Overview
By studying literary texts, performance pedagogy and theatre in education, you will develop innovative approaches to the teaching of drama and creative writing in a range of educational and community settings. You will challenge young learners to create powerful and transformative imaginary worlds to spark their creativity.
This course will help you to become a creative educator, who places students at the centre of their learning through the creation of lived-through drama experiences, cultivating a fertile ground for your creative writing and a supportive environment in which young people will feel encouraged to also write creatively.
Working with an experienced team of published educators and theatre-based organisations in Leeds, you will develop the confidence and skills to work with and inspire young people.
You will also have the opportunity to study an option module from one of our other masters courses.
RESEARCH
Academic staff from the course are engaged in a number of research projects linked to this course. One current project focuses on teachers using drama to engage children in writing. You can read more about the project by clicking here, and by visiting The Conversation website.
You will be taught by a highly skilled and experienced team, including Senior Lecturer Dr Tom Dobson, a former secondary English teacher whose current research into English pedagogy focuses on the identity of the teacher as a writer. Our tutors also have links with arts organisations such as Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Kirkstall Abbey Museum and Leeds Art Gallery, as well as a range of community theatre groups, which will feed into your learning and help you to develop creatively.
In addition, you will have the chance to network with industry professionals, such as Professor Cathy Burnett a Professor of Literacy and Education, during our guest lecture series. Previous speakers have included contemporary writers such as award-winning romantic and paranormal fiction writer Kate Johnson, and novelist and critic Professor Manju Jaidka.
We understand that full-time study does not suit everyone. That’s why we offer courses which give you the opportunity to decide where, when and how you can get involved in learning. Studying a distance learning course offers the convenience and flexibility to make education work for you. Whether you’d like to fit your studies around childcare, develop your skills while working or, quite simply, want to learn from the comfort of your own home, we can help you gain a qualification at a time and pace that suits your lifestyle.
Like our students on campus, you will have the same excellent teaching and learning resources, however you’ll find these online instead of in a lecture theatre. Not only are all the modules taught online, but you will also have access to an online community and more than 140,000 books and journals in our online library.
This course offers the opportunity to take a ‘sandwich’ year – a year of paid employment in industry which will build your skills and experience. This is usually taken between the second and third year of your degree, typically making your course four years in total.
Students who choose the sandwich route find it helps with both their studies and getting a job after graduation. It can build your confidence, contacts, and of course your CV. Leeds Beckett advertise lots of placement opportunities and provide support in helping you find the right placement for you.
Postgraduate Study - Invest in yourself
Entry Requirements
Requirements
Applicants should either have at least a second class honours degree or have equivalent experience or training, normally from within the work environment.
All applications should be supported by a reference, either academic or professional; a template can be accessed at this link.
All applicants should satisfy our University English language requirements, please access further details at this link.
Enhanced Criminal History Checks
Satisfactory enhanced criminal history checks will be required by all applicants prior to acceptance on the course. For further information on DBS checks, click here.The DBS in the UK is currently not able to conduct overseas criminal record checks. International applicants, those without British Citizenship and British Citizens with a significant period of overseas residency therefore require a criminal records check or certificate of good conduct from their home/overseas country prior to entry on to the course. A UK DBS check will be required after enrolment.
Mature Applicants
Our University welcomes applications from mature applicants who demonstrate academic potential. We usually require some evidence of recent academic study, for example completion of an access course, however recent relevant work experience may also be considered. Please note that for some of our professional courses all applicants will need to meet the specified entry criteria and in these cases work experience cannot be considered in lieu.If you wish to apply through this route you should refer to our University Recognition of Prior Learning policy that is available on our website.
Please note that all applicants to our University are required to meet our standard English language requirement of GCSE grade C or equivalent, variations to this will be listed on the individual course entry requirements.
Requirements
Applicants should either have at least a second class honours degree or have equivalent experience or training, normally from within the work environment.
All applications should be supported by a reference, either academic or professional; a template can be accessed at this link.
All applicants should satisfy our University English language requirements, please access further details at this link.
Enhanced Criminal History Checks
Satisfactory enhanced criminal history checks will be required by all applicants prior to acceptance on the course. For further information on DBS checks, click here.The DBS in the UK is currently not able to conduct overseas criminal record checks. International applicants, those without British Citizenship and British Citizens with a significant period of overseas residency therefore require a criminal records check or certificate of good conduct from their home/overseas country prior to entry on to the course. A UK DBS check will be required after enrolment.
Verify your qualifications
If you are an international student, we can help you to compare and verify your qualifications. Please contact our International Office on +44 (0)113 812 1111 09.00 to 17.00 Mon-Thurs / 09.00 to 16.30 Fri GMT or email internationaloffice@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.Need to improve your English Language skills?
Don't worry if you don't have the level of English required for your chosen course. We offer a wide range of courses which have been designed to help you to improve your qualifications and English language ability, most of which are accredited by the British Council. Check your English and find out more about our English courses.More questions?
No matter what your questions, we are here to answer them, visit our International website to get more information and find out about our online open days.Careers
Careers
MA Childhood Studies & Early Years
“After doing my Masters, I have a much broader knowledge of the psychological and developmental stages of young audiences. From that, I have gained a deeper understanding as to why they respond in the ways they do.
Teaching and learning
- Making Drama
Critically examine a wide range of historical and contemporary drama pedagogy in educational, community and social settings. National and international theatre companies will also provide an innovative insight to their practice through seminar opportunities.
- Creative Writing Pedagogies
This module aims to provide you with first-hand practical experience of writing and producing a range of creative texts.
- Drama & Creative Writing in Practice
A unique practical opportunity to align your developing understanding of drama and creative writing processes in an educational setting. During this collaborative project, you will develop skills in emergent and responsive planning in order to develop rich and complex social, cultural and educational communities of practice.
- Major Project in an Educational Setting
You will undertake a second placement in an educational setting (different from the placement undertaken in Drama and Creative Writing in Practice) and then develop a context specific research project aligned to creative writing, process drama or a combination of the two.
- Literature & Childhood
This module provides an introduction to a range of key critical perspectives in the analysis of literature; an historical and critical look at representations of childhood in English literature; and a critical consideration of the development of children's literature and the representation of childhood.
- Drama for Social Change
This introduction to applied drama will focus on using dramatic story and ritual as a means to inspire possibilities for social change when working with young people in challenging educational / community settings.
- Journeys & Discoveries
Consider journeys, voyages and discoveries as recounted in travel journals, guidebooks, colonial texts, memoirs, fiction, letters and ethnographic studies, against the backdrop of the dynamic field of histories of travel, tourism and exploration.
- Social History of Education
Examine the evolving nature of the social history of education and its practices (from early childhood to higher education and professional education), focusing on what goes in the spaces in which teachers, learners, and the curriculum interact with each other.
- The Festival Project
Visit a national or international performance festival with and take the opportunity to collaborate in talk-back sessions with artists, directors, critics and academics. You will submit a written report on your experience.
- Coaching & Mentoring
Develop a critical awareness of models of coaching and mentoring as applied in educational settings.
- Researching Practice with/through Story
Through introduction to the use of creative writing as a method for conducting research, you will take a practical approach by writing and using your own fictional stories as a medium for exploring and changing practice.
- Playful Learning & Playful Pedagogies
You will be encouraged to think about children's interests and priorities as expressed through their playful engagements.
- South Asian Story Telling
Explore the use of Abhinaya (mime and expression) as a technique for enhancing and amplifying your storytelling.
Lisa began her career as a Primary School Teacher and now works as a Senior Lecturer teaching across ITT Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses. Lisa's specialist area is Drama pedagogy, working in partnership with schools to develop meaningful and motivational learning opportunities for children.
This course provides a research-informed approach to creative learning through writing and drama practices, which bring learning to life and place the child at the centre of the learning experience.
Postgraduate Study - Invest in yourself
Fees & funding
See further information on financing your studies.
Tuition fees
Your tuition fees cover the cost of registration, tuition, academic supervision, assessments and examinations.
The following are also included in the cost of your course:
- 24/7 Library and student IT support
- Free wifi via eduroam
- Skills workshops and resources
- Library membership, giving access to more than 500,000 printed, multimedia and digital resources
- Access to software, including five free copies of Microsoft Office 365 to install on your PC, laptop and MAC, and access to free high-end software via the Leeds Beckett remote app
- Loan of high-end media equipment to support your studies.
Additional costs
In many cases, costs associated with your course will be included in your course fee. However, in some cases there are ‘essential’ additional costs (those that you will be required to meet in addition to your course fee), and/or ‘optional’ additional costs (costs that are not required, but that you might choose to pay). We have included those essential or optional additional costs that relate to your course, below.
Course-specific essentials
- Placement travel costs
(Amount dependent on location)
Other study-related expenses to consider: books (the library stocks books from your module reading list but you may wish to purchase copies for yourself); placement costs (these may include travel expenses and living costs); student visas (international students only); printing, photocopying and stationery; field trips; study abroad opportunities (travel costs and accommodation, visas and immunisations); PC/laptop (provided on campus in social learning spaces and in the library. However, you may prefer to have your own); mobile phone/tablet (to access University online services); academic conferences (travel costs); professional-body membership (where applicable); and graduation (gown hire and guest tickets).
This list is not exhaustive and costs will vary depending on the choices you make during your course. Any rental or living costs are also in addition to your course fees.
See further information on fees and finance on our Financing Your Studies webpage.
Tuition fees
Your tuition fees cover the cost of registration, tuition, academic supervision, assessments and examinations.
The following are also included in the cost of your course:
- 24/7 Library and student IT support
- Free wifi via eduroam
- Skills workshops and resources
- Library membership, giving access to more than 500,000 printed, multimedia and digital resources
- Access to software, including five free copies of Microsoft Office 365 to install on your PC, laptop and MAC, and access to free high-end software via the Leeds Beckett remote app
- Loan of high-end media equipment to support your studies.
Additional costs
In many cases, costs associated with your course will be included in your course fee. However, in some cases there are ‘essential’ additional costs (those that you will be required to meet in addition to your course fee), and/or ‘optional’ additional costs (costs that are not required, but that you might choose to pay). We have included those essential or optional additional costs that relate to your course, below.
Course-specific essentials
- Placement travel costs
(Amount dependent on location)
Other study-related expenses to consider: books (the library stocks books from your module reading list but you may wish to purchase copies for yourself); placement costs (these may include travel expenses and living costs); student visas (international students only); printing, photocopying and stationery; field trips; study abroad opportunities (travel costs and accommodation, visas and immunisations); PC/laptop (provided on campus in social learning spaces and in the library. However, you may prefer to have your own); mobile phone/tablet (to access University online services); academic conferences (travel costs); professional-body membership (where applicable); and graduation (gown hire and guest tickets).
This list is not exhaustive and costs will vary depending on the choices you make during your course. Any rental or living costs are also in addition to your course fees.
Additional information
For further information on financing your studies or information about whether you may qualify for one of our bursaries and scholarships, follow the links below:
Facilities
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Library and online resourcesOur Library is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year, providing you with access to specialist books and journals, learning spaces, computers, multimedia facilities and media equipment hire. Tens of thousands of our Library's digital resources, including ebooks, ejournals and databases, can be accessed online at a time and place to suit you.
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Location
Headingley Campus
Home to our first-rate sporting facilities – Headingley Campus has a rich and diverse history having played to visitors such as Winston Churchill and Oscar Wilde. Set in 100 acres of parkland, with easy access to Leeds city centre, many of our buildings look out onto our grassy acre – a perfect place for hanging out, playing games and catching up with friends on long summer days. Headingley Campus has modern sport science laboratories, animation and music studios and the latest computing labs, as well as one of our libraries, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
