PMAADEPEB4-2025-6-O - L-Università ta' Malta

Course Title

Master of Arts in Adult Education (by Research)

MQF Level

Duration and Credits

4 Semesters

90 ECTS

Mode of Study

Part-time Evening Blended

Information for International applicants

Applicants must be in possession of:

Refer to the list of country-specific qualifications

The Course shall be open to applicants in possession of a Bachelor degree obtained with at least Second Class Honours or Category II in an area of study deemed suitable by the Board.

The admission of applicants shall be made conditional on the result of an interview conducted by an interviewing board composed of at least three members, appointed by the Board for the purpose.

The Faculty Admissions Committee may, after thorough examination of documents submitted in support of the qualifications presented, and following an interview, recommend the admission of applicants applying for admission in terms of the University’s Policy for the Recognition and Accreditation of Prior Learning (RPL) who are in possession of other academic or professional qualifications and documented experience related to adult education, if these are deemed to be comparable to the qualifications referred to in the above paragraph. The admission of applicants referred to in this paragraph, may be made subject to those conditions that the Faculty Admissions Committee may impose to address any lacunae in the applicants’ academic preparation. Conditions imposed may include the satisfactory completion of a preparatory programme, or the requirement to follow and pass supplementary study-units, up to a maximum of 12 ECTS credits, in addition to the programme of study.

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You can submit your application online. The deadlines for submission of applications vary according to the intake and courses. We encourage all international applicants to submit their applications as soon as possible. This is especially important if you require a visa to travel and eventually stay in Malta.

You can compare your national qualifications to the local requirements by visiting our qualifications comparability webpage. Access more information about our admission process and English language requirements.

The University of Malta has student accommodation on campus called Campus Hub. Campus Hub is just a 2-minute walk from the main campus. For more information, visit the accommodation website.

Our dedicated team at the student recruitment office is here to support you every step of the way. From the moment you start your application to the moment when you receive your decision letter, we're here to assist you. If you have any questions or need further information, don't hesitate to reach out to us. You can contact us at info@um.edu.mt, and our team will be more than happy to help.

After you receive an offer from us, our International Office will assist you with visas, accommodation and other related issues.

This course, open to graduates from different faculties, is intended to prepare people as practitioners in adult education in a variety of aspects of the area, including those of course organisers and curriculum developers, educators in different learning settings, policy makers and researchers. It is a three year course involving seminars, placement periods and the writing of a dissertation. It therefore tackles adult education from both the academic and practical aspects. Its central pedagogical orientation is that of breaking away from the magisterial mode of teaching and indulging in dialogical and participatory forms of collective teaching and learning and co-investigation of objects of inquiry. It has both a local and international orientation and draws on the best critical traditions of investigation, enquiry, interaction and dissemination. The course, for the most part, places emphasis on people as co-owners of their own learning, in terms of both self and collectively directed learning. It also focuses on critical engagement with some of the dominant mantras connected with adult education within the all embracing-area of lifelong education/learning.


Semester 1

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

ACA5064	Theoretical Foundations and Issues in Adult Education	5 ECTS
ACA5065	Research Methods in Adult Education	5 ECTS


Semester 2

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

ACA5066*	Dissertation	80 ECTS
*Work on the Dissertation is expected to start in the second semester (February 2025) of the Course and continue up to the end of the second semester (June 2027) of the second year of the Course.

This programme of study is governed by The General Regulations for University Postgraduate Awards, 2021 and by the Bye-Laws for the award of Master of Arts in Adult Education - M.A. - under the auspices of the Faculty of Education

By the end of the course, you will be knowledgeable on:

General knowledge of what is an amorphous area.
Gaining mastery of the main concepts related to adult education and lifelong learning.
Being well versed in and capable of engaging critically with the ever burgeoning international and gradually growing local literature on adult education.
Sharpening one’s critical acumen with respect to engagement with Adult Education research, policy and practice.
Understanding policy making in the field.

Gaining the ability to conceive adult education as a vehicle for social transformation rather than for cementing the status quo, all within the context of educating for greater social justice.

Be competent pedagogues in the field, fostering a participatory, dialogical culture of learning predicated on substance in terms of knowledge being explored and pedagogical coherence.

Acquiring initial skills of teaching/learning with adults being disposed to relearn what one thinks one knows through the interaction process involved.

Acquiring skills in the areas of curriculum development and project design in adult education.

Acquiring skills of devising projects that capture and build on the community’s imagination.

Acquiring skills of researching the community as a prerequisite to contributing to the development of community learning projects.

Understanding the labour market with a view to developing adult education/training interventions in the area.

Gaining knowledge of professions and their particular preoccupations and ‘ideologies’ with a view to engaging effectively in CPD.

Understanding and fostering processes of learning within the context of identities, movements and difference, including bio-difference.

Learning to articulate relevant concepts clearly and debate, in written and spoken form, relevant issues coherently and rigorously.

Non EU Applicants:

Total Tuition Fees: Eur 10,800
Yr 1: Eur 5,400 - Yr 2: Eur 5,400

You are viewing the fees for non EU nationals. Switch to EU nationals if you are a national of any country from within the EU/EEA.

Adult Education is an expanding field and has become more so, locally, as a result of Malta’s joining the EU which places lots of emphasis on lifelong learning, a term used interchangeably with the teaching and learning of adults. As a result, access to EU funding in adult education requires a greater preparation of people involved in the area, to provide a good service as well as acquire the right competitive edge to secure this funding. The EU LLL Memorandum and the Malta National LLL Strategy place emphasis on education that extends beyond schooling to involve a number of sites of practice such as training sites, prisons, the armed forces, community learning centres, museum education centres, work with and among migrants, community oriented learning in old and new literacies, further education and university continuing education and extension learning. State-sponsored adult education and training has increased exponentially in recent years and so has ngo-isation in adult learning, assisted in both cases by EU funding. These are areas in which well qualified adult educators can be engaged. There is a role for adult educators in developing schools as community learning centres, a recurring concept mentioned in a whole array of national education documents from 1998 till the present day. This concept involves 'after hours' learning among different members of the locality. Working in adult education in a variety of settings abroad in, for example, international development programmes or for institutions such as the OECD, UNESCO and the EU.

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