MSc / PgDip / PgCert Blended and Online Education

Postgraduate, Part Time Distance learning
Blended and Online Education MSc / PgDip / PgCert



The MSc PgDip BOE is designed for education professionals seeking to enhance their knowledge and practice in digital teaching and learning.

Course overview

The MSc Blended and Online Education is a fully online, part-time programme for professionals working in education and training. You will become part of a supportive learning community and tailor your coursework to your professional role, interests and goals. The programme will develop you as an evidence-informed practitioner, with practical experience of using a range of digital technologies effectively and appropriately for learning, teaching, training and assessment.

 

Applicants may be completely new using digital technologies for teaching, or may want to extend their digital education skills. The programme allows students to develop a personal, evidence-based approach to the use of digital technologies for teaching and learning, and consider the implications for educators, students, colleagues, training departments and educational institutions.

  • Study within a highly supportive online environment, working alongside tutors and fellow participants in the programme’s virtual learning environment
  • Collaborate across a range of other online spaces and tools
  • Draw from your own professional working environment
  • Study alongside your peers and tutors online, as well as learning from guest experts

The course includes an academic skills and scholarship in digital education strand to support your development as a digital scholar through your studies and beyond. This comprises flexible 10-credit modules which run alongside the main modules, providing just-in-time learning to develop your academic writing and research skills at master's level.

The programme is designed to complement a work-based role in education and students can choose to exit with a PgCert (60 credits), PgDip (120 credits) or MSc (180 credits) in Blended and Online Education.

Typical entry points to this course are in January and September. Please enquire for more information.

MSc Blended and Online Education

Mode of Study:

Part Time Distance learning

(available ONLY as Part-time)

Duration:

3 years

Course details

Modules can be taken flexibly, and the following is for example purposes only:

Year 1

EDU11100 Introduction to Blended and Online Education
EDU11111 Supporting the Blended and Online Student Experience
EDU11119 Academic Skills for Digital Education
EDU11120 Scholarship in Digital Education
 
Year 2
 
EDU11108 Curriculum Design and Development for Blended and Online Learning
EDU11121 Introduction to Coding and Software in Digital Education
EDU11126 Researching Digital Education
EDU11125 Being a Digital Scholar
 
Year 3
 
EDU11115 Dissertation - Research in Blended and Online Education

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    How you’ll be taught
    You'll be taught entirely online, through a mix of live webinars, group tutorials, one-to-one sessions, and both synchronous and asynchronous communication tools. Rather than sitting back and receiving content, you'll actively engage in the same blended and online methods you're studying — learning by experiencing them.
     
    The nine-module curriculum is designed to give your cohort a strong shared identity while letting you tailor your learning to your professional needs and interests. Teaching follows universal design for learning principles, so you're offered multiple ways to engage, understand, act, and express yourself — through live discussion, peer collaboration, independent reading, and hands-on work like learning design and multimedia development.
     
    Throughout, you're encouraged to use current and emerging technologies to create fair, inclusive learning experiences in a global context, and to think critically about the equity, sustainability, and ethics of blended and online education from the outset.
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    Assessments

     Assessments are tailored to your interests and professional setting, encouraging you to create practical outputs with real-world application — educational materials for your learners, resources for your workplace, or contributions to educational knowledge and scholarship. The programme team supports you with timely feedback throughout, ensuring a quality, individualised learning experience.
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    Facilities

    This course is taught online.

    As a registered Edinburgh Napier University student, you will have full access to our extensive Information and Library services, including access to software for use during your studies, ebooks, online resources and online journals. The university has dedicated teams to provide training and support with academic skills and writing, library skills and referencing, IT, wellbeing, inclusion and disability, funding, counselling, in addition to the vibrant Edinburgh Napier Students’ Association who provide a range social activities and advice services.

Disclaimer

Study modules mentioned above are indicative only. Some changes may occur between now and the time that you study.

Full information is available in our disclaimer.

Entry requirements

 

What are the entry requirements for Blended and Online Education?

To enter this programme you must have:
• a bachelor’s degree with honours or equivalent or
• other qualifications or experience which demonstrate through our recognition of prior learning process that you have appropriate knowledge and skills at SCQF level 10 or
• successfully completed as a student of the University through our Affiliate Student scheme two taught modules equivalent to 40 credits at SCQF level 11
 
and
 
• will have experience of facilitating or supporting learning, teaching and assessment, as well as an interest in applied digital learning technologies.
 
Your substantive role is likely to be a lecturer, course developer, learning technologist, staff developer, trainer or other professional working in a teaching or education-related role within a Further or Higher Education Institution, or within the Private or Third Sector.

Can I make an appointment with an advisor to discuss further about the admission process?

If you want to get more information on the admission process, please get in touch with the postgraduate admissions team by submitting an enquiry form above.

If your first language isn't English, you'll normally need to undertake an approved English language test.  The English Language requirements for this programme are IELTS (Academic) with an overall score of 6.5 with no individual component score of less than 6.0.  For guidance on the acceptability of other English Language tests please contact pgadmissions@napier.ac.uk

This may not apply if you have completed all your school qualifications in English, or your undergraduate degree was taught and examined in English (within two years of starting your postgraduate course). Check our country pages to find out if this applies to you.
We welcome applications from students studying a wide range of international qualifications.
Entry requirements by country

Please note that international students are unable to enrol onto the following courses:
  • BM Midwifery/MM Midwifery
  • MSc Nursing courses
  • All Graduate Apprenticeship courses

See who can apply for more information on Graduate Apprenticeship courses.

We’re committed to admitting students who have the potential to succeed and benefit from our programmes of study. 

Our admissions policies will help you understand our admissions procedures, and how we use the information you provide us in your application to inform the decisions we make.

Undergraduate admissions policies
Postgraduate admissions policies

Fees & funding

The course fees you'll pay and the funding available to you will depend on a number of factors including your nationality, location, personal circumstances and the course you are studying. We also have a number of bursaries and scholarships available to our students.

Tuition fees
Students from 2026/27 2027/28
Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Republic of Ireland (per 20 credits) £1,220 tba
Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Republic of Ireland-60credit Dissertation module £725 tba

Tuition fees are subject to an annual review and may increase from one year to the next. For more information on this and other tuition fee matters, please see our Fees and Funding links above.

Fees for modules are calculated according to the number of credits (multiples of 20). The rate shown in the table is for 20 credits*.

The University offers a 20% discount on Postgraduate Taught Masters programmes to its alumni. The discount applies to all full-time, part-time and online degrees. The discount can only be applied to year one of a full-time Postgraduate degree, any additional years are exempt from the discount. For part time Postgraduate degrees the discount will apply to years one, two and three only and any additional years will be exempt from the discount. Please read our full T&C here.


Please note:

The discount for Edinburgh Napier alumni can only be applied to year one of a full-time Postgraduate degree, any additional years are exempt from the discount.

For part time Postgraduate degrees the discount will apply to years one, two and three only and any additional years will be exempt from the discount.

Please read our full T&C here

Careers & employability

On successful completion of the programme, you will have the knowledge and skills to pursue or progress in postgraduate-level roles focused on digital, blended or online education. Many graduates move into new roles or advance their careers during or after the programme. You will also be well prepared to apply for doctoral study in education and technology at Edinburgh Napier University or another higher education institution.