Educational Studies

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The mission of the postgraduate programme in Education Sciences includes the following:

* Research in various subject areas of education sciences with particular emphasis on organisation, administration and evaluation in education, curriculum development and educational theory, and continuing education and lifelong learning.
* Offer professional development programmes for teaching personnel at all levels
* Collaboration with European and other universities and research centers offering similar programmes.
* Preparation of leadership personnel and researchers who understand the educational environment and are capable of responding creatively and productively in this context.
* Offer services to the wider educational community in pedagogical issues.

To acquire a Master's degree, students must choose one of the following programme structures:
* Option A: follow the course of studies and successfully pass examinations in three Thematic Units and complete a Master's thesis.
* Option B: follow the course of studies and successfully pass examinations in four Thematic Units.

Students, under the supervision and guidance of their professors, are required to complete (3) written assignments in each Thematic Unit and having achieved the necessary grade are entitled to take the final exams. Application for Master's thesis may be submitted after completion of the second (2nd) Thematic Unit. The thesis may be submitted immediately after completion of the third (3rd) Thematic Unit and no later than one academic year.

Students can follow one of four academic concentrations to ensure the academic cohesion of the Programme:

Educational Leadership and Policy
Theory of Education / Curriculum Development
Didactics of Natural Sciences
Continuing Education

In a separate section of this site, you will find a description of the Thematic Units for every academic concentration. A student may choose up to two (2) Thematic Units per academic year. The choice of two Thematic Units is equivalent to a full time study, while one Thematic Unit is considered part-time. The University's academic year begins in early October and ends in June with the final written exams.

Thematic Units:
* EPA 50: Child Development in the Social Environment
* EPA 51: Applied Educational Research
* EPA 60: Cultural Differences and Social Inequalities
* EPA 62: Educational Administration
* EPA 63: Didactics of Natural Sciences
* EPA 64K: Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning
* EPA65: Open and Distance Education
* EPA66K: Vocational Education and Training
* EPA70K: Educational Policy and Curriculum Development
* EPA71K: Change Management, School Effectiveness and Strategic Planning
* EPA75K: Programme and Personnel Evaluation in education
* EPA90K: Advanced Research Methods (at the Ph.D. level)

Applicants for admission to the postgraduate programme at Masters level must hold a degree from an accredited university.Additional requirements are the following:1. Grade point average of undergraduate degree: * Greek and Cyprus Universities: 6.5 or * USA Universities: 3.0 or higher * Universities: 2.1 or higher2. Very good knowledge of the English language Technological Requirements Computer skills; knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access).

Accreditation

The Open University of Cyprus is the second (in order of establishment) State university of Cyprus and the country's only Higher Education Institution dedicated solely to distance education.

The University offers undergraduate and postgraduate (at the Master and doctoral levels) programmes, as well as vocational/training programmes of short duration. The awarded degrees are equivalent to all accredited universities worldwide, regardless of the educational methodology used - conventional or not. The University's academic programmes are allocated with ECTS credit units, which facilitate comparability of study programmes and the integration of students at the receiving institution, whether at the OUC or any other university in Europe.

The mission of the Open University of Cyprus is to provide high quality academic programmes, to promote scientific research and to effectively utilise educational technology, methodology and teaching method in open and distance learning. Further, OUC aspires to distinguish its position in the Cypriot and broader European educational communities as an innovative university delivering with teaching to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting, such as a classroom, via a state of the art technological infrastructure and educational methodology.