Online master of education options: MA, MEd and MA TESOL routes compared
An online master of education is a postgraduate degree you study remotely while you carry on teaching. Taito offers twelve, awarded by four universities: Plymouth Marjon University (UK), Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia (UCAM, Spain), Woolf University (Malta) and Guglielmo Marconi University (Italy). All are fully online and take one year or 12 months. Where they differ is focus, credit system and title, from an MA in TESOL to an MEd in Special Education. Below they’re set side by side, with a way to match each route to the part of your teaching you want to improve.
If you haven’t yet decided between a master’s and a doctorate, start with our guide to choosing between a master’s and a doctorate. Everything here assumes the master’s is your next step.
Table of contents
Every online master of education route at Taito, compared
The table gives each programme as named on its page, the university that awards it, its length, total credits, study mode and the module titles that set it apart. The six Guglielmo Marconi specialisations share most of their modules, so they sit in one row here and are broken out below.
| Programme | Awarded by | Duration | Credits | Study mode | Focus (distinctive modules) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Master of Arts in Education | Plymouth Marjon University, UK | 1 year | 180 credits | Fully online | Evidence Informed Practice; Contemporary and Critical Issues in Practice; Dissertation |
| Master of Arts in Education (Educational Leadership) | Plymouth Marjon University, UK | 1 year | 180 credits | Fully online | Leadership in Educational Context; Building Collaborative Leadership; Dissertation |
| Master of Arts (TESOL) | Plymouth Marjon University, UK | 1 year | 180 credits | Fully online | Second Language learning theory; TESOL methodology; Designing Materials for TESOL; Dissertation |
| Master’s Degree in Education | Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia (UCAM), Spain | 1 year | 60 ECTS | Fully online | Transformative Learning; Instructional Leadership; Curriculum Design and Technology; Research Methods |
| Master of Education (AI in Education) | Woolf University, Malta | 12 months | 90 ECTS | Fully online | Foundations of AI in Education; Generative AI in Education; Practicum: Action Research in Education |
| Master of Education | Guglielmo Marconi University, Italy | 1 year | 60 ECTS | Fully online | Inclusive, Sustainable, and Future-Oriented Education; Generative AI in Education; Dissertation |
| Master of Education specialisations (six, listed below) | Guglielmo Marconi University, Italy | 1 year | 60 ECTS | Fully online | Shared core plus one specialist module and a dissertation |
The six Guglielmo Marconi MEd specialisations
Every Marconi MEd has the same core: Foundations of Education and Contemporary Educational Thought, Governance, Policy, and Strategic Leadership in Education, Generative AI in Education and Research Methods in Education (10 ECTS each), followed by a 12 ECTS Dissertation. Only two things change. One is an 8 ECTS specialist module. The other is the topic you pick for your dissertation.
| Programme | Specialist module (8 ECTS) |
|---|---|
| Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction | Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Design |
| Master of Education in Early Childhood Education | Leading and Managing Early Childhood Education |
| Master of Education in Educational Psychology | Lifespan Development and Psychology of Learning |
| Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Management | Planning and Organizational Change for Educational Leaders |
| Master of Education in Special Education | Teaching and Learning for Special Education |
| Master of Education in Training and Development | Training Design and Facilitation for Professional Development |
Intake dates and other practical details are given on request, so talk to an advisor for the current picture.
MA vs MEd: what the letters do and do not tell you
Search for “MA vs MEd” and the explainers contradict each other. Some call the MA the more theoretical, research-minded degree and the MEd the practical one for teachers and school leaders. Others say the opposite. That’s because each university decides what to call its own degrees, and conventions vary between countries and institutions.
The careers service Prospects lists both the MA and the MEd among the common taught master’s degrees, as distinct from research master’s such as the MRes or MPhil. A taught master’s is made up of modules assessed through coursework, then a dissertation or final project. Every route in the table above fits that description, whatever letters it carries.
So read the title as a label. It won’t tell you much about content. These questions are more useful:
- What are the modules? The titles in the table say more about the year ahead than “MA” or “MEd” does.
- How big is the research component? Compare the dissertation or practicum with the total credits.
- Who awards it? The awarding university’s name appears on the award, and its regulations govern your study.
A note on credits: 180 credits vs 60 or 90 ECTS
The Plymouth Marjon programmes are counted in UK credits, and Prospects notes that UK master’s degrees are worth 180 credits. The UCAM, Woolf and Marconi programmes use ECTS, the European credit system. As Friedrich-Alexander-Universität explains, one ECTS credit corresponds to 25–30 hours of work. The two systems count study time in different units, so the raw numbers can’t be compared directly. Weekly workload matters to most working teachers. Ask an advisor how the hours fall across the year on the programme you’re considering.
How the routes differ in structure
The way each year is built differs too, and that shapes how study feels from one week to the next.
- Plymouth Marjon (MA in Education, MA Educational Leadership, MA TESOL). The two MA in Education routes have four 30-credit modules and a 60-credit Dissertation, and both open with Positionality and Research Design and Evidence Informed Practice. The MA TESOL has eight 15-credit modules, including Teaching Practice and Research Methods, and a 60-credit Dissertation.
- UCAM (Master’s Degree in Education). Six modules make up 60 ECTS. They run from Transformative Learning and Critical Reflection in Educational Practice to Introduction to Educational Research and a 15 ECTS Research Methods module.
- Woolf (Master of Education (AI in Education)). Thirteen 5 ECTS modules, from Foundations of AI in Education to Teaching Mindfulness in Schools, then a 25 ECTS Practicum: Action Research in Education. The programme page describes the practicum as supervised action research in your own school.
- Guglielmo Marconi (Master of Education and six specialisations). Five taught modules and a 12 ECTS Dissertation, as set out above.
Which route fits: choosing by goal
Most teachers looking at a master in education for international teachers already have something in mind. It might be a role they want to grow into, or a group of learners they’d like to serve better. Sometimes it’s one part of their practice they want to understand properly. Start there.
Teaching English and supporting EAL learners
If you teach English as an additional language, or teach your subject to classes where many pupils are still learning English, the MA TESOL online with Plymouth Marjon is the specialist route. Its modules include Second Language learning theory, Language and Error Analysis, Analyzing and Teaching Speech, Designing Materials for TESOL and Current Issues in TESOL. In a multilingual international school, that content is useful well beyond the English department.
Moving into leadership
Three options have a leadership slant. The MA in Education (Educational Leadership) pairs Leadership in Educational Context with Building Collaborative Leadership. The Marconi Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Management adds Planning and Organizational Change for Educational Leaders to a shared core that already includes Governance, Policy, and Strategic Leadership in Education. The UCAM Master’s Degree in Education includes Instructional Leadership. The module descriptions on each page will show you whether each one leans towards people, change or teaching and learning.
Special educational needs and inclusion
For an MEd special education online, look at the Master of Education in Special Education. It centres on Teaching and Learning for Special Education, alongside the shared Marconi core. If inclusion is one interest among several, the general Marconi Master of Education includes Inclusive, Sustainable, and Future-Oriented Education.
Early years
Early years teachers and nursery leads can look at the Master of Education in Early Childhood Education. Its specialist module is Leading and Managing Early Childhood Education. If child development is what really interests you, the Educational Psychology specialisation, with Lifespan Development and Psychology of Learning, is a close relation.
AI and digital learning
The Woolf Master of Education (AI in Education) is the route most focused on AI. Its modules include Generative AI in Education, Designing AI-Integrated Instruction, Curriculum and Assessment, Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing for Educators and Ethics, Digital Safety and AI Governance in Education. AI turns up in the Marconi routes as well, though less centrally: every Marconi MEd has a 10 ECTS Generative AI in Education module.
Curriculum, assessment and training others
If you design schemes of work or assessment, the closest fits are the Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction (Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Design) and the UCAM route (Curriculum Design and Technology). Teachers who run professional development for colleagues should look at the Master of Education in Training and Development and its Training Design and Facilitation for Professional Development module. And for a broad MA Education online with a strong practice-research thread, the Plymouth Marjon Master of Arts in Education covers Evidence Informed Practice and Contemporary and Critical Issues in Practice.
A five-step checklist for choosing your master’s
- Write your goal in one sentence. For example: “I want to plan better for the EAL learners in my Year 4 class” or “I want to lead curriculum change in my department.”
- Shortlist two or three programmes from the table whose distinctive modules match that sentence.
- Read every module description on those pages, learning outcomes included. Note which modules you’d actually use in your current job each week.
- Sketch a dissertation question. A good one grows out of your own setting, for instance how a new marking routine affects feedback in a Year 9 science class. Check that the programme’s research modules will prepare you to investigate it.
- Talk to an advisor about entry requirements, intake dates and weekly workload. The pages list a bachelor’s degree as the basic requirement, and some also list an English-language score.
Take, as a worked example, a teacher in a British-curriculum primary school where many pupils speak English as an additional language. If her goal is classroom practice with those pupils, the MA TESOL’s Language and Error Analysis and Designing Materials for TESOL modules map straight onto it. If she wants to lead the school’s inclusion work instead, the Master of Education in Special Education would fit better, or the general Master of Education with its Inclusive, Sustainable, and Future-Oriented Education module. Same teacher, same school. The goal has changed, so the route changes with it.
Frequently asked questions
Is an MEd the same as an MA in Education?
Not exactly, though the difference is mostly in the name. Both are usually taught master’s degrees made up of modules and a dissertation, and universities use the titles in different ways. Compare programmes by their modules, research component and awarding university, not by the letters. At Taito, Plymouth Marjon University awards the MA routes, and Guglielmo Marconi University and Woolf University award the MEd routes.
How long does an online master of education take?
Every master’s route on the Taito site is listed as one year, or 12 months for the Woolf Master of Education (AI in Education), and all are studied fully online. The programme pages describe live, interactive lectures, with recordings you can watch offline. Before you apply, speak to an advisor about intake dates and how study is paced through the year.
Which master’s suits a teacher in an international school?
That depends on what you want to improve. Teachers working mainly with multilingual learners often look at the MA TESOL. Those aiming at leadership tend to weigh up the MA in Education (Educational Leadership) and the MEd in Educational Leadership and Management. SEN, early years, curriculum and AI each have their own route. Start from your goal, then compare modules.
Can I do a doctorate after one of these master’s?
Several programme pages list a pathway to doctoral study among the people the programme is for. Each doctorate sets its own entry requirements, so check the specific programme you have in mind. Our guide to choosing between a master’s and a doctorate explains how the two levels differ in purpose.
Each route above is a fully online master’s. The Master of Arts programmes are awarded by Plymouth Marjon University, the Master’s Degree in Education by UCAM, the Master of Education (AI in Education) by Woolf University and the Master of Education family by Guglielmo Marconi University. Start with the Master of Education page or any programme in the table, and talk to an advisor about which one suits your plans.