Higher Education Studies Programmes

Are you looking to build on your understanding of teaching and learning in higher education, given the challenges of transformation and decolonisation of the curriculum in current times? Are you feeling challenged by the changes you feel you have to make but not sure how to go about it? Do you want to engage more deeply in the theory and practice of teaching, conducting research or advancing your own knowledge of educational practice in higher education?

You may want to consider one of the Higher Education Studies (HES) programmes at the University of Cape Town. The Higher Education Studies (HES) suite of courses has as its aim the professionalising of teaching and learning practice in higher education. Courses are offered to equip academics to improve as educators in a rapidly changing higher education environment. These can be taken as stand-alone courses or can accrue towards a postgraduate qualification. These courses are seen as an important contribution to the professional development of academics who seek the opportunity to critically examine their practice in the context of transition and change.

We offer a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip by coursework only) and a Masters by coursework and/or dissertation only. Classes take place in the afternoon once a week to accommodate working students. The programmes will be offered in hyflex mode in 2025. This means that students based in Cape Town participate face-to-face. Students from outside Cape Town can request permission to join online from the programme convenor.

Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education Studies

The Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education Studies (PGDip HES) aims to support lecturers in higher education in professionalising their teaching practice. Courses are offered to equip academics to improve as educators in a rapidly changing higher education environment. These can be taken as stand-alone courses or can accrue towards a postgraduate qualification. These courses are seen as an important contribution to the professional development of academics who seek the opportunity to critically examine their practice in the context of transition and change. 

Applicants are required to have experience teaching in a higher education context and should preferably be teaching while undertaking the programme. Because of this workload, students are advised to take the PGDip HES over two years. The programme is made up of three core courses and one elective course. Students are recommended to take EDN4504F (Learning and Teaching in Higher Education) and EDN4505S (Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education) in Year 1; and EDN4510F (Higher Education Curriculum & Course Design) and an elective in Year 2. For more information on the courses download the course brochure.

For more information contact Avrill Dawson, as programme administrator at avrill.dawson@uct.ac.za,  or Dr Tabisa Mayisela, the programme convenor at Tabisa.Mayisela@uct.ac.za 

Masters in Higher Education Studies

Like the Post Graduate Diploma in Higher Education Studies, the Masters is an opportunity to take your understanding of teaching and learning in Higher Education to an advanced level. The courses in the Masters are designed to offer an in-depth perspective on issues that constitute academic practices – for example, disciplinary knowledge, curriculum, assessment, or academic literacies. These issues are approached from a range of theoretical perspectives borrowed from the sociology of education. In addition to theory, the other focus of the coursework is to introduce you to methodological considerations for doing research in higher education studies. Through these courses, you will be prepared to do systematic research at a Masters level in the form of a minor dissertation. The programme requires an engagement with teaching and learning practices, your own or others, through discussion and the assignments, which necessitates previous teaching experience in higher education.

For the Masters Programme, applicants need to have completed a PGDip or Honours level programme that included a research project (NQF level 8).  Applicants need to have achieved at least 65% average for the PGDip/Honours. Experience in teaching in Higher Education is required for the programme. The Masters Programme consists of three core, one elective module, and a Minor Dissertation. Minimum period of study for the Masters is two years. However, as most students work full time, we suggest students take three years (taking two years for course work and one year for the mini dissertation). 

Recommended programme structure: 

Year 1: 

Semester 1: EDN4505 Learning and Teaching in Higher Education* or any other 30-credit elective on level 4 or 5 in the School of Education

Semester 2: EDN5514S Knowledge and Curriculum in Higher Education

Year 2: 

Semester 1: EDN5511F: Researching Higher Education

Semester 2: EDN5501F/S Advanced Research Design 

Year 3: EDN5500W Mini dissertation

*The EDN4504F Learning and Teaching in Higher Education course is the foundation and core course for both the PGDip and Masters programmes. It also serves as a course of choice for university teachers who take it for non-degree purposes. Students coming from non-cognate disciplines are required to select EDN4504F as an elective if they have not completed this course in a prior qualification. For more information on the courses download the course brochure.

For more information about the Masters programme, please contact Mrs Avrill Dawson at avrill.dawson@uct.ac.za or Assoc Prof Daniela Gachago at daniela.gachago@uct.ac.za; Programme Convenor.