These pages describe what to do in preparation for commencing your studies.
Watch our 'Welcome to the programme' video
Welcome to the MSc Social Justice and Community Action. The Programme Director (Callum McGregor), Academic Cohort Lead (Claire Bynner) and Student Advisor (Daniel Davis Wood) introduce themselves, explaining their roles and how they can support you. They also give an overview of the programme and what you can expect.
Complete induction tasks
Welcome to Social Justice and Community Action! Before you arrive, we’d like to encourage you to undertake two tasks:
Task 1: ‘Polishing the Masters diamond’
Reflect on your skills and experience using the ‘Masters Diamond 7 facets’ scoresheet. Please see the notes and scoresheet available on this link:
Task 2: Social Justice – key global issues for practice
Choose a Social Justice issue that has relevance to your context, consider why you think this is a vital issue and what three steps you could take to address it. You may wish to draw on an article from the website The Conversation to inform your choice, although this is not essential. NB This website can be customised for your region by selecting the edition from the drop-down menu bar at the top.
We will draw on this material in the opening weeks of the programme as you are getting to know your peers through things like live ‘coffee chats’ organised by the Academic Cohort Lead.
We’re looking forward to meeting you in January.
Best wishes,
Callum McGregor (MSc / Pg Dip / Pg Cert SJCA Programme Director)
Claire Bynner (MSc / Pg Dip / Pg Cert SJCA Academic Cohort Lead)
Plan your studies
As a student on a part-time programme, we recommend that you take between 1-2 courses per semester. For many of you starting in January, ‘Community Engagement: Co-constructing Knowledge with Communities’ will be a sensible choice. It’s a compulsory course and will help you transition into your studies as you familiarise yourself with the demands of student life online. You are also able to study another optional course alongside ‘Community Engagement: Co-constructing Knowledge with Communities’ if you wish, but experience tells us that it is often sensible to begin with one course. Please get in touch with your Student Adviser as soon as possible and they will support you in this process.
Please note that students on intermittent routes (including the PGCert, PGDip and MSc) need to study a minimum of 60 credits over each two years of enrolled study. You’ll have an opportunity to choose from a wider variety of courses after Easter, when Student Advisers will be gathering your course preferences for the 2025-26 academic year.
Choose your Option courses by 9 January
If you wish to take an option course in your first semester, you must let us know your preferences before you begin your studies. Students starting in January who wish to take an optional course are strongly encouraged to enrol on Working with Children and Young People for Social Justice, which is the option course that we are offering in January 2025.
You can find information about available option courses in the Degree Programme Table and on our Programme website.
MSc Social Justice and Community Action runs internal options courses that rotate every two years. In Semester 2 (January) of the current academic year, we are offering the following course:
Two other option courses will be available in the 2025-26 academic year:
- Semester 1: Organisational Management for Social Justice
- Semester 2: Learning for Democracy
A fourth option course, Policy Analysis for Social Justice (EDUA11326), ran in Semester 1 this academic year, and will run again in Semester 1 of the 2026-27 academic year.
You will have an opportunity to take several of these courses at some stage during your time on-programme. If you have questions about your credit load requirements and the timing of option courses, please reach out to your Student Adviser at SESO@ed.ac.uk
You are also free to request enrolment on other courses across the University. We also have strong links with other Master’s programmes at the University of Edinburgh. These include:
- MSc Digital Education
- MSc Global Challenges
- MSc International Development
- MSc Learning for Sustainability
Courses that tend to be popular with Social Justice and Community Action students include:
- Semester 1: Politics and Theories of International Development (PGSP11240)
- Semester 1: Global Development Challenges (Distance Learning) (PGSP11326)
- Semester 1: Social Inequality and Child and Adolescent Mental Health (Distance Learning) (CLPS11101)
- Semester 2: Analysing Development (Distance Learning) (PGSP11319)
- Semester 2: Key Skills in Development Practice (Distance Learning) (AFRI11006)
You might also consider the intensive courses offered by the Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI). These run from 9.00am-5.00pm over two days of intensive study. There isn't a list of EFI courses as such, but you can browse through online/distance learning courses on Path by using the search terms "(fusion online)", "(online)" or "(ODL)" (including the parentheses).
We cannot guarantee that you will be allocated a space on your selected course. Course choices are subject to approval by Course Organisers and Programme Directors and are dependent on course capacity. Course choices may be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. We will do our best to allocate all students their preferences.
To indicate your preferences, please fill in the form below by Thursday 9 January. Students will be enrolled on their courses after this deadline.
If you have questions regarding the option course selection process, contact the Student Experience and Support office.
Preparing for your studies
Additional assistance and resources
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