Choose your course

These flexible courses allow you to choose the path that best suits your ambitions. You can:

achieve either an MSc, PGDip or PGCert qualification, or study a single module
study in person in St Andrews or online
start in September or January
choose an optional specialism.

MSc, PGDip or PGCert

You can enrol for one of three different types of qualifications:

Master of Science (MSc)

The MSc requires you to take eight modules and complete a 15,000-word dissertation. This is a part-time course that you can complete between two and five years.

Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip)

The PGDip requires you to take eight modules. Those on the PGDip do not undertake a dissertation. This is a part-time course that you can complete between two and four years.

Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert)

The PGCert requires you to take four modules of your choosing. Those on the PGCert do not undertake a dissertation. This is a part-time course that you can complete between one and two years.

Modular route

You may choose to study a single module rather than study for a whole qualification. Students may apply to study any of the modules offered. Please specify in your Personal Statement which module you would like to apply for.

In person or online

These programmes are delivered both in person at St Andrews and online. If you want to study in person, see:

September or January

There are two different start dates you can choose from. This page has information for September entry. If you are interested in starting in January, see:

Optional specialism

You can choose to focus your studies in a particular area of interest by taking TESOL with a specialism. Specialisms available are:

Assessment and Evaluation
English for Academic Purposes
English Medium Instruction
Teaching Young Learners
Technology for Teaching

MSc TESOL programmes taught in St Andrews

Video transcript

When we were planning the distance learning masters programmes there was various challenges to do with online learning that we had to consider.

So first of all the technology needs to be appealing but simple, because, for example, not all the students have access to the same quality of broadband that we are fortunate to have in St Andrews.

And also, not all of the students are particularly skilled in technology and that's not a requirement to study.

So we've gone with the technology that's supported by the University which is used by all our students in St Andrews and is generally pretty user friendly.

We made the modules, what we describe as short and fat, so the modules are all five weeks long, they are more intensive.

Typically a module studied at the University of St Andrews is ten or eleven weeks long.

For a distance learning student in particular, keeping that momentum going over a ten or eleven week period can be quite challenging when life gets in the way.

So all our modules, be it studied on campus or by distance learning are five weeks long.

So that means you've got this short burst of energy and enthusiasm and then you've got a weeks break until you start the next five week block.

How will I access support from teachers and classmates?

One of the most common challenges by studying by distance learning is that it's quite easy to feel a little bit isolated and lonely and we were very keen to avoid that.

So our on campus students and our off campus students study the same module at the same time and they have a shared online forum which both cohorts use with weekly tasks and chat rooms.

The intention is that the distance learning students then feel more of an integral part of what's going on in St Andrews.

Comparing the St Andrews distance learning experience to the other experiences

I've had, I've found it much more personalised.

The support that you get from the institute is fantastic and obviously the academic side of things is really excellent.

They teach you as a person rather than just somebody on that course with a registration number.

You're much more than just a statistic, I think, when you come to St Andrews.

I've been benefitted from having that experience.

The services are there.

We've got things like online chat.

We've got asking questions by email that are answered really quickly.

We've got access to inter-library loans on a digital level to as well as the print side of things.

And we've got access to articles.

Entry requirements

Typically, you should have one of the following:

A 2.1 Honours degree or 3.3 to 4.0 Grade Point Average (GPA) in any discipline. Applications are welcomed from all education systems. If you studied your first degree outside the UK, see the international entry requirements.
Significant professional or other relevant experience alongside evidence of prior alternative learning (such as professional qualifications or certifications).

For more information about our academic entrance requirements in relation to the education system you studied in, please email iepostgrad@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Recognition of prior learning

Some students may be eligible for recognition of prior learning (RPL) based on their previous studies, such as DELTA. The International Education Institute considers applications for RPL on a case-by-case basis in line with the University's recognition of prior learning policy. To confirm the exact amount of credit you could be awarded, please forward your relevant transcript to rplearning@st-andrews.ac.uk.

English language requirements

You will need to be proficient in the English language. Information about English language entry requirements for these programmes is available on the postgraduate English language requirements page.

Applicants who have not met the English language entry requirements at the point of application may be made offers that are conditional on these requirements being met before enrolment. Offer-holders may then use the University’s Academic English pre-sessional courses to meet the English language requirements.

The qualifications listed are indicative minimum requirements for entry. Obtaining the listed entry requirements will not guarantee you a place, as the University considers all aspects of every application including, where applicable, the personal statement, and supporting documents.

Application deadline

Sunday 1 September 2024. Applicants should apply as early as possible to be eligible for certain scholarships.

Application requirements

CV, this should include your personal details with a history of your education and employment (paid or voluntary) to date
personal statement
one original signed reference (this may be professional or academic)
academic transcripts and degree certificates
evidence of English language proficiency (required if English is not your first language). If you have not yet taken an English language test, you can submit it at a later date. Any offer of a place would then be conditional on attaining evidence of your English language competence.

For more guidance, see supporting documents and references for postgraduate taught programmes.

Course details

TESOL programmes are run by the International Education Institute.

Highlights

The programme allows for flexible part-time study while working, but also provides plenty of opportunities for you to interact with both TESOL students in St Andrews and other online students.
Integrate theory and practice – discuss theoretical concepts and frameworks in small groups and in online written forums and apply these through applied assessments.
Interact with a global cohort of students, studying both in St Andrews and online, through module learning activities.
Attend an optional two-week summer school in St Andrews focusing on dissertation preparation, and providing the opportunity to experience living and studying in St Andrews.
Join experienced practitioners and scholars in the English language teaching community, with opportunities to be involved in ongoing professional development events and the annualEnglish for Academic Purposes (EAP) conference.

The number of taught modules you will take depends on whether you are studying for the MSc, PGDip or PGCert. Those on the MSc and PGDip will take five compulsory modules plus three optional modules. If you decide to take TESOL with a specialism, you must take one of your optional modules in that specialism. Those on the PGCert will take four modules of their choice. If you decide to take a PGCert with a specialism, you must take the module of your specialism plus three more modules.

You will study each module for five weeks.

In each module, you interact online in a weekly written discussion forum (or similar activity) with other postgraduate students in St Andrews and around the world, providing the opportunity to learn from peers living and working in a wide variety of contexts.

While the programme does not include an assessed teaching placement or practicum, it supports students in exploring how theory can be applied to real-word situations, through:

practical learning and assessment tasks
materials development activities.

TESOL specialisms

Assessment and evaluation

This specialism is aimed at educational practitioners with a particular interest in assessment and evaluation. It opens up possibilities to work in a wide variety of academic settings, either writing assessment material or training those who write and deliver assessment and evaluation.

Assessment is increasingly been seen as an integral part of the learning process.

A specialism in assessment and evaluation will support you to understand the development of the current testing culture in education, including reflecting on how, when and why we assess.

There is also practical value to the specialism. Being able to evaluate and improve tests, create supporting materials, guide examiners, and evaluate the effectiveness of assessments, are therefore prized skills for educational practitioners.

This specialism will help you gain a greater appreciation of the full assessment cycle.

English for Academic Purposes (EAP)

The EAP specialism gives students the opportunity to integrate the theory and practice of teaching English to speakers of other languages, with a particular focus on teaching academic English. It opens up possibilities to work as an EAP tutor, course designer or assessment specialist.

EAP is a growing discipline, and English is considered the lingua franca of academia. There is a strong need for evidence-based training and development in the practical teaching skills needed for this diverse and dynamic field.

You will be able to develop knowledge and skills in academic discourses, materials design and assessment of EAP.

English Medium Instruction (EMI)

The EMI specialism is aimed at teachers with a particular interest in English medium instruction. This is an aspect of education in English that is growing rapidly, offering various roles for content teachers, English language teachers, and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teachers.

It opens up possibilities to work in any level of education, covering EFL and EAP, as well as teacher development and institutional management. It is also beneficial to educators in any discipline who work, or plan to work, with students who are users of English as an additional language.

As a relatively new field of study, EMI can develop in many ways, giving opportunities for creativity and innovation, from primary to tertiary level study.

Teaching Young Learners

This specialism is aimed at teachers with a particular interest in teaching young learners. It opens up possibilities to work in a variety of preschool, elementary and secondary level educational settings as a teacher or policy specialist.

This degree aims to help you take account of cognitive development in approaches and methods in the context of teaching children or teenagers (from 4 to 18 years). Taking this specialism will provide you with a qualification that clearly highlights your knowledge and understanding of the needs and strengths of these age groups. This is advantageous as future employers can see immediately that you are more likely to be qualified for teaching in schools at any level.

You will be able to produce a portfolio of four lessons for contexts which you can select yourself, giving room for creativity and a focus on your preferred age group.

Technology for Teaching

This specialism gives students the opportunity to integrate the theory and practice of teaching with a particular focus on technology for teaching. Graduates with experience of technology for teaching are in demand in a wide variety of educational settings to enhance technology-led provision.

This specialism is aimed at students who want to develop the pedagogical knowledge that underpins the application of technology in language classrooms. This is a transdisciplinary course drawing on sources from a variety of fields like education, psychology, sociology, design, ludology, linguistics, and philosophy.

You will develop technical skills in a range of applications, such as data-driven and game-based learning. You will also develop project management skills, using techniques from agile design and design thinking.

Modules

The following modules are compulsory for those on the MSc and PGDip programmes. If you are studying for the PGCert, you can choose any four modules from this list or from the optional module list (if you are taking the PGCert with a specialism, one of your modules must be related to the specialism).

Action Research and Reflection for Education Practitioners: provides a learning experience in which you can reflect on concepts and theories you are studying in other modules and connect them with classroom practice. The module explores action research for classroom practitioners, providing a means for educational practitioners to understand their contexts and to plan systematic investigation in these contexts.

Language Teaching Methodology: explores the theories that inform teaching practice and analyses the implications these have in terms of ways of learning, material used, the teacher role and the learning spaces. This is essential for all those seeking to understand teaching environments more clearly and for those who have a chance to influence teaching environments.

Linguistics for Language Teachers: equips you with the skills required to describe and analyse language. It does not assume prior knowledge of Linguistics and seeks to introduce you to selected fundamental concepts, relevant to English language teaching. You acquire appropriate terminology and techniques in the analysis and description of grammatical terms and structures.

Second Language Acquisition: How do we learn languages? Does it make any difference what age we start at? Why do some learners seem to do better than others? Answers to these questions, and many more would be very useful to inform language teachers, and to guide learners. This module explores theories of second language acquisition to gain some understanding of what learners actually do, how learners differ, and the strategies they can use. This knowledge and understanding is evaluated in order to apply theory to practice.

Education and Researching: teachers are increasingly expected to be evidence-informed or even evidence-led; consuming, creating, and sharing research. This module addresses how we evaluate the quality of research to decide what is rigorous and informative for our practice, how we can build on existing research when planning our own interventions, and how to design, pilot and reflect on the effectiveness of different data collection instruments. We consider a range of research contexts and values to help you actively engage with pedagogical research.

The modules listed here are indicative. There is no guarantee they will run for September 2024 entry, and some elements may be subject to change.

Those on the MSc and PGDip programmes will choose three modules from the following list. If you are studying for the PGCert, you can choose any four modules from this list or from the compulsory module list.

If you are taking TESOL with a specialism, one of these modules must be related to the specialism.

Assessment and Evaluation in Education: considers the theory and practice of assessment in pedagogy. You will learn key concepts in both, how to design and improve tests for different purposes, and how to make productive use of assessment within teaching. We also consider some of the broader social impacts of assessment and testing and how teachers navigate tensions when promoting student learning within a measurement culture. The module provides opportunities to reflect on how different approaches such as mastery learning or active learning are reflected in assessment design, as well as critiquing aspects of assessment such as the use of time limits, group tasks, multiple-choice questions, and gamification.

English Medium Instruction: In recent years there has been a rapid increase in the teaching of academic subjects through English in countries where the majority of the population do not use English as a first language. This module explores this global trend from the standpoint of content and language teachers, as well as students. It considers the wide variety of English medium instruction contexts, evaluating theory in the fields of teaching and learning, language acquisition and intercultural communication in an attempt to address some of the practical challenges involved.

English for Academic Purposes: preparing and supporting students who come to study for undergraduate or postgraduate degrees through the medium of English is one of the most challenging but rewarding jobs in the field of language teaching. To do this well, an EAP teacher needs to understand the higher education context; the key principles underpinning learning in a university; text and discourse in the communities of the different disciplines, theories and practice of assessment; and the most effective methods and materials to motivate students and help them into a discourse community.

Teaching Young Learners: explores theories of child development and learning which are fundamental to the understanding of child second language acquisition, namely children aged 4 to 7, 8 to 11, and 12 to 18. Child psychology has to be taken into account in the development of teaching materials, teaching styles and classroom management. There is also a practical element to the module, in the form of tasks requiring you to create lesson plans and materials to share with your peers, to apply theory to practice.

Technology for Teaching: introduces you to the principle theories, concepts and practices of technology in language education. You will be able to critically consider the role and purpose of various modes of technology in education in a wide range of settings to identify and conceptualise problems within your own professional contexts.

Optional modules are subject to change each year and require a minimum number of participants to be offered. Some modules may only allow limited numbers of students. See the University’s position on curriculum development.

The modules listed here are indicative. There is no guarantee they will run for September 2024 entry, and some elements may be subject to change.

Only those on the MSc programme are required to submit a dissertation.

For the dissertation, you will choose a topic of interest to you and to your future career. You will read related literature and conduct independent research on your topic.

Student dissertations will be supervised by IE staff members. Supervisors will provide guidance throughout the research process, helping you to formulate a suitable research hypothesis. They will offer advice on relevant literature and how to plan your time effectively.

Teaching

You will take a variety of taught modules over the length of the programme. Modules are delivered in a variety of ways:

recorded lectures
recorded min-lectures
online chatrooms
podcasts
guided writing
webinars
intensive feedback sessions on your work.

The modules in this programme have varying methods of delivery and assessment. For more details about each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the latest module catalogue. Some elements may be subject to change for September 2024 entry.

In each five-week module, you will integrate theory and practice by discussing and critiquing theoretical concepts and frameworks, and then apply them through a range of practical assessments. Assessments include:

a variety of different types of written assignments
presentations
development of teaching plans
group work with students resident in other parts of the world.

Read more about curriculum development at the University.

Undergraduates at the University of St Andrews must achieve at least 7.0 on the St Andrews 20-point grade scale to pass a module. To gain access to Honours-level modules, students must achieve the relevant requisites as specified in the policy on entry to Honours and in the relevant programme requirements.

To find out the classification equivalent of points, please see the common reporting scale.

The University’s Student Services team can help students with additional needs resulting from disabilities, long-term medical conditions or learning disabilities. More information can be found on the students with disabilities web page.

Fees

MSc

£11,680

PGDip

£7785

PGCert

£3895

Single module

£1070

These are programme fees rather than annual fees, and generally they can also be paid in instalments.

Funding and scholarships

The University of St Andrews offers a number of scholarships and support packages to students each year.

Your future

TESOL graduates are equipped with a range of skills and experiences which allow them to take on a variety of roles. The majority of TESOL students work within education, either as teachers or lecturers, researchers, or policymakers. Other graduates work in publishing, journalism and management.

See testimonials from TESOL students.

Lecturers within the International Education Institute have a wealth of teaching and leadership experience in TESOL, in a range of locations globally. They are active in using their international networks and experience to support and advise students on future career development.

Current teaching staff have taught, or held educational leadership roles, in Australia, Bulgaria, China, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Martinique, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, UK, USA and Vietnam.

The University Careers Centre also offers one-to-one advice to all students on a taught postgraduate course and provides a programme of events to assist students in building their employability skills.

Meet us

Postgraduate virtual visiting days

We hold postgraduate virtual visiting days throughout the year to offer prospective postgraduate students a chance to experience the University's unique atmosphere and the quality of the teaching on offer.

TESOL virtual information sessions

If you are unable to visit St Andrews before you apply, the International Education Institute offers TESOL virtual information sessions to discuss the programmes.

Awards

Members of TESOL staff and previous students have been awarded various awards and prizes including the following:

British Council ELT Masters Dissertation Award

Peter Bannister (MSc TESOL with a specialism in Assessment and Evaluation 2019-2022) won the British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes Masters Dissertation Awards 2023 for his dissertation entitled 'Exploring the Critical Listening Assessment Conundrum on Pre-Sessional EAP Programmes in Higher Education'.
Mairi Canning (MSc TESOL 2020-2021) was commended at the British Council ELT Masters Dissertation Awards 2021-2022 for her dissertation entitled 'The Value of Co-teaching in Teacher Agency: A Focus on ESL Teachers in South Korea'.
Allison Crum (MSc TESOL 2019-2020) was commended at the British Council ELT Masters Dissertation Awards 2020-2021 for her dissertation entitled 'Introducing standards for evaluating enrichment materials (SEEM): Testing the modern framework with football-themed materials'.
Yin Lijun (MSc TESOL 2017-2018) was commended at the British Council ELT Masters Dissertation Awards 2018-2019 for her dissertation entitled 'An investigation of experienced EAP teachers' marking processes'.

McCall MacBain Foundation Outstanding Contribution to Teaching Excellence Awards 2020

In 2020, the International Educational Institute was the recipient of two McCall MacBain Foundation Outstanding Contribution to Teaching Excellence Awards:

Mark Carver was awarded for his work on assessment and feedback scholarship.
Janie Brooks and Kerith George-Briant were awarded for a presentation entitled 'Developing Effective Online Engagement in the Context of Internationalisation' delivered at the British Council International Education Conference in 2019.

University of St Andrews Golden Dandelion Awards

Kerry Tavakoli and Mark Carver were awarded a University of St Andrews Golden Dandelion Award for ET5524 and ET5624 English Medium Instruction in recognition of the considerable contribution to education for sustainable development that it makes.

University of St Andrews Teaching Excellence Awards

Kirsty Duff was awarded one of five annual Teaching Excellence Awards in 2023 for her excellent teaching and curriculum development at the International Education Institute.
Lori Davis was awarded one of six annual Teaching Excellent Awards in 2022. Lori was recognised for the energy and enthusiasm she brings to her classes, her commitment to embedding sustainability within her teaching, as well as her work mentoring colleagues and contributing to University widening access programmes.
Paula Villegas Verdu was nominated for a Students' Association Excellence Award for outstanding commitment to inclusivity, for her work on the Online Programme Design module.
Kerry Tavakoli was awarded one of four annual Teaching Excellence Awards in 2018. Kerry was recognised for the positive impact her work has had on students through her teaching.

University of St Andrews Students' Association Teaching Excellence Awards

Lesley Thirkell was shortlisted in the category of outstanding academic mentorship, which acknowledges the way a member of teaching staff influences students' personal and academic development.

University of St Andrews Start-Up Challenge

Cameron Wren (MSc TESOL with a specialism in Technology for Teaching 2022-2023) won the Start-Up Challenge at the University's Entrepreneurship Centre with his business proposal for an online curriculum subscription service for online and offline English language teachers.

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students to build their employability skills.

Contact us

Phone: +44 (0)1334 46 2255
Email: iepostgrad@st-andrews.ac.uk
Address: International Education Institute

University of St Andrews
Kinnessburn
Kennedy Gardens
St Andrews
KY16 9DJ

International Education Institute website

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) - online with optional specialism (MSc, PGDip, PGCert) September 2024 entry