Master’s offer for 2022 trainees and ambassadors
Turn your Postgraduate Diploma in Education into a master’s degree, with an optional third year of part-time study.
This page was updated on 1 April 2024 to update the offer for 2022 trainees and ambassadors.
The Teach First master’s degree is designed to build on your effectiveness and impact as a teacher and a leader.
Created by our partner universities, taking advantage of this opportunity will help you to develop your core teaching knowledge, formally reflect on your practice and instigate evidence-based change and innovation in your school and across society.
This page explains the structure and details of the master’s degree at each university, financial arrangements, and the registration process. We’re dedicated to supporting the leadership needed to address the stubborn educational inequalities that exist.
Key points:
- This is a part-time, optional commitment that takes a minimum of one academic year to complete.
- It builds on the work you’ve already undertaken on the Training Programme to get your Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE).
- The PGDE gives you between 90 and 120 credits to transfer to a Master’s degree, depending on the institution you choose.
- All our university partners offer a 60-credit dissertation module, although the exact structure of the degree varies between them.
Scroll down to each individual university's course outlines for full details.
- Our university partners
Our university partners are experts in education and leadership. Each university has independently designed a master’s degree specifically for Teach First ambassadors, and you can choose to study with any of them.
Some universities offer distance learning, which allows you to combine your studies with work or other commitments. All offer competitive fees.
See our 'Course outlines' below for the full list of partner universities.
- How much will it cost?
For the cost of each master’s degree, check the individual university course outlines. Fees will be paid directly to the university in line with their policies – Teach First is not involved in this process.
- Terms and conditions
Admission to the master’s degree is at the sole discretion of the university provider and will be subject to you meeting the relevant entry criteria.
You’ll be solely responsible for completing all enrolment procedures required by your university, for meeting all deadlines relating to the master’s degree and for all other communications with your university.
Please note that the university you enrol with will have terms and conditions of their own, and you’ll need to comply with these. Teach First bears no liability to students or applicants with respect to the programmes outlined in this document.
How to apply
There are key requirements you’ll need to complete as part of any course. Please make sure you consider the opportunity carefully alongside any other responsibilities and understand the financial commitments you’ll be making with your university.
The enrolment process is different for each university. Although the master’s degree is linked to Teach First, you’re applying to complete it with one of the universities listed in this document. The programme will be delivered solely by them.
The universities have a right to refuse your application, so please make sure you allow enough time to complete the registration or enrolment and follow each step carefully. The process may include some or all of the following:
- Completing a detailed application form.
- Providing proof of your PGDE and degree qualification.
- Attending an induction.
Once you’ve enrolled for a degree, you’ll be able to access both your chosen university’s on-site facilities and online library.
For more information on the masters’ degrees, please contact the individual university you’re looking to apply to.
I obtained a PGCE rather than a PGDE, can I apply?
To be eligible for the master’s degrees outlined below, you must have completed a PGDE from within the 2017 Training Programme cohort onwards. If you have a PGCE and would like to apply, we advise you to contact the university directly for more information.
Course outlines
- Bath Spa University
MA Educational Leadership (Teach First)
Maximum transferable credits: 120
Course structure: 60-credit dissertation module
Course delivery method:
- The MA is taught online at weekends and in the evenings to fit around your teaching.
- Delivery will be via lectures and group seminars with lots of time for discussion and questions.
- Supervision is primarily online/phone/Teams but can be face-to-face if required.
- The research project is broken into smaller parts so you can complete one assignment, receive feedback and build on this for the next one.
Cost: £2,905 (£2,240 for those who completed their PGDE at Bath Spa University).
- Sheffield Hallam University
MA Leadership in Learning (Teach First)
Maximum transferable credits: 120
Course structure: 60-credit dissertation module
Course delivery method:
- Teaching is a mixture of lectures and seminars currently both face to face and online. These will be timed to support the research project and take place at weekends and evenings to suit student need.
- Ongoing support with dissertation supervisor.
Cost: £3,305
For more detail on each course, please see below.
Bath Spa University
Master’s degree title: MA Educational Leadership (Teach First)
Course length: 1 year
Maximum transferable credits: 120
Course structure: 60-credit dissertation module
Module leader: Róisín Ní Mhocháin
Contact telephone: +44 (0)1225 876 180
Contact email: teachfirst@bathspa.ac.uk
Website: https://www.bathspa.ac.uk/courses/pg-educational-leadership-teach-first/
Course summary
This course is designed to develop your expertise as an educational leader, drawing on international research and informed by Teach First's values and mission.
It is a 60-credit module designed to build on your existing PGDE to 'top-up' your learning to Master's level.
You will report on and develop an applied research project. This will cover an aspect of education theory, policy or practice relating to leadership, relevant to your professional practice and context.
You will report research process and findings in a format appropriate to postgraduate level study.
This programme is open to all ambassadors who successfully completed the PDGE, wherever you completed the Training Programme.
Course details
The MA module is assessed through four assignments, consisting of different elements of the applied research project:
- Ethical approval form (assessed as pass/fail).
- Applied research project proposal (30% of total mark).
- Research report and portfolio (50% of total mark).
- Recorded digital presentation (20% of total mark).
Together, these form the equivalent of a 16,000-word dissertation.
You will also attend university group seminar sessions. The first group seminar reviews your understanding of research methods, allowing time to build your research idea into an achievable project.
University seminar sessions will take place on Saturdays online or as online twilight sessions.
We encourage you to consider your own context and choose a topic of interest to you. We advise an action research or case study approach, allowing you to build on what you have learned in your PGDE.
Following the first seminar you’ll be assigned a supervisor knowledgeable in Educational Leadership and Development.
They will support you in further developing your project idea into a solid research proposal and guide you through the ethical approval process. You will also be invited to join an online seminar on ethics, both generally and in relation to your own research projects.
The course requires self-directed study and wide reading. Following tutorials, you’ll be given formative feedback on your progress and next steps.
Finance
The enrolment fee is £2,905.
Bath Spa alumni qualify for a discounted price of £2,240. This can be paid in instalments.
Application and enrolment
- From Spring 2024: Apply using the course website. Alumni please contact Teachfirst@bathspa.ac.uk about the streamlined application process)
- From Spring 2024: Application reviewed by the university and offer sent.
- Late July/August 2024: If accepted, you'll receive enrolment details and enrol online.
- Late September 2024: Master's degree course begins.
We are also holding information sessions over the next few months that give trainees the opportunity to hear a little more about the programme and to ask any questions you may have.
For BSU trainees, details of these are available on Minerva.
For those from other universities, you can find out more about these sessions by emailing Teachfirst@bathspa.ac.uk.
Sheffield Hallam University
Master’s degree title: MA Leadership in Learning (Teach First)
Course length: 1 year
Maximum transferable credits: 120
Course structure: 60-credit dissertation module
Programme Director: Sarah Boodt
Lead Administrator: Jane Conlon
Contact telephone: 0114 225 5555
Contact email: sioeaa@shu.ac.uk
Website: www.shu.ac.uk
Application forms
External candidates
Current Sheffield Hallam University trainees
Contact Sarah Boodt or Jane Conlon for a progression form.
Course summary
This MA course is designed to build on your learning from your PGDE with a focus on developing your expertise as a leader in education.
It is assessed through a research project of 12,000 words, worth 60 credits.
You will carry out an original piece of research related to your own professional and personal interest in leadership in learning. The module aims to deepen your understanding of research concepts, tools and applications within the context of developing your knowledge of leadership.
By undertaking a largely autonomous, substantive research-based project, you will build on the skills and knowledge from your PGDE as you develop your own research and leadership practice.
You will attend university group seminars across three Saturdays and some online twilight sessions. The Saturday seminars are face-to-face and provide opportunities for you to discuss themes, share your research, network and receive dissertation support.
By applying your learning in these seminars, you will gradually build your research project. Seminars are timed to support the introduction and design of the project, mid-point review and pre-submission.
During these seminars, you will be supported by the course leader and experts from the field. In addition to attending the seminars, you will be expected to engage in self-directed study and wide reading.
You will be allocated a supervisor, whose role it is to support you as you develop your project idea into a research proposal and apply for ethical approval. You should work with your supervisor to identify the ways in which you can best be supported.
Throughout the course, you will be given formative feedback on your progress and feed forward for your next steps.
The course is open to all ambassadors who successfully completed the PGDE, regardless of where you completed the Teach First Training Programme.
Finance
The fee for enrolment is £3,305.
Application and enrolment
- March 2024 onwards: Complete application process.
- Within three weeks of application: Response sent and conditional offers made, enrolment/continuation information sent.
- July 2024: Place confirmed following successful completion of PGDE.
- September 2024: Course begins.
Testimonials
I was able to research something that was directly relevant to my professional experience in the classroom…I found it incredibly energising to take a step back and be able to research and write about the professional issues you are otherwise caught up in on a day-to-day basis.
Katherine Ingham, Teach First ambassador
My dissertation helped me understand the way my students saw the world and the impact I had on their understanding of themselves and those around them. It also helped me place myself within a much larger global community and understand how to reduce or eliminate patterns of behaviour and prejudices within myself.
Emma Sheppard, Teach First ambassador