Physical Education
The University of Edinburgh
UCAS Code: XC61 | Master of Arts (with Honours) - MA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Required subjects: A Levels: no specific A Level subjects required. GCSEs: English Language and English Literature, both at C or 4, and Mathematics at C or 5.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
34 points with 655 at HL. Required subjects: HL: English at 5. SL: Mathematics at 4. SL Mathematical Studies is not accepted for this degree.
Scottish Higher
ABBB by end of S5 or AABB/ABBBB by end of S6. BBB must be achieved in one year of S4-S6. Required subjects: Highers: English at B. National 5s: Mathematics or Applications of Mathematics at C. For alternative acceptable Mathematics qualifications please contact the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Admissions Office.
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About this course
The MA (Hons) Physical Education programme aims to provide an education that develops professional learners with a well-developed understanding of scientific knowledge and both historical and contemporary perspectives in physical education.
The programme focuses on Scottish education, the physical education curriculum and contrasting perspectives on physical education. You will also be involved in professional placements in both primary and secondary schools. Graduates of the programme will be able to make a valuable contribution to the schools they work in and be capable of curricular and pedagogical innovation.
Teachers of physical education are required to have a detailed knowledge of children, the curriculum, educational settings, and teaching and learning approaches. You will learn from your own experiences in schools and research to develop an understanding of the changing relationships among teachers, parents/carers, other agencies and the wider community.
Working as a specialist teacher in secondary education is a demanding and rewarding career. You can support the development of young people and work in a subject area where your expertise helps to shape learners experiences.
In Scotland 'Curriculum for Excellence' locates physical education within the 'health and wellbeing' area of learning. As a prospective teacher of physical education you will engage in the debates about the aims, nature and purpose of physical education and consider issues related to children's learning experiences.
On completion of a teacher education programme, students can register with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS).
Tuition fees
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The Uni
Central area campus
The Moray House School of Education
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Teacher training
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Teacher training
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
The stats above mainly cover teaching degrees for training and qualifying in primary school education. These tend to be three or four-year courses — check with course tutors about how long you will need to study to get your Qualified Teacher Status. Most graduates go into teaching roles — usually primary school teaching, so these courses have good employment rates and starting salaries. We have a shortage of teachers of all kinds, which is deepening, and whilst many of the most severe are at secondary level, the prospects for this degree are not likely to take a downturn any time soon.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Education and teaching
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£23k
£27k
£31k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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