Early Years Education (with Early Years Teacher Status) MA

Key information

Duration:
1 year full time
Start date:
September 2025
Apply by:
1 August 2025 (international), 1 September 2025 (UK)

Do you want to work with children from birth to five years old (including Reception) in the public and private sectors? Achieve Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS) in just one year with this Masters-level course.

Early Years learning primarily focuses on the following ideas:

  • what constitutes ‘quality’ in Early Years education?
  • equity, inclusion and justice for the pre-school child and the wider family
  • ideas of communication, imagination, language and literacy, and provision for the bi/trilingual child
  • understandings of early mathematical and scientific development
  • discourses of nurture, care and attachment.

On this MA, there are two routes available:

  • an employment-based route for people already working in an Early Years setting
  • a placement route for those not currently working in the sector.

As a student on the employment-based route, you’d normally work in an Early Years setting within about 90 minutes’ travelling distance from our campus. This is so you can attend teaching on campus as well as work within your placement setting. University staff also need to be able to support you on your placement.

As a student on the graduate route, we’d seek to place you within similar travelling distance of our campus. We welcome applicants currently not living within 90 minutes of campus. Please note that, if your application is successful, we would expect you to relocate so we can give you the appropriate level of support in your work and studies. 

This course is currently funded by the UK GovernmentThere is currently no fee to pay for UK students. There are also training bursaries if you’re on the employment based route. Find out more on the UK Government web pages.

We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision. We’ll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities described in this prospectus. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to government or regulatory requirements, or unanticipated staff changes, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.

My MA pushes me academically and gives me practical experience with a range of age groups in different settings. It’s made me confident to work at a higher level sooner in my career.”Sabrina Varley
Early Years Education (with Early Years Teacher Status) MA graduate
Early Years Assistant

Join us online for our postgraduate teacher education information event

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Entry requirements

Degree requirements

You should normally have a lower second-class (2.2) undergraduate honours degree or above.

Subject-specific requirements

If you are a graduate:

  • your qualification can be in any subject.

If you are currently working in the Early Years sector:

  • your qualification can be in any subject
  • you must be currently working in a UK school or nursery in an Early Years or Foundation class setting.

You must have achieved a GCSE grade C (or equivalent) in English, maths and a science subject.

Note: If you have achieved Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) or Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS) you are eligible to apply for the course. You can’t receive funding from the government, but you may be eligible for exemption from the practice-based course modules, and still be awarded an Early Years Education MA on a self-funding basis. Email MAEYTSadmin@sussex.ac.uk for more information.

 

Please select your country from the list.

English language requirements

IELTS (Academic)

Advanced level (7.0 overall, including at least 6.5 in each component).

IELTS scores are valid for two years from the test date. You cannot combine scores from more than one sitting of the test. Your score must be valid when you begin your Sussex course. Find out more about IELTS

We accept IELTS One Skills Retake.

We do not accept IELTS Online.

 

Check full details of our English Language requirements and find out more about some of the alternative English language qualifications listed below

Alternative English language qualifications

Proficiency tests

English language qualifications

Country exceptions

English language support

If you don’t meet the English language requirements for your degree, you may be able to take a pre-sessional course

Visas and immigration

Find out how to apply for a student visa

Admissions information for applicants

Disclosure and Barring Service Enhanced check

Yes. All candidates offered a place on the course will be required to satisfactorily complete an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, including a check of all cautions and warnings as well as convictions, before their place on the course is confirmed. International students will additionally be required to obtain a recent criminal record certificate from their home country. A list of admissible certificates can be found on the UK Government website: Criminal records checks for overseas applicants.

Health check

Yes. You will be required to have a satisfactory Health Check. Note that if you are on the graduate route the University will pay the costs of this check directly on your behalf.

How to apply

You will be able to apply from November 2024. 

 

InterviewsYes
Personal statement

Yes. You must submit a personal statement as part of your application. 

Find out how to write a personal statement

UK teaching qualification

Please note that this course awards a professional qualification specifically for teaching in the UK.

If your qualifications aren’t listed or you have a question about entry requirements, contact us

For details on any additional costs, check out the Fees and scholarships section.

Application deadlines

1 August 2025 (international), 1 September 2025 (UK)

We strongly recommend an earlier application where possible, as some courses are in high demand and may close before the above dates. Find out more at How to apply for a Masters course

Modules

Core modules

Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.

All year
Autumn teaching
Autumn and spring teaching
Spring teaching
Spring and summer teaching

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2025/26. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

We’ll do our best to provide as much optional choice as we can, but timetabling constraints mean it may not be possible to take some module combinations. The structure of a small number of courses means that the order of modules or the streams you choose may determine whether modules are core or optional. This means that your core modules or options may differ from what’s shown here.

American Student Loans and Federal Student Aid

If you’re receiving – or applying for – USA federal Direct Loan funds, you can’t undertake your placement/internship in the USA if the number of credits for the placement/internship exceeds 25% of the total credits for your course. Find out more about American Student Loans and Federal Student Aid 

Our experts

Fees and scholarships

How much does it cost?

Fees

Home students:
£7,000 per year for full-time students
Channel Islands and Isle of Man students:
£7,000 per year for full-time students
International students:
£7,000 per year for full-time students

If you’re a self-funded international student, you’re required to pay a tuition fee deposit. Find out more about Masters tuition fee deposits

Additional costs

Note about additional costs

Please note that all costs are best estimates based on current market values. Activities may be subject to unavoidable change in response to Government advice. We’ll let you know at the earliest opportunity. We review estimates every year and they may vary with inflation. Find out how to budget for student life.

DBS check and health assessment

When you register at Sussex, you’re charged fees for mandatory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and health assessments. If you get a bursary, you pay for your DBS, it costs around £40. You also pay for your health assessment which costs between £6 to £90 though this may vary if, for example, clinical supervision is required. If you don’t get a bursary, DBS and health assessments are subsidised.

Travel to and from placements

This course has mandatory placements. If you receive a bursary for your studies, you pay for some or all of your travel. Reasonable travel costs are subsidised for some students without access to bursaries.

Criminal record certificate

International students will be required to obtain a recent criminal record certificate from their home country. A list of admissible certificates can be found on the UK Government website: Criminal records checks for overseas applicants

Living costs

Find out typical living costs for studying at Sussex

Find out about our terms and conditions

How can I fund my course?

Scholarships

Our goal is to ensure that every student who wants to study with us is able to regardless of financial barriers, so that we continue to attract talented and unique people.

UK Government funding

This course is funded by the UK Government if you’re eligible to study and work in England for the duration of the course, and meet the other eligibility criteria. Find out more at GOV.UK: Early years initial teacher training.

Working while you study

Our Careers and Employability Centre can help you find part-time work while you study. Find out more about career development and part-time work

Careers

This MA with Early Years Teachers Status (EYTS) offers the opportunity to combine Masters-level study with practical experience of teaching and researching in the Early Years Foundation Stage. You deepen your knowledge and understanding of educational theory and practice, and develop your skills in:

  • research and analysis
  • presentation and communication
  • critical reflection.

With these skills you’ll have a wide range of educational careers open to you – nationally and internationally.

If you’re a professional in employment, this course gives you excellent opportunities for career development and progression into Early Years leadership in a range of private and state-maintained settings.

If you’re a new graduate, it provides a springboard into Early Years teaching in both the public and private sector. 

As a qualified Early Years Teacher with EYTS, you can teach within private nursery and day-care settings. Free Schools and Academies can employ you to teach Reception children as a full class teacher, while in state-maintained nurseries or Reception classes, you will be qualified to teach with the support of a member of staff with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

The terrain of Early Years educational provision is fast changing. This Masters course has been designed to equip you with all the necessary skills and dispositions to lead in this sector. 

Graduate destinations

Recent Early Years Education (with Early Years Teacher Status) MA graduates have gone on to jobs including:

  • reception teacher, Seaside School, Lancing

  • deputy manager, Blueberry Nursery, Hove

  • room leader, Wise Owls Nursery, Brighton. 

(Department of Education careers database)

Design your future at Sussex

Taking the next step in your career can feel daunting, but we’ll help you to explore, connect and flourish throughout your studies and beyond.

As a Sussex student, you’ll learn how to tackle real-world challenges and have access to tailored programmes of careers support:

  • our Career Lab helps you to explore your options, build key skills and connect with employers. Take part in internships, community consultancy projects and insight visits, where you can learn about life at organisations including Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, Gatwick Airport and the Knepp Rewilding Project
  • one-to-one coaching with your Faculty Careers Consultant can enable you to identify your career goals, write an effective CV and prepare for future interviews
  • entrepreneurship initiatives like StartUp Sussex and Ideas Lab can empower you to turn your concepts into reality.

Explore how our Careers and Entrepreneurship team can support you

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Winner
Supporting Student and Graduate Employability Award
AGCAS Awards for Excellence 2024

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Winner
Entrepreneurship Catalyst Award
National Enterprise Educator Awards 2024

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