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Education and Religion BA (Hons)

UCAS code: VX36

Curious about religious culture? Eager to explore education and how it has evolved? Studying this combined education and religion degree, you’ll look at methods of teaching across all ages and the theology of different religious traditions.

Overview

Course length: 3 years full-time
Start dates: September 2025
September 2026
Location: Edge Hill University
Example offers: BCC-BBC (A Level) or DMM (BTEC) View full entry criteria
Subject(s): Education and TeachingReligion and Philosophy
Faculty: Education
Department: Secondary and Further Education
Four students sitting around a table during a seminar.

The history, philosophy, psychology and sociology of education meets the study of world religions and their origins, practices and philosophies.

We’ve designed this education and religion degree to give you the chance to study two fascinating areas. Our experts will help you explore a wide range of intellectual resources, as well as theoretical and ethical perspectives. With optional modules in each year of study, you’ll also have the chance to shape your degree and explore the areas that interest you.

Insight into two different areas

Discuss and debate technology and its place in the classroom. Examine the emerging discipline of the economics of education. Spend time unravelling different subjects to boost your understanding of the UK education system.

When you’re not exploring education, you’ll be looking at religious cultures from across the globe – past and present. Our specialists will talk to you about sacred and significant texts, alongside the history, practices and theology of religious traditions.

Course features

  • International students can apply

  • Learn a language option available

  • Work placement opportunity

What you'll study

What policies and procedures underpin the UK education system? We’ll start the course by exploring this question. You might consider what barriers to learning exist and how we can address these, or examine the role technology has to play in teaching and learning. In your religion modules, we’ll introduce you to the study of religion at degree level, exploring Dharmic and Abrahamic traditions.

Compulsory modules:

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Abrahamic Traditions
Eastern Dharma
Introduction to Education Studies
Introduction to the Study of Religion
Studying in Higher Education: Critical Perspectives

One of:

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Learning in a Diverse Society
Technology and its Place in Education
Language 1
Conceptions of Education: The UK Education System in Context

Learn how to design and carry out research. Choose between a placement or an extended study of an aspect of education. With optional modules, you might also explore education from a psychological perspective, discover ideas from key thinkers in the field, or compare the UK education system with others around the world. For religion, explore how researchers study religious communities and investigate the influences of the Bible in the modern world.

Compulsory modules:

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Designing and Managing a Research Project
Ethnography: Living with Religions
The Bible in the Modern World

One of:

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Agency, Power and Change in Education
Education, Meaning and Understanding: Debates in the Philosophy of Education
How and Why We Learn: Explorations in the Psychology of Education
UK Education in its Global Contexts

One of:

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Work Based Learning in Education
Work Related Learning in Education

One of:

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Judaism
Religion, Belief and Reason
Language 2

With a range of optional modules on offer, Year 3 provides plenty of freedom to shape your studies. You’ll have the chance to gain sociological and psychological perspectives of contemporary education. And it’s up to you whether you complete a dissertation. Pick optional modules for religion – explore the relationship between gender, sexuality and Christianity, study a religion like Islam in-depth, or analyse the role of religion and controversies surrounding it in the 21st century.

60 credits from:

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Current Debates in the Psychology of Education
Dissertation
Exploring Issues and Affecting Change in Education
Knowledge, Learning and Understanding
Understanding Education through Sociological Perspectives

Three of:

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British Buddhism
Challenges and Controversies in Religion
Contemporary Paganisms
Gender, Sexuality and Christianity
Issues in Contemporary Islam
Religion in the 21st Century
Specialist Research Project in Religion

Where your course includes optional modules, these are to provide an element of choice within the course curriculum. The availability of optional modules may vary from year to year and will be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved. This means that the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed. Optional module selection may also be affected by timetabling requirements. Some restrictions on optional module choice or combinations of optional modules may apply.

How you'll study

Modules are usually delivered through a combination of whole-group lectures and smaller group-seminars.

In Year 2 you will have the opportunity to undertake a work placement and engage in work-based learning. Placements will be in a variety of different settings in which education takes place, either formally (schools) or informally (for example, art galleries and museums), and will be closely matched to your career aspirations.

Timetables for your first week are normally available at the end of August prior to enrolment in September. You can expect to receive your timetable for the rest of the academic year during your first week. Please note that while we make every effort to ensure that timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week. Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and cultural activities.

How you'll be assessed

The assessment methods for this programme incorporate a variety of both traditional and innovative formats. There will be a blend of essays and website development work. You will be asked to produce and present work through a combination of wikis and blogs, or to produce video presentations or give a live presentation. You will also create research posters reporting on the results of your investigations and be taught how to present your work in the format of professional magazine-style reports.

There are no formal written examinations as part of the current assessment methods on this programme.

Who will be teaching you

You will be taught by a team of lecturers who bring with them a vast amount of both professional and academic experience. Members of the team include academics who research both the theoretical and practical aspects of teaching and learning in a host of contexts. Other members of the programme team offer a wealth of experience in teaching across all age-phases and a wide range of academic disciplines including religion and theology.

Entry criteria

Entry requirements

Typical offer 104-112 UCAS Tariff points. No specific subjects are required.

Example offers

Qualification Requirement
A Level BCC-BBC.
BTEC Extended Diploma (or combination of BTEC QCF qualifications) Distinction, Merit, Merit (DMM).
T Level Overall grade of Merit.
International Baccalaureate (IB) We are happy to accept IB qualifications which achieve the required number of UCAS Tariff points.
Access to Higher Education Diploma 45 credits at Level 3, for example 9 credits at Distinction and 36 credits at Merit or 15 credits at Distinction and 30 credits at Merit. The required total can be attained from various credit combinations.

Please note, the above examples may differ from actual offers made. A combination of A Level and BTEC awards may also be accepted.

If you have a minimum of two A Levels (or equivalent), there is no maximum number of qualifications that we will accept UCAS points from. This includes additional qualifications such as Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), AS Levels that haven't been continued to A Level, and General Studies AS or A Level awards.

English language requirements

International students require IELTS 6.0, with a score no lower than 5.5 in each individual component, or an equivalent English language qualification.

If your current level of English is half a band, one band, or one-and-a-half bands lower, either overall or in one or two elements, you may want to consider our Pre-Sessional English course.

How to apply

Apply full-time

Apply online through UCAS

Read our guide to applying through UCAS to find out more about the application process.

International

Apply as an international student

Please see our international student pages for further information about how to apply as a prospective international student.

Should you accept an offer of a place to study with us and formally enrol as a student, you will be subject to the provisions of the regulations, rules, codes, conditions and policies which apply to our students. These are available at www.edgehill.ac.uk/studentterms.

Did you know?

If you join a full time undergraduate degree at Edge Hill University, we will guarantee you the offer of a room in our halls of residence for the first year of your course.

Discover our accommodation

Facilities

Exterior photograph of the Faculty of Education Building

The Faculty of Education enjoys the enviable position of being one of the country’s leading providers of transformative education, training and research for the teaching and education workforce. Housed in a state-of-the-art £9m building, the Faculty of Education enjoys a stunning setting from both its lakeside and piazza buildings.

Facilities in the lakeside building include a 300-seat lecture theatre, five well-equipped ICT suites, and 18 teaching rooms complete with the latest technology.

Our nearby piazza building houses our Research Hub and our Secondary and Further Education department including a lecture theatre and a number of seminar rooms.

Where you'll study

Faculty of Education

Finance

Tuition fees

UK Full-Time

£9,535

a year

International

£17,000

a year

The University may administer a small inflationary rise in tuition fees, in line with Government policy, in subsequent academic years as you progress through the course.

EU/EEA and Swiss students who have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, as well as Irish nationals, may be eligible for the UK tuition fee rate.

Financial support

Subject to eligibility, UK students joining this course can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan from the Government to cover the full cost of tuition fees. UK students enrolling on the course may also be eligible to apply for additional funding to help with living costs.

Scholarships


We offer a range of scholarships, which celebrate the determination, commitment and achievement of our students. Many of our scholarships are awarded automatically. There are some however, where you will need to be involved in an application or nomination process. To find out more about our scholarships and check your eligibility, please visit our dedicated scholarships pages.

Money Matters


Please view the relevant Money Matters guide for comprehensive information about the financial support available to eligible UK students.

EU/EEA and Swiss students who have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme may be eligible to apply for financial support. Irish nationals can ordinarily apply to Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). If you are an EU student who does not have settled or pre-settled status, or are an international student from a non-EU country, please see our international student finance pages.

Your future career

Our education and religion course is the perfect first step towards a career in teaching. Many of our students progress to a PGCE to prepare for life in schools.

Your career isn’t limited to the classroom though. Galleries, museums and zoos need people like you to inspire others and help them learn about different subjects. Businesses need graduates to design training plans too.

Typical roles our graduates secure include:

  • teaching at early years foundation stage, primary, secondary or further education through postgraduate teacher training
  • Learning Mentor
  • Education Administrator
  • Educational Psychologist
  • Education Counsellor
  • Mental Health Practitioner
  • Social/Community Worker
  • Prison Educator
  • International Development Worker
  • Training Organiser

However, many others specialise further with a Master’s in a related area. Perhaps your studies will help you discover another area like child and adolescent mental health.

Personal tutor sessions will focus on reviewing your progress towards graduate level employment, with leadership skills built into every module so that you feel confident leading teams, working in groups and managing projects. Dedicated employability sessions in each year of study will guide you in writing a CV, producing a professional LinkedIn profile, and compiling an electronic portfolio that evidences your graduate skills.

Course changes

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this information, however our courses are subject to ongoing review and development. Changing circumstances may necessitate alteration to, or the cancellation of, courses.

Changes may be necessary to comply with the requirements of professional bodies, revisions to subject benchmarks statements, to keep courses updated and contemporary, or as a result of student feedback. We reserve the right to make variations if we consider such action to be necessary or in the best interests of students.

Track changes to this course

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