Programme structure: TESOL

To graduate with a master's degree on this full-time programme, you will take several compulsory and option courses and complete a dissertation.

Masters degrees at the University of Edinburgh comprise 180 credits.

The first 120 credits are made up of taught courses. Students who achieve an average mark of 50% or more on these courses can progress to the final 60-credit dissertation component of the programme. Once students complete all 180 credits, they are awarded the  MSc.   

Courses

Research and current developments in theory and practice surrounding language teaching and learning inform all our courses. Insights from our own research and publications leads our teaching. 

Teaching mainly consists of lectures. These include interactive input sessions followed by smaller discussion group workshops. This system allows you to benefit from being the centre of the activity and gives you a chance to receive individual attention.   

Compulsory courses

Option courses may include

Please note that courses and course content may change each year.

Course descriptions (2024-25)

This course gave me an opportunity to think critically and engage with concepts that were valuable to other courses. [The course organiser's] detailed responses to final course assessment was very helpful; I will be able to employ the recommendations to improve performance in future assessments.

Sources of Knowledge: Understanding and analysing research literature - nominated for Outstanding Course in the EUSA Teaching Awards 2021

Assessment

You will need to read extensively to prepare for lectures and workshops. You will also receive assignments that require you to show that you can critically evaluate concepts and literature and apply theory to practice. Other forms of assessment include presentations, lesson plans and reflective diaries. 

Dissertation

Once you complete your programme courses, you will produce an independently researched, 12,000-word dissertation. You may choose any TESOL-related topic that interests you and is relevant to your teaching. 

Examples of previous dissertation topics include: 

  • Adapting an Egyptian primary school EFL (English as a Foreign Language) coursebook by adding authentic texts and communicative exercises 
  • How to apply intercultural pragmatics in Business English speaking classes in a Polish private school 
  • Investigating grammatical and structural errors in argumentative writing of 2nd year Chinese English major students 
  • Learner corpora in contrast: The use of delexicalized verbs by learners at different proficiency levels 
  • Students’ reaction to feedback in an online TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teacher training course. 

You will be well-supported throughout the dissertation process by a designated staff member. Dissertation supervision occurs in groups and one-to-one tutorials. One of the benefits of our large department is the wide range of staff skills to draw upon, so supervisors are more likely to be specialists in your area of research. 

We also offer five programme tutorial lectures in the spring semester to help students navigate each step of the dissertation. There is also a year-long Dissertation Support Strand lecture series that focuses on research design.   

Each year the programme team submits one outstanding dissertation to the British Council for the ELT Masters Dissertation Award. Previous students who have entered the national competition include one winner (Thomas Jameson) and three finalists (Natalia Blackman, James Scholl, Richard Wilson). 

Support

Masters programmes can be demanding, and new cultural and learning contexts may challenge students who come from a variety of backgrounds. We have several systems in place to address students’ academic and social needs. 

In your first weeks, you will be allocated a Student Adviser. The Student Adviser will help guide you if academic or pastoral questions or challenges arise. 

There are weekly or bi-weekly programme tutorial sessions to support you academically and help you with any programme issues. 

We offer additional lectures and workshops related to specific learning needs, such as critical reading, understanding assessment and intercultural communication. 

Our staff are very involved in the professional development of our students, who regularly nominate them for Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) awards.    

Combine theory and practice

Being a member of our academic community provides you with the chance tovisit schools in Scotland. There, you can access real classrooms and gain insights into teaching and learning in a new educational environment. 

We encourage our students to join university groups and associations, such as the Edinburgh University Language Education Society. We also encourage them to join international academic communities such as the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL) and the British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL). 

Edinburgh University Language and Education Society

International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language

British Association for Applied Linguistics

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