Progress your career as a PE teacher or sports educator into a leadership position with a postgraduate degree in Physical Education
- Advance your professional skills and expertise as a practitioner researcher.
- Apply your learning to practical situations within your own schools, using your knowledge to drive effective change in Physical Education.
- Study this degree in person at St Mary's University or through the blended or online options.
- Access to excellent tutorial and supervisory support.
This programme is ideal for you regardless of whether you're a specialist or non-specialist PE teacher, a current or aspiring leader and no matter the phase of education you work in. We've built this Physical Education degree to meet the professional development needs of PE teachers and sports educators at all career stages.
Throughout the programme you're encouraged to reflect critically on your teaching experiences. You'll develop knowledge that will allow you to link academic theory to your teaching practice.
A small-scale practitioner research enquiry will give you the opportunity to explore a specific area related to your role. This research should lead you developing to evidence-informed innovation in Physical Education.
Why St Mary's
Education: Physical Education builds on our long tradition of sporting excellence and our foundations in teacher education. The degree's success is owed to the flexible learning methods and quality of teaching offered.
You'll learn from - and work with - a team of lecturers with experience in teaching, management and leadership, research and consultancy.
We provide a flexible approach to studying this professional Master’s degree. We teach programme on-site at the University and as a distance learning programme. This means you can attend the monthly Saturday Schools either at St Mary’s or via video conferencing.
You'll take what you learn from the degree and apply it to your own to context. This will allow you to drive effective change, whilst engaging in critical debates into contemporary educational issues.
As well as access to excellent online learning resources, you'll also have use of a dedicated library for Education students.
Education degrees in London
This degree is one pathway from within our Education Master's programme, which includes:
Matthew Dell
Course Lead - MA Education
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Course content
Modules
These modules are the modules that were available to students in the 2023/24 academic year and are illustrative of what may be offered for 2024/25.
Please note: it is possible that a module listed on the website will not be able to run due to reasons beyond our control. For more information please refer to our course information disclaimer.
Entry requirements
2:2
Previous degree
You will normally be expected to possess a good honours degree (2:2 or above) from a UK university or an equivalent qualification approved by the University.
St Mary's is committed to promoting equality of opportunity and nurturing an inclusive and diverse student population. As such, we welcome applications from all those interested in pursuing an academic programme of study. Throughout the application process and while a student is enrolled at St Mary's, we will ensure that individuals will not be discriminated against based on any of the characteristics protected by the Equality Act 2010.
Additional requirement information
Experience of working in an educational setting or a relevant professional interest is also required.
Accredited prior learning
Applicants with up to 90 Level 7 credits (for example from a PGCE, National Professional Qualification or National SENCo Award) are eligible to apply for exemption from up to three modules.
International Requirements
International students should check our country-specific pages for equivalents. If English is not your first language you will need to achieve an IELTS score of 7 overall with no less than 6.5.
We now accept IELTS Indicator test results as proof of your English language level.
The application process for international applicants will include an online interview.
Further Information
For more information about entry requirements please email apply@stmarys.ac.uk.
Fees & funding
September 2025
Home
£9,240
International
£17,820
Funding Information
Distance-learning
If you are studying the programme at distance, your fees may differ slightly:
- Home: £9,240
- International: £11,910
Additional costs
Your tuition fees will cover the cost of all mandatory elements of your programme. Additional costs could be incurred depending on optional modules chosen and other projects undertaken.
For further information about additional costs please see our additional costs webpage.
Alumni discount
A 20% tuition fee discount is available for our alumni (undergraduate and PGCE) planning to study this Master's degree. Those studying for a PGDip of PGCert are not eligible for the discount.
Funding
You can check on the UK government website to see if you may be eligible for a loan of up to £12,167 to help with course fees and living costs while you study a postgraduate programme.
Home and international students may also be eligible for external sources of funding. International students should check their eligibility for our International Scholarship.
For more information, please look at our postgraduate funding page.
How the degree is taught
Assessment methods
Learning is assessed through a variety of methods:
- Reflective journals
- Research proposals
- Essays
- Case studies
- Portfolios
- Seminar and conference presentations.
Career opportunities
This Master's programme supports your long-term career development. This is evident from the high proportion of MA Education graduates who achieve internal or external promotion to middle and senior leadership positions within Physical Education or an educational establishment within one year of completing the programme
Graduates of this programme are well placed to pursue doctoral studies on either a Professional Doctorate (Doctor of Education) or a PhD.
Apply now
September 2025
September 2025 (distance learning)
Make sure to check our step-by-step guide to application process.
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