option which guarantees entry to the Undergraduate degree
• Benefit from a degree which could lead to careers such as academic librarian; copywriter; arts administrator; editorial assistant; journalist; public relations officer; and teaching

Coaching is a great way to express your passion for sport. Great Britain is now seen as a leading competitor in world sport and there are increasing opportunities to make a career out of coaching. There has never been a better time to become a coach.

This course offers you the opportunity to specialise in the academic study of sports coaching, gaining the qualifications and practical skills to be a successful coach.

It combines a thorough understanding of sport and exercise science with knowledge of the range of roles and contexts within which a coach works. Theoretical, vocational and practical elements are included to help you gain a comprehensive understanding of sport science, which underpins coaching practice.

Why choose this course?

• Learn from internationally-recognised staff in the fields of science, exercise and sport
• Study a challenging and enjoyable course which prepares you for employment – 90% of students in work/study 6 months after finishing
• Gain from the opportunity to work with staff who were closely involved with the London 2012 Olympic Games and interact with support services for elite and top-class athletes
• Develop your skills through coaching in partnership with local clubs and teams
• Explore the development of sporting participation or ‘sport for sports sake’ (at all levels) and the role and delivery of sport as a social instrument for change
• Benefit from using state-of-the-art facilities including muscle cell and molecular biology labs for a range of sports science experiments and studies

If you’re fascinated by the science behind sport and exercise performance, this course gives you a rare chance to be part of a world-leading research team, using high-spec equipment to get to the heart of what makes a great sports performer.

The course combines scientific knowledge and sports performance, covering the core areas of sport and exercise science. Study involves lab work using discipline-leading equipment including online gas-analysis machines, an environmental chamber, light gates and echocardiography. It also offers specialist units in biomechanics, exercise physiology and social psychology, to name a few.

You learn in a high-performance environment with a leading research team specialising in exercise physiology; molecular exercise physiology; and exercise and health. You can be part of the team working on prestigious projects for elite sports teams, governing bodies and government initiatives.

Why choose this course?

• It is endorsed by the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES)
• There is a fitness qualification, endorsed by Skills Active, embedded into the course, allowing you to enter onto the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) Level 2
• Gain employability skills with specific, industry-proven guidance and participation in the latest sports science research
• Explore your area of interest with a final-year research project of your choice
• Take the course over four years and include a fee-free year’s placement in industry (see below), gaining experience and making contacts for the future
• If you are looking to step up into higher education, take the degree with a Foundation Year which guarantees entry to the Undergraduate course (see below)

This MA is designed for practising professionals, or those interested in research, in teaching and learning or educational leadership – usually in schools, the lifelong learning sector and universities.

Its modular structure allows you to personalise your choice of units and progress at a pace that best suits you, with a final phase focused on educational research via a dissertation.

The MA Education engages you with key issues in education and aims to encourage your evidence-based practice, as you make direct and meaningful connections between the course and your own experiences and aspirations.

The course helps you to broaden your knowledge of educational ideas and research findings, as you identify and justify recommendations for further action. This places you in a better position to develop your work as a classroom practitioner or school leader.

Why choose this course?

• Study on a modular course designed for existing and aspiring education professionals, that allows you to accumulate credit at a pace that suits you, with assessments based around needs specific to your role in your educational organisation
• Explore the process of teaching, learning support and/or educational leadership, focusing on personal, academic and vocational interests relevant to your educational context
• Develop your understanding of assessment formats with a negotiated focus in support of both individual and organisational needs
• Undertake primary research that informs your current practice, as well as acquire the necessary research skills to engage in future research and progress to a PhD or EdD programme
• Progress your study in education, e.g. following your Initial Teacher Education (ITE) course
• Develop your work in educational contexts
• Support developments within the organisation where you work
• Beprepared for further study at doctoral level (PhD and EdD).

The huge popularity of sport and fitness means clinical exercise therapists are much in demand. This course gives you the skills to use exercise, physical activity and therapeutic treatments to promote health and fitness as well as help rehabilitation after an injury.

The course aims to provide you with the skills and knowledge to progress into a career as a graduate clinical exercise therapist (GCET). Completing the degree allows you to join the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) at Level 3. REPs is the independent public register recognising the qualifications and expertise of health-enhancing coaches and therapists in the UK.

The course explores relevant fields such as physiology and anatomical structure, and includes units on sports massage, manual therapies and the management of sports injuries. In your final year, you undertake a research project of your choice and can also follow a specialism with a range of optional units.

Why choose this course?

• Apply your knowledge and skills while completing a minimum of 150 hours on practice placement in a range of different environments
• Benefit from guidance from practising therapists, coaches and injury-rehabilitation professionals as well as academic staff
• Build your skills in planning and conducting your own research as well as in reading and interpreting other researchers’ work
• Learn wider transferable skills relevant to a range of career options
• As a graduate, enter degree-level employment within the field of health, fitness, sports and exercise medicine in the public sector (NHS) or private sector (health clubs and clinics)
• Take the course over four years and include a fee-free year in industry (see below), gaining experience and making contacts for the future
• If you need a step up into higher education, start with a Foundation Year (see below) which guarantees entry to the undergraduate degree

This course will provide you with a stimulating programme that ensures a sound knowledge of Special Needs and Inclusive Education and the role of professionals who serve the needs of children, young people (0-25) and their families.

You will explore special and inclusive curricula, challenging behaviour, communication and language, international aspects of special education, individual life stories and reflect upon the role of adults in the education of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

This will fully prepare you for a diverse range of professional roles in special and mainstream educational settings and for further, possibly postgraduate, study or teacher training.

You will explore your individual interests through personal study and work placements in some units. You are encouraged to gain voluntary experience and reflect upon your experiences and professional development in your academic work.

Why choose this course?

• Learn through lectures, seminars, placements and practical workshops
• Study issues around supporting children and young people with special needs and disabilities in a range of educational settings
• Understand international perspectives on special needs and inclusive education
• Develop the ability to understand the importance of educational research and to carry out your own research
• Gain experience through  work placements and a strong focus on employability
• Explore issues like diversity, equality, rights, inclusion, exclusion, behaviour, communication, cognition and learning.
• Benefit from a degree that fully prepares you for varied work in a variety of educational settings, for further study or teacher training
• Benefit from studying with staff who have extensive experience in the field of special needs and inclusive education

Study a multidisciplinary course that prepares you for a key role in teaching and supporting children and young adults with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), a key area for education policy and practice.

With many different future roles for those with the right blend of skills and knowledge, this course integrates discussion of theories, policies and practices related to special needs and inclusive education, both UK-based and international. The staff team encourages you to gain relevant work experience both in the degree and as a volunteer.

The course involves the detailed study of the physiological consequences of chronic debilitating diseases and highlights the changes that these different diseases cause during exercise testing.

This unique course gives you a solid grounding in theory and application of physiological tests in clinical populations including: graded cardiopulmonary exercise testing; cardiac ultrasound; vascular ultrasound; and muscle function analyses.

Throughout the course you will actively participate in practical sessions designed to increase your skills, with supervised practice sessions working alongside University sports teams in our BASES Accredited Sport and Exercise Science Laboratories. Integration of theory and practice ensures you will meet developing statutory professional requirements of practice-specific knowledge, understanding and skills.

 Why choose this course?

• Study on a unique course with a multi-disciplinary approach to teaching, with access to world-leading staff expertise and research
• Explore areas including: research design; exercise testing and diagnosis; exercise testing and prescription; physical activity, nutrition and metabolic health; laboratory skills; research methods; advanced exercise testing and diagnosis
• Develop the high-level professional standards demanded of members of a health care team; understanding your ethical, moral and legal responsibilities as well as acquiring the practical competencies, theoretical knowledge and research skills that will help you access careers in health and fitness or academia
• Gain from the opportunity to practice your skills on work placement, and shadow experienced staff
• Benefit from gaining the necessary skills to become a Health Promotion Specialist; Clinical Exercise Physiologist; Clinical Technician or researcher, and/or continue to further research-based study on MSc by research, MPhil or PhD programmes.