牛津大学

About the course

The MSc Education (Higher Education) at the University of Oxford is aimed at future academic, policy, and practitioner leaders in higher education, and provides a critical introduction to research, theory and practice in this complex field at a global level.

During this full-time course, students will have the opportunity to consider a wide range of issues that higher education systems around the world are facing today, including internationalisation, the relationship between higher education and labour markets, access and social justice, student fees, and rankings. Teaching sessions will combine tutor input, class discussion, and working in small groups in order to examine these key issues and the discourses that shape them.

Course members study three core papers which consider international higher education systems and their economic impacts from theoretical, historical and empirical perspectives. Invited speakers will present their own recent research findings, ensuring that the course content reflects live debates and emerging understandings within the field of higher education policy.

Assessment

The course is assessed through written assignments, a two-hour examination, and a research dissertation of 15,000-20,000 words. Work towards this dissertation will be supported by practical sessions, that develop themes covered in the research design and methodology lectures, and one-to-one meetings with a supervisor throughout the course.

Graduate destinations

Past master's and DPhil students from the Department of Education have gone on to academic and research careers at a range of universities in the UK and across the world, or are employed across a wide range of other sectors such as policy for government departments or NGOs, international organisations such as OECD, think tanks and administration at local and national levels. The department’s ‘Conversations with Alumni’ feature includes interviews with two DPhil alumni on their career paths after Oxford. Many graduates from the MSc Education (Higher Education) continue on to complete doctorates and enter academia, enter management positions in the field of higher education, or work in higher education policy at government level or in different think tanks or NGOs.