Advance to the next stage as a Religious Education teacher or leader with a postgraduate degree that's designed to support your career progression.
- 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 Religious 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.
If you're involved in the teaching of Religious Education you'll find that this degree is structured to meet your professional development needs.
Education: Religious Education is suitable for you regardless of whether you're a specialist or non-specialist RE teacher/leader. It will fit your needs no matter what school phase or educational context you work in, or at which stage in your career you're currently at.
It enables you as a teacher or current/aspiring middle or senior leader of Religious Education to critically reflect on your experience and practice. It will also develop your academic knowledge and ability to link theory with your practice.
You'll have the opportunity to explore an area of interest relevant to your work as you undertake a small-scale practitioner research enquiry, leading to evidence-informed innovation in Religious Education.
Why St Mary's
Education: Religious Education builds on our long tradition of excellence in teacher education. The success of the degree lies in the flexible structure, bespoke delivery and high quality of teaching.
We provide a flexible approach studying the degree, with the course being taught at in person and as a distance learning programme. You can choose to attend the monthly Saturday Schools either on campus or via video conferencing.
For MA Education, distance learning is where students engage with lectures, alongside students on site, at set times through video conferencing.
You'll apply your learning to practical situations within your own school, using your knowledge to drive effective change. The programme will enable you to support these changes by engaging in current debates within education.
You will work with - and learn from - lecturers with a background in teaching, managing and leading Religious Education. The team also has a wealth of experience in research and consultancy.
As a Religious Education student, you'll have access to excellent online learning resources and a dedicated education library that boasts numerous study spaces, open access IT facilities and a café.
Education degrees in London
This degree is one pathway from within our Education Master's programme, which includes:
Matthew Dell
Course Lead - MA Education
Upcoming Event
MA Education webinar (all pathways) - 7th January
Tuesday 07th January 2025, 07:00PM
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
RE teachers wishing to pursue postgraduate study may be eligible for Culham St Gabriel’s grant. The funding available is up to £2,000 a year and more details can be found on the Culham St Gabriel’s website.
Distance-learning
If you are studying the programme at distance, your fees may differ slightly:
- Home: £9,240
- International: £11,910
Additional costs
*Please note: Tuition fees are annual and may increase as detailed in our tuition fee variation disclaimer.
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 graduates who achieve internal or external promotion to middle and senior educational leadership positions in Faith schools and other sectors 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.
More from St Mary's
We have a range of webinars and events to help you decide whether St Mary's is the place for you.
Discover what life is like on our London campus.