Master of Education

The Master of Education is directed at practising professionals in a broad range of fields related to education - early childhood, primary, secondary, tertiary, vocational and adult. The degree will also meet the needs of other professionals whose work has an educational component or some educational responsibility.

The degree offers several streams, allowing students to complete the degree through a mix of coursework and thesis, totally by thesis, or totally by coursework. Students can either develop a specialisation in a particular subject area or undertake a range of subjects in a number of subject areas.

Eligibility for each stream depends on the level of the applicant's previous qualifications.

Special Note: All students who wish to apply for a stream with a thesis component must submit an Expression of Interest before applying.

Please note that this course will not provide you with registration to teach in Australia.

One-Year / 100-Point Streams:

One and a half Year / 150-Point Streams:

Course Objectives

Students completing this course should be able to:

• demonstrate a superior knowledge and understanding of educational theory and practice in general and in a specialised area in particular;
• express informed opinions about particular areas of current educational interest;
• have an understanding of the theory and practice of educational research needed to evaluate research literature and carry out appropriate research activity;
• make effective use of the findings of educational writings and research in addressing professional problems;
• have the depth of knowledge and understanding that will enable them to be a resource for colleagues in particular professional situations;
• demonstrate an appreciation of professional responsibilities and ethical principles which should characterise leaders in the education profession.

Entrance Requirements for Streams 100, 100A and 100B

An applicant may be eligible for entry into the Master of Education, Stream 100, if the applicant has:

• an appropriate honours degree in Education with a minimum honours result of 75%, or equivalent; or
• a Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma in the field of Education , with an average result of at least 75%, or equivalent; or
• an appropriate four-year degree, or equivalent, and at least two years of documented relevant professional experience and a record of research activity and/or publications equivalent to 50 points of year five study.

The documented record of activity and/or publications referred to must entail clearly research-driven initiative(s) that generated a written product for which the author was sole or significant contributor or author. This initiative may be centred on workplace-related issues, but it must extend further than routine endeavours that would be considered part of normal practices within the educational workplace (for example, normal subject or course evaluation or policy formulation). The design of the research should reflect sound, explicit conceptual and methodological bases and it should include either empirical or document-based data collection and analysis. The report should constitute an advance in current knowledge in the field. Overall, the information supplied must convince the selection committee that the applicant has sufficient educational research expertise or experience to enable successful completion of the degree within the time allowed. For entry into Stream 100, the evidence needs to be particularly persuasive.

An applicant may be eligible for entry into the Master of Education, Stream 100A, if the applicant has:

• an appropriate honours degree in Education; or
• a Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma in the field of Education; or
• an appropriate four-year degree, or equivalent, and at least two years of documented relevant professional experience and a record of research activity and/or publications equivalent to 50 points of year five study.
  
  

  Applicants for Streams 100 and 100A are required to submit a thesis proposal signed by their proposed supervisor and the Head of Department with their applications.

An applicant may be eligible for entry into the Master of Education, Stream 100B, if the applicant has:

• an appropriate honours degree in Education; or
• a Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma in the field of Education; or
• an appropriate four-year degree, or equivalent, and at least two years of documented relevant professional experience

Students enrolled in Streams 150, 100A and 150A are required to attain an average of at least 75 in their coursework component before commencing their thesis. If this score is not attained, progress will be assessed on an individual basis.

Students must also achieve a grade of H2A or better in the research method subject before being permitted to undertake the thesis component. Students achieving a grade of H2B may be allowed to undertake the thesis if they have the explicit support of their supervisor that they are capable of doing so. Students achieving a grade of less than H2B may be required to convert from a research masters to a coursework only degree.

Wherever possible, students should take the research method subject just prior to the commencement of the thesis.

Entrance Requirements for Streams 150, 150A and 150B

An applicant may be eligible for entry into the Master of Education, Streams 150,150A or 150B, if the applicant has:

• an appropriate undergraduate degree and an appropriate fourth-year level education qualification, or equivalent; or
• an appropriate four-year education degree, or equivalent, or
• an appropriate undergraduate degree and either a record of research and/or publication equivalent to year four in education or at least two years of documented relevant professional experience.

Applicants for Streams 150 or 150A are required to submit a thesis proposal signed by their proposed supervisor and the Head of Department with their application.

Length of Time Acceptable Since Completion of Previous Qualification and/or Prerequisites

Applicants for Streams 100, 100A or 100B of the Master of Education (960AA, 960AB or 960AC) who are applying for entry on the basis of qualifications obtained more than ten years prior to the year in which selection is sought, will normally be required to undertake two subjects from the Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Studies or Postgraduate Diploma in Education and Training or Postgraduate Diploma in Mathematics and Mathematics Education or Graduate Diploma in Educational Administration and gain an H2A or above in each subject prior to admission to Stream 100 or 100A within the Master of Education course.

Applicants for Streams 150, 150A or 150B of the Master of Education (960BA, 960BB or 960BC) who are applying for entry on the basis of qualifications obtained more than ten years prior to the year in which selection is sought, may be granted admission to those Streams if, in the view of the Faculty, the applicant has maintained an appropriate level of active involvement in the field of education during the time since the relevant prerequisite qualification(s) were conferred. No credit will be granted for studies undertaken for a Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Studies or other fifth-year level equivalent qualification completed more than 10 years prior to the year for which selection is sought.

Applicants who wish to resume their Masters degree studies after a gap of more than 10 years will normally be required to undertake two subjects and gain an H2A or above in each subject prior to re-admission to any stream of the Master of Education course.

Course Structure

Stream 100: Major Thesis only (960AA)

Students are required to complete a thesis of 30,000 words, representing 100 points of study. Students are required to undertake methodology studies concurrently with their Masters studies if methodology studies have not already been undertaken prior to entry to the course or at the direction of their supervisor. This is a research-classified course. Graduates of Stream 100 are eligible to apply for entry to the PhD or Doctor of Education programs. Students must publicly present a research paper in the last six months of their candidature.

Stream 100A: Coursework and 20,000 word Thesis (960AB)

Students are required to undertake 100 points of study, consisting of a thesis of 20,000 words with a methodology component (75 points total) and 25 points of coursework at Masters level. This is a research-classified course. Graduates of Stream 100A may be eligible to apply for entry to the PhD or Doctor of Education programs. Students must publicly present a research paper in the last six months of their candidature.

Stream 100B: Coursework (960AC)

Students are required to undertake 100 points of masters-level coursework. This is a coursework-classified course. Graduates are eligible to apply for entry to the Doctor of Education program provided they meet the entry requirements.

Stream 150: Coursework and MajorThesis (960BA)

Students are required to undertake 150 points of study, consisting of 50 points of coursework and a thesis of 30,000 words with a methodology component (100 points total). In order to proceed to the thesis, students must achieve grades of H2A or above in the coursework component. Students who do not achieve this level will be able to complete the degree by transferring to Stream 150A or 150B. This is a research-classified course. Graduates of Stream 150 may be eligible to apply for entry to the PhD or Doctor of Education programs. Students must publicly present a research paper in the last six months of their candidature.

Stream 150A: Coursework and 20,000 word Thesis (960BB)

Students are required to undertake 150 points of study, consisting of 75 points of masters-level coursework and a thesis of 20,000 words with a methodology component (75 points). This is a coursework-classified course. Graduates are eligible to apply for entry to the Doctor of Education program provided they meet the entry requirements. Admission to the PhD course is not normally granted, however special application can be made. Selection for the PhD course is administered through the School of Graduate Studies.

Stream 150B: Coursework (960BC)

Students are required to undertake 150 points of coursework subjects, of which the final 100 points at least must be at Masters level. This is a coursework-classified course. Graduates are eligible to apply for entry to the Doctor of Education program provided they meet the entry requirements.

Research Methods

Students enrol in various codes for Research Methods depending on which stream they are enrolled in. To view the subject numbers please click here

Coursework Offered in the Master of Education

Students undertaking coursework may select subjects from the pool of postgraduate subjects listed below, which are loosely grouped into subject areas by academic department.

Subjects that may be undertaken in external mode of delivery (online, by correspondence, or through face-to-face teaching in approved off-campus locations) are marked by an asterisk.

Educational Leadership and Management:

Assessment and Evaluation:

Post-Compulsory Education and Training:

Arts Education:

Language and Literacy:

Assessment:

Curriculum:

Hearing Impaired:

Special Education

Specific Learning Difficulties:

Early Childhood Intervention:

Educational Psychology:

Gifted Education:

Learning and Teaching:

Student Welfare:

Information Technology in Education:

Mathematics Education:

Thesis Provisions

General Requirements and Thesis Supervision

Applicants for Stream 100, 100A, and 150 are required to write a preliminary thesis proposal and obtain a supervisor as part of the application process. The thesis proposal must be signed by the supervisor and the Associate Dean (Reserach and Research Training).

All students enrolled in the thesis streams should finalise the topic of their thesis with their supervisor as early as possible, and must register the name of their supervisor with the Faculty of Education Student Centre as soon as the matter is finalised.

Thesis of 30,000 Words (Streams 100 and 150)

In the thesis for Streams 100 and 150, students are expected to demonstrate that they have mastered the research and synthesising skills involved in producing an original contribution to scholarship, although the thesis itself may not be particularly new in its field.

A student proceeding to the 30,000-word thesis will have completed a one-semester subject which gives preparation in the research methods and conceptual frameworks by means of which the thesis investigation will be carried out.

The length of the thesis for Streams 100 and 150 varies from field to field, but should not exceed 30,000 words, excluding appendices. The thesis is examined by two appropriate academics external to the University of Melbourne, neither of whom is the supervisor of the thesis.

The thesis should not, as a general rule, take a part-time Stream 100 student more than two years to complete. Stream 150 part-time students should not take more than three years to complete.

Thesis of 20,000 Words (Streams 100A and 150A)

The thesis for Streams 100A and 150A permits the student to draw on the themes discussed in the various subjects undertaken, and to apply them to an area of particular interest. Although this work may rely to some extent on the work of others, it should be a new presentation which involves the writer in demonstrating research and writing skills, and also in collecting primary data from the field, or in building some new construct from available materials. The result should give clear evidence of research skills and critical judgement.

The thesis for Streams 100A and 150A should demonstrate the student's ability to handle research and to present the outcomes in a disciplined way that conforms with normal scholarly conventions.

The thesis should be 20,000 words in length, excluding appendices. Theses produced for Stream 150A will be examined by two appropriate academics, at least one of whom is external to the University of Melbourne, neither of whom is the supervisor of the thesis. Theses produced for Stream 100A are required to be examined by two external examiners.

External Mode of Delivery

Some subjects within this course are also offered in external mode of delivery. It is possible to undertake all components of the coursework only streams (Streams 100B or 150B) of this course externally providing students select subjects that are available in external mode of delivery. However, the thesis streams may not be undertaken entirely in external mode of delivery as the thesis must be undertaken while on-campus at the University of Melbourne. The particular mode of delivery for specific subjects is listed under each subject description. Students wishing to undertake subjects offered in external (online) mode of delivery should first check that they meet the requirements to study externally.