Master of Education (Research) at University of Canberra

Master your education research skills

If you are a graduate with education experience who is looking to expand your expertise in research, this master’s course will provide you with the critical research skills you need for either career advancement in education-focused fields or as a stepping stone to doctoral research. Depending on your previous research training, this flexible course provides you with the option of concentrating on a thesis alone, or undertaking a combination of postgraduate coursework along with a thesis. 

If you embark upon a blended path, you will cover a critical overview of research perspectives and practices, with particular reference to education and learning, reading and critiquing research reports, communicating the results of research, and conducting practical and ethical research. You will also be introduced to a variety of research practices, such as survey research, case study, discourse analysis and ethnography. Whichever route you choose, you will graduate ready for future success in either a senior professional role in an education-focused field or in educational research. As a Higher Degree by Research (HDR), this course is covered under the Australian Government's Research Training Program (RTP) funding model, which provides a fee offset for domestic students for the standard duration of the course.

Study a Master of Education (Research) at UC and you will:

• embark on a Research Education Program for superior knowledge of research principles and methods
• acquire outstanding cognitive, technical and creative abilities to engage in independent research
• critically investigate a personal area of interest in education
• demonstrate your communication skills by presenting a strong and sustained argument through reporting. 

Work Integrated Learning

For the research component of this course, you will be encouraged to apply your existing professional knowledge and undertake new research to identify and explore a real-world problem in the field of education, using your own educational employment context, if applicable.

Career opportunities

• Principal
• Deputy principal
• Executive teacher
• Education policy adviser
• Senior curriculum developer
• Research officer
• Lecturer
• Sessional academic

Course-specific information

To apply, students must have a four-year undergraduate degree in Education, or a three-year degree and a one-year graduate diploma in a related area, or academic qualifications deemed equivalent with above average performance, and have demonstrated capacity and/or aptitude for research. Two years of relevant work experience would be an advantage. Students without research training units in their previous studies will be advised to undertake the combined coursework/research training option in the course.

Police checks may be required in certain research projects, such as those involving children or adolescents.

A high level of written English is essential.

Domestic students who are accepted on this course are provided for under the Australian Government's Research Training Program (RTP) funding model, which provides a fee offset for the standard duration of the course. Once your RTP entitlement is consumed, you will be charged the annual fee rate that applied at the start of your degree.