phd in education melbourne

PhD (Education)

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Shape the future of education with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Education.

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RMIT considers you an international student if you are:

• intending to study on a student visa, or
• not a citizen or permanent resident of Australia, or
• not a New Zealand citizen, or
• not a a person seeking asylum who holds either a: Temporary Protection Visa (TPV), or Safe Haven Enterprise Visa (SHEV) or Bridging Visa E or Humanitarian Stay (Temporary) visa or Temporary Humanitarian Concern Visa.

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Research Training Scheme

See admissions

AU$31,680 (2024 annual)

Shape the future of education with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Education by promoting the interdependence of research, learning and change

RMIT’s Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Education cultivates high-level skills in research processes, communication, analysis and synthesis of knowledge in education.

Graduates of this doctorate degree will develop the skills required to conduct independent research.

Individually supervised research programs are available in:

• primary education
• secondary education
• early childhood education
• information and communication technology (ICT) and educational curriculum
• higher education
• discipline specific-areas – literacy, numeracy, science, arts and creative arts, social science, curriculum design and sustainability.

What you will gain through this program

Through undertaking an original, substantial and rigorous research project, you will contribute to the knowledge base in your chosen field.

You will develop a thesis or research project that makes a substantial and original contribution to an existing body of knowledge.

How you will learn

Research at rmit, time spent on research.

Full-time candidates are expected to commit at least four days per week (or at least two days per week for part-time candidates) to their research. The academic year is 48 weeks.

Regular contact with your supervisor

A schedule of meetings with your supervisor/s must be established to assess progress against milestones and timely completion.

Resources, facilities and support

You will have access to the Learning Hub and other online and digital resources through the myRMIT student portal.

You will be part of an active research community and have access to resources and workshops to help you succeed.

School of Graduate Research

The School of Graduate Research works with Schools to further support candidates during their postgraduate research degree.

RMIT University is committed to providing you with an education that strongly links formal learning with professional or vocational practice.

Learning outcomes

The knowledge and skills you will acquire throughout this degree and how they can be applied in your career are described in the  learning outcomes .

Electives and course plan

You will complete this program under academic supervision.

The PhD program is structured to enable you to:

• complete a compulsory research methods course
• receive training in research integrity and ethics
• select studies in qualitative and quantitative research techniques
• complete a thesis/project which demonstrates your original contribution to the field and your ability to communicate complex or original research for peers and the community to an international standard

You are required to complete:

Research Integrity modules

You are required to complete the online modules:

• Research integrity
• Copyright and intellectual property

Research methods for engineering and related disciplines

Research methods courses step you through the literature review and preparing your research proposal for confirmation of candidature. They are taught in large discipline groups.

You may need to complete an ethics module to ensure your research is ethical and responsible.

Research Techniques

You may elect to take (where relevant) electives in qualitative or quantitative research techniques once data collection has begun. You can use your own data to explore different research analysis techniques. Your supervisor will help you decide when you should take these electives.

Co-curricular activities

You are encouraged to participate in activities offered with the university, college and school according to your needs and interests.

This PhD may be undertaken in a project, thesis by publication or thesis mode. Prospective candidates should discuss these modes of submission with their potential supervisor/s.

Course structure

Choose a plan below to find out more about the subjects you will study and the course structure.

*The maximum duration of the PhD program is 4 years full-time and 8 years part-time. However, candidates are expected to complete their program within 3-4 years full-time equivalent and 6-8 years part-time equivalent.

*The maximum duration of the PhD program is 4 years full-time. However, candidates are expected to complete their program within 3-4 years full-time equivalent.

Note: International student visa holders can only study full-time.

This program equips you with a nationally and internationally recognised qualification. Graduates are employed in tertiary academic positions, research centres and institutes, and senior leadership and management positions in a variety of education environments.

You may also be employed in senior leadership and management positions in government, non-government organisations and corporations.

Minimum requirements for admission

Prerequisites, selection tasks.

The minimum requirements for admission to a PhD program are:

• a bachelor degree requiring at least four years of full-time study in a relevant discipline awarded with honours. The degree should include a research component comprised of a thesis, other research projects or research methodology courses that constitute at least 25% of a full-time academic year (or part-time equivalent). The applicant must have achieved at least a distinction average in the final year;  or
• a master degree that includes a research component comprised of at least 25% of a full-time academic year (or part-time equivalent) with an overall distinction average or a master degree without a research component with at least a high distinction average;  or
• evidence of appropriate academic qualifications and/or experience that satisfies the Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research Training and Development or nominee that the applicant has developed knowledge of the field of study or cognate field and the potential for research sufficient to undertake the proposed program.

At RMIT a grade of distinction represents academic achievement of 70% or higher and a high distinction is 80% or higher.

If you are a current master by research candidate, you are able to apply for a transfer to a doctor of philosophy program through the process prescribed in the  RMIT Higher Degree by Research policy .

These entrance requirements are the minimum academic standard you must meet in order to be eligible to apply for the program. You will need to complete a selection task as part of your application.

A selection process will be conducted in conjunction with the School and supervisors you nominate.

For further information on the steps you need to take to apply for a research program see  How to apply – Research programs .

English language requirements

Research proposal and supervisor.

You must attach a substantive research proposal that is 2 to 5 pages in length which articulates the intent, significance and originality of the proposed topic using the following headings:

a) title / topic b) research questions to be investigated in the context of existing research/literature in the area c) significance and impact of the research d) methodology / research tasks required to undertake the research e) particular needs (e.g. resources, facilities, fieldwork or equipment that are necessary for your proposed research program, if applicable).

Your application will not be considered if you have not discussed your research topic with a proposed senior and associate supervisor or joint senior supervisors. You must provide the names of the academic staff in the school you have applied to and with whom you have discussed your proposed research.

To study this course you will need to complete one of the following English proficiency tests:

• IELTS (Academic): minimum overall band of 6.5 (with no individual band below 6.0)
• TOEFL (Internet Based Test - IBT): minimum overall score of 79 (with minimum of 13 in Reading, 12 in Listening, 18 in Speaking and 21 in Writing)
• Pearson Test of English (Academic) (PTE (A)): minimum score of 58 (with no communication band less than 50)
• Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE): minimum of 176 with no less than 169 in any component.

For detailed information on English language requirements and other proficiency tests recognised by RMIT, visit  English language requirements and equivalency information .

Don't meet the English language test scores? Complete an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Advanced Plus Certificate at  RMIT English Worldwide .

You can gain entry to this program from a range of RMIT four year  Bachelor and Honours degrees  or  Postgraduate  or Masters by Research programs.

Fee summary

Fee information for masters by research and doctorate (PhD) programs.

If you are an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or New Zealand citizen you may be eligible for a Research Training Scheme (RTS) place where your tuition costs are funded by the Commonwealth Government under the RTS and you have full exemption from tuition fees.

Acceptance in an RTS place is very competitive and places are granted on the condition that you meet annual progress requirements and complete within the allotted time for your program and your status as a part-time or full-time candidate.

This means a maximum of 2 years for a full-time Masters by Research or 4 years for a PhD (or the equivalent part-time).

Contact the School of Graduate Research for more information.

The  student services and amenities fee (SSAF)  is used to maintain and enhance services and amenities that improve your experience as an RMIT student.

In addition to the SSAF there may be  other expenses  associated with your program.

Income tax deductions

Candidates may be eligible to apply for income tax deductions for education expenses linked to their employment. See the  Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website  for more information.

RMIT awards more than 2000 scholarships every year to recognise academic achievement and assist students from a variety of backgrounds.

The annual tuition fee for 2024 is AU$31,680.

The total indicative tuition fee for 2024 commencement is AU$132,480.

International applicants

• Fees information  for international candidates looking to study at RMIT's Melbourne campuses.
• PhD  and  masters by research  fees for international candidates studying offshore. 

Other costs

Important fee information.

Find out more details about  how fees are calculated  and the expected annual increase.

Applying for refunds

Find information on how to apply for a  refund  as a continuing international student.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Looking for answers or more general information.

Use our Frequently Asked Questions to learn about the application process and its equity access schemes, find out how to accept or defer your offer or request a leave of absence, discover information about your fees, refunds and scholarships, and explore the various student support and advocacy services, as well as how to find out more about your preferred program, and more.

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.

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• Your research options

Supplementary PhD Programs

Give yourself an edge. Join a multidisciplinary PhD Program to enrich your graduate research experience. These programs are supplementary learning opportunities in addition to your core PhD studies. They provide the chance to work with others who share a passion for discovering new knowledge in your area of interest.

We currently offer a wide range of multidisciplinary programs with the details below. Each has a different focus, such as mental health, cancer, or infection and immunity. The programs feature a series of activities to enhance your learning experience. You can attend masterclasses, workshops and seminars, delivered by experts in your field. You will keep up to date with research findings and breakthrough discoveries. And you may have opportunities for mentoring and internships.

When you join a PhD Program, you’ll connect with graduate researchers from other disciplines. And you’ll engage with relevant external organisations. By participating, you’ll broaden your networks and improve your career prospects.

Please note, these programs run in addition to your PhD research . If you are looking for information about possible topics for your core PhD research, please explore the breadth of PhD research themes available.

Why join a PhD Program?

By joining a PhD Program, you will set yourself up for success. You'll have extra support and opportunities throughout your research degree. This will enable you to:

• Access a breadth of expertise from across the University
• Consider your research from the perspective of other disciplines
• Place your research in a broader multidisciplinary context
• Build multidisciplinary networks that lead to postdoctoral pathways
• Develop professional skills to enhance your career prospects
• Improve your research and communication skills to become an accomplished graduate researcher.

Are you eligible?

• To take part, you must be enrolled in a PhD at the University of Melbourne. Your thesis topic must relate to the PhD Program theme.
• When you join a PhD Program, you will remain enrolled in your current department.
• You can join a PhD Program at any time during your candidature. You will remain part of the program until you complete your doctoral studies.

Explore the individual PhD Programs

The Biomedical Engineering Innovation PhD Program is a multidisciplinary research training initiative. It is a supplementary learning opportunity that enriches the graduate research experience.

The program brings together people who work on research related to biomedical engineering, including:

• PhD students, supervisors and alumni from across the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct
• Industry and clinical partners.

The program is facilitated by:

• The Graeme Clark Institute
• The Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Melbourne.

Find out more

The Child and Adolescent Health PhD Program complements your PhD studies. As a participant, you will join more than 200 graduate researchers at the Melbourne Children’s Campus . This campus is a fully integrated paediatric teaching hospital, University department and research institute. Our research streams include:

• Cell biology
• Clinical sciences
• Population health
• Infection and immunity.

We undertake multidisciplinary research in the following areas:

• Clinical trials
• Stem cell medicine
• Global health
• Life-course (longitudinal population) studies
• Health services research
• Digital health
• Data science.

The Comprehensive Cancer PhD Program provides specialist cancer research training and support for PhD candidates. It complements your core PhD activities.

The program provides a unique opportunity for PhD candidates researching cancer-related topics to work together. It attracts PhD candidates from a range of disciplines.

To be eligible, you must be enrolled as a PhD student in a partner organisation. Together, these organisations form the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) alliance . Through this program, you will experience clinical and research activities across the alliance.

Upon completion, you will be ready to conduct world-class cancer research. The program will also prepare you for a wide range of career options. It does this by broadening the scope of your research knowledge. And by providing professional development and career training programs.

The Interdisciplinary Graduate Research Program in Indigenous Settler Relations enhances the experience of Masters and PhD students by creating an enriching cohort experience. The program develops an intellectual community and facilitates opportunities for you to deepen your academic knowledge and skills.

The program is open to graduate researchers in any faculty. You must be undertaking graduate research related to Indigenous settler relations in Australia and the world.

As a participant, you will work with others who share a passion for discovering new knowledge about infection and immunity. In this program, you will:

• Learn from global leaders in infection and immunity
• Access high-calibre scientists and facilities
• Work in an environment where discovery research meets diagnosis and surveillance
• Work with experts in infectious diseases, epidemiology, genomics and more.

The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity delivers this PhD Program. The institute is a joint venture between the University of Melbourne and the Royal Melbourne Hospital. You may join this program if you are:

• A graduate researcher at the Doherty Institute
• Enrolled in a PhD at the University of Melbourne.

The Doherty Institute is home to high-quality discovery research. It has large diagnostic operations in virology and bacteriology. So, the institute can provide vast research training opportunities in many areas, including:

• Epidemiology
• Clinical and translational research
• Infectious diseases surveillance
• Outbreak investigations.

As a program participant, you will access first-class research training in your primary discipline. And you can supplement this with extra workshops, seminars and potential internships. Our key partners in biopharmaceutical-linked industries provide these extra training opportunities. These connections will assist with future employment opportunities, beyond the pure research environment.

When you join the Medical Biology PhD Program, you will work with others who share a passion for research related to medical biology.

You will learn more about:

• Medical biology
• Research management
• Commercialisation of research
• Clinical translation.

The Medical Biology PhD Program is delivered by the Department of Medical Biology at the University of Melbourne. When you join, you will undertake research training at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI).

When you join the Mental Health PhD Program, you’ll feel part of a community. You will work with others who share a passion for discovering new knowledge about mental health. All graduate students from the University of Melbourne working in a mental Health related field are welcome to join any time. We have graduate researchers from a wide range of disciplines spread across at least 15 schools or departments at the University of Melbourne, including:

• Epidemiology and community mental health
• History and philosophy of psychiatry
• Psychiatric nursing
• Social work
• Linguistics

This interdisciplinary PhD program offers PhD candidates in mental health a unified research training experience. It is a joint initiative of the following schools and departments:

• School of Psychological Sciences
• Melbourne School for Population and Global Health,  Centre for Mental Health
• Department of Psychiatry
• The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

The Migration, Statelessness and Refugee Studies PhD Program is delivered by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute at the University of Melbourne.

You will work with others who share a passion for discovering new knowledge in this area. You will engage with researchers from other disciplines across the University. And you will connect with relevant external organisations.

These connections will allow you to:

• Consider your research from the perspective of others
• Develop your research in reference to current real-world challenges
• Enhance your career prospects.

During the program, you will attend masterclasses, workshops and seminars. There will be a focus on ethics and research methods. And you will learn how to communicate your research to diverse audiences.

The Melbourne Neuroscience PhD Program brings together graduate researchers from across disciplines. These researchers share a passion for discovering knowledge in the area of neuroscience. When you join, you will access the best in neuroscience research from across the university.   This is a competitive program that complements your core PhD project. You will receive close mentoring from experts in the field of neuroscience. And you will benefit from a broad range of research initiatives.

The Melbourne Neuroscience PhD Program will help you to:

• Connect with other researchers from across the University
• Build relationships with relevant external organisations
• Develop your career path after graduation
• Consider your research topic from different perspectives
• Contribute to the discovery of new knowledge
• Expand your professional and personal networks
• Learn how to engage with industry.

All graduate students from the University of Melbourne working in a Neuroscience related field are welcome to join any time, even if it is not their primary discipline. We have graduate researchers from a wide range of disciplines spread over 20+ schools/departments at the University of Melbourne, including:

• Anatomy and Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering
• Medicine and Radiology
• School of Population and Global Health
• Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
• Royal Melbourne hospital

The Population and Global Health Graduate Research Program provides an engaging and practical skills-based training environment and cohort experience for graduate researchers.

The program enables you to maximise the value of your graduate research experience. It also helps you to make informed choices about your future career path.

It will focus on:

• Public health
• Health policy
• Epidemiology and biostatistics.

First published on 22 February 2022.

Keep reading

Where your research can take you.

Your degree will prepare you for an academic career in research, but it can also lead to roles in the private sector, small business, government or not-for-profit organisations.

Explore research areas

Discover your graduate research options at the University of Melbourne.

International PhD opportunities

Discover the fully funded Joint PhD opportunities that are currently available with universities and research institutions around the world.

Get in touch to learn more about collaborating with the University of Melbourne.

• Faculty of Education
• Social Transformation and Education Research Hub

Academic Staff

Professor Julie McLeod

Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Capability) University of Melbourne; Professor, Curriculum, Equity and Social Change, Melbourne Graduate School of Education.

Julie McLeod is Professor in Curriculum, Equity and Social Change at the Faculty of Education and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Capability) at The University of Melbourne.

Julie researches in the history and sociology of education, with a focus on youth, gender and social change. She was an editor of the journal Gender and Education (2011-2016). She held an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (2012-2016) and is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences Australia.

Associate Professor Jessica Gerrard

Associate Professor

Jessica Gerrard researches the changing formations, and lived experiences, of social inequalities in relation to education, activism, work and unemployment. She works across the disciplines of sociology, history and policy studies with an interest in critical methodologies and theories.

Across her work, Jessica is interested in theorising the changing formations of ‘the public’, including its multiple and exclusionary forms. In the context of the so-called populist moment, a current interest is the social and institutional production of knowledge, authority and expertise, and the relationship of this to social inequalities. She has written two monographs- Precarious Enterprise on the Margins: Work, Poverty and Homelessness in the City (2017, Palgrave, Macmillan) and Radical Childhoods: Schooling and the Struggle for Social Change (2014, University of Manchester Press). She is currently Assistant Dean (Diversity & Inclusion) and the Faculty of Education. She is also Associate Editor for Critical Studies in Education and Editor of the Local/Global Issues in Education Routledge book series.

Jessica holds two Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Projects. First, she is co-leading an investigation of the shifting practices of public schooling, school governance and parental citizenship in disadvantaged contexts (with Glenn Savage). Second, she is researching community activism and education policy reform across Australia in the 1970s and 1980s (with Helen Proctor and Sue Goodwin).

Previously, Jessica was a McKenzie Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne (2012-2015)

Dr. Ligia (Licho) López López

Senior lecturer

Ligia (Licho) López López is Caribbean, Queer, and of Abiayala. She lives as an uninvited person on Wurundjeri-Woiwurung Country. Licho’s scholarship moves through the geographies of continental Africa, Europe, the US, and Australia and is located at the intersection of curriculum studies, Indigenous and Black studies in education, and Afrodiasporas and youth studies in the digital. She is the author of The making of Indigeneity, curriculum history, and the limits of diversity (Routledge, 2018), and Indigenous futures and learnings taking place (with Gioconda Coello. Routledge, 2021) and Interrogating the relations between migration and education in the South: Migrating Americas (with Ivón Cepeda-Mayorga and María Emilia Tijoux, Routledge, 2022). Her work has also appeared in the The British Journal of Sociology, Race ethnicity and Education, and the Curriculum Inquiry among others.

Licho's current research, drawing from the histories of dispossession and Black and Brown rising, interrogates what the notion of what diversity does in the social world (diverse from what?). She investigates Bla(c)k and Brown youth affect as curricular trans-formation. At the moment she is playing with propositions drawing from global histories of maroonage as Black future making in the 21st century, and Afrodiasporic youth Black geographical formations in the digital space of Tik Tok and Instagram.

Associate Professor John Quay

Associate Professor in Physical Education

My research and teaching interests include outdoor education, environmental education, physical education, curriculum theory and philosophy of education. In this way I connect educational practice and theory. My focus is chiefly on existential understanding that draws humanist and post-humanist perspective together. I am an editor-in-chief for the Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education and an editorial executive member of Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical Education. My current leadership role in the Faculty of Education is as Associate Dean Learning and Teaching.

The best expression of my research projects is through my publications, visible through online profiles.

Dr Peter Woelert

Senior Lecturer

My research focuses on exploring governance and organizational dynamics in the contemporary university, under consideration of macro-level higher education policy trends and settings. I have researched and published on issues such as universities’ responses to national policy and funding changes, the politics of performance measurement, universities’ organizational autonomy, and the unintended effects of large-scale policy and governance reform on institutional diversity. More recently I have developed a growing research interest in novel forms and dynamics of bureaucratization within universities.

In addition to my role of Senior Lecturer I am responsible for the Faculty of Education's graduate research (GR) coursework programs in my role of GR coordinator.

Research projects

The 'new' bureaucracy at universities: Processes, technologies, and practices. MGSE Research Development Award (2019-2020).

Performance-based governance in Australian universities: A case of ‘coercive’ isomorphism? University of Melbourne Early Career Researcher Award (2015-2017).

Postdoctoral Research Fellow on Knowledge building in schooling and higher education: Policy strategies and effects, ARC Discovery grant (DP110102466, CI: Prof. L. Yates) (2011-2014).

Dr Sophie Rudolph

Senior Lecturer in Education/DECRA Fellow

My research is interested in the central problem of settler colonial racial domination in Australian contexts in which First Nations people have never ceded sovereignty, and its connection to global European colonialism and capitalism. Through historical and sociological work I examine the impact and dynamics of racial domination on education and the possibilities for education to address racism and achieve racial justice. As a non-Indigenous, white, settler scholar I attempt to engage critically with these issues of power and inequality even as I work within settler colonial institutions and am implicated by settler racial dominance. My PhD research investigated Indigenous education policy, its historical echoes and its political effects. My current project examines the history and contemporary effects of school discipline.

I am not currently teaching but have had involvement in sociology of education, Indigenous education and research methodology subjects.

DECRA project: Examining the social, historical and political effects of school discipline.

Dr Aristidis (Harry) Galatis

Lecturer in Teacher Education

After completing a PhD in Philosophy (on moral logic) and a Graduate Diploma in Education, both from the University of Melbourne, my teaching and research interests have converged on philosophical community of inquiry (CPI) practices, Philosophy for/with Children programs and the recent introduction in the Australian and Victorian curriculums of the Capabilities (and which include Ethical, Critical and Creative Thinking, Intercultural and Personal and Social capabilities).

I have a particular interest in the identification, development, implementation and assessment of  the intellectual values that sit within Critical and Creative Thinking, like questioning and perspective-taking competency. I teach into a range of philosophy of education-focused subjects and have previously coordinated the University’s Master of Education (International Baccalaureate) Primary Years Program, the Master of Teaching (Primary) and the Master of Teaching (Early Childhood and Primary) initial teacher training programs. I currently coordinate the Master of Teaching (Secondary) course and am on the Executive Committee of the Victorian Association of Philosophy in Schools (VAPS).

I am a current member of the Executive Committee of the Victorian Association for Philosophy in Schools (VAPS), and Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority’s [VCAA’s] Critical and Creative Thinking Assessment Panelist.

VCAA Assessment Content Development Panel – Assessment Research Centre (ARC)

Assessment for Graduate Teachers (AfGT) Implementation & Improvement Committee 2021

Dr Chris McCaw

Lecturer in Education

Dr McCaw’s research focuses on the lives and work of teachers under conditions of social, technological and political change, drawing from resources in philosophy and social theory. His research interests include the nature of teaching and teacher professionalism, reflective and reflexive practice, the purposes of education, post-secularism in education, and questions of self, identity and agency. He has a specific interest in the integration of contemplative practices, such as mindfulness and yoga, into educational discourses and practices. Drawing from phenomenology, theories of social practice and contemplative philosophies, his doctoral work examined the role of contemplative practices in the lives and work of beginning teachers. Dr McCaw’s current research project explores the implications of ‘post-truth’ conditions for education, through the lenses of epistemic cognition and epistemic reflexivity. He conducts both qualitative, empirical studies as well as theoretical inquiries into the foundations of teaching and education. Chris has a background in secondary teaching, specialising in inquiry learning in the sciences, humanities and philosophy.

Dr McCaw teaches extensively into both coursework and professional practice aspects of the Master of Teaching program.

Educators, epistemic cognition and post-truth conditions (2021)

Contemplative practitioners, becoming-teachers (2015-2020)

Professor Marcia McKenzie

Professor Of Global Studies & International Education

Marcia McKenzie is Professor in Global Studies and International Education in the Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne. Her research includes both theoretical and applied components at the intersections of comparative and international education, global education policy research, and climate and sustainability education, including in relation to policy mobility, place and land, affect, and other areas of social and geographic study.

She is Director of the $4.5M  Monitoring and Evaluating Climate Communication and Education (MECCE) Project and the  Sustainability and Education Policy Network  (SEPN), and is an inducted member of the  Royal Society of Canada’s  College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists. She is co-author of  Place in Research: Theory, Methodology, and Methods  (Routledge, 2015) and  Critical Education and Sociomaterial Practice: Narration, Place, and the Social (Peter Lang, 2016), and co-editor of  Land Education: Rethinking Pedagogies of Place from Indigenous, Postcolonial, and Decolonizing Perspectives (Routledge, 2016) and  Fields of Green: Restorying Culture, Environment, and Education (Hampton, 2009); and co-edits the Palgrave book series  Studies in Education and the Environment.  She has recently authored or co-authored three global UNESCO reports, including  ‘Country progress on climate change education: A review of national submissions to the UNFCCC,’ and  ‘ESD and GCED up close: Cognitive, social and emotional and behavioral learning in Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship Education from pre-primary to secondary education,’  and  ‘Learn for our planet: A global review of how environmental issues are integrated in education.’

Dr Maree Martinussen

McKenzie Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Maree is a McKenzie Postdoctoral fellow working across sociology, identities studies, affect and emotion and critical studies of higher education. Her interests include diversity and inclusion and in/equities in higher education, particularly relating to social class and intersections with other gendered and racialised identities.

Maree is a co-ordinator of the Affect and Emotions Research Network and is an Associate Board member for Sociological Research Online.

Maree’s main research project investigates how social class identities are constructed by women enrolled in postgraduate studies, and their effects on student experience.

Dr Dianne Mulcahy

Senior lecturer in Education

A Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Education, Dianne’s research and teaching interests concern pedagogy, education policy and materialist methodological approaches to research. Issues of difference, disadvantage and in/exclusions are at the heart of these interests and studied chiefly using the conceptual resources of affect and critical materialist theories. In the recent past, Dianne’s research has centred on pedagogic practice in learning environments within schools and museums. Presently, she is researching aspects of the ethics and politics of affect and their implications for pedagogy and professional practice. She is also undertaking research on citizenship and citizen subjectivity that takes the capacities of human and non-human entities such as climate and the environment into account, towards reconsideration of citizenship curriculum and normative approaches to citizenship education. Dianne publishes widely and reviews for leading education journals including Educational Philosophy and Theory, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, and Pedagogy, Culture & Society. Her recent scholarly works include: “Enacting affirmative ethics in education: A materialist/posthumanist framing”, “Pedagogic affect and its politics: Learning to affect and be affected in education” and “A politics of affect: Re/assembling relations of class and race at the museum”.

Affective encounters: Teaching and learning for schools and communities through museums and collections

Pedagogic practices in new generation learning environments in Victorian government schools

Strengthening standards of teaching through linking standards and teacher learning: The development of professional standards for teaching school geography

Dr Melitta Hogarth

Assistant Dean (Indigenous), Senior Research Fellow

Melitta Hogarth is a Kamilaroi woman who is the Assistant Dean (Indigenous) and a Senior Research Fellow whose research interests are in education, equity and social justice.  Her PhD titled “Addressing the rights of Indigenous peoples in education: A critical analysis of Indigenous education policy” was awarded the Ray Debus Doctoral Award for Research.

Dr Nicky Dulfer

Senior Lecturer in Education Policy, Academic Co-ordinator: Master of International Education: International Baccalaureate

Nicky Dulfer is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne who has over a decade’s experience undertaking research within the field of education. Her research covers several areas of expertise but the underpinning thread to all her research is access, equity, and inclusion. Since moving into an academic career, Nicky has published approximately 30 articles, reports and conference papers.  Her past research projects include both quantitative and qualitative studies which connect to three key themes. The first theme, post-compulsory educational provision has included research investigating high stakes assessment, post-compulsory educational provision, school based apprenticeships and careers education. The second theme of equity has involved research in low and high socio-economic classrooms looking at retention and engagement strategies, funding models and equity practices. The final strand of Nicky’s research focuses on pedagogy, and has comprised examining pedagogical practices, teacher efficacy, differentiation, engagement and retention in a range of secondary schools. Nicky’s current research focusses on differentiated instruction, professional learning communities, online learning, observation models, and approaches to classroom questioning.

Understanding Digital Inequality, Melbourne Social Equity Institute (MSEI)

Differentiation in Action in Diverse Environments, Victorian Department of Education and Training (VDET)

Teaching Academies of Professional Practice, (VDET)

Different Countries, different approaches to teaching and learning, Jeff Thompson Research Award (IBO)

Dr Rhonda Di Biase

Rhonda is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Education. She has a background in school teaching in Melbourne and internationally across Asia.  Previously she worked at the Maldives National University through a post-tsunami aid project promoting learner-centred education. In 2014 undertook an Endeavour Executive Fellowship promoting local research in the Maldives. Drawing on these experiences her research interests include: pedagogical renewal focusing on active learning reform and education for sustainable development; teachers’ professional learning; and education reform with a particular interest in the needs of small island states.

International research projects

Quality Education: initiatives to improve teaching and learning in low and middle-income countries (Philanthropic funding, 2021)

Investigating sustainable education reform in a Small Island Developing State (MGSE Early Career Researcher Grant, 2017)

Promoting Education for Sustainable Development in the Maldives (Special Study Program - Short, 2019)

Locally based research projects

A study of the effectiveness of a University of Melbourne summer school outreach program (Researcher Development Award, 2021)

Investigating how international students’ conceptions of teaching and learning develop through a Master of Teaching program (MGSE Seed Funding grant, 2017)

Dr John Doolah

Lecturer in Indigenous Education

Maiem (hello), I am a Torres Strait Islander of Erubam le (Erub person) and Meriam le (Mer person) heritage. I belong to the sager people of Mer. My Mer nosik (clan) division, is Samsep-Meriam.

My teaching background is in course development, course coordination and lecturing local, national, and international students in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies courses. In my current position at the University of the Faculty of Education I lecture and coordinate Indigenous Education undergraduate and the Master of Teaching First Nations Education courses.

My overall research interest is in the impact of colonisation on Indigenous Australians. I have researched the migration of Torres Strait Islanders from Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait) to Keo Deudai (mainland Australia), with the application of the Indigenous research paradigm, ‘consisting of Indigenous ontology, epistemology, methodology, and axiology’. My PhD thesis is titled: “Stories behind the Torres Strait Islander Migration Myth: the journey of the sap/bethey.” The sap/bethey (driftwood) is one of my lubabat (totem). I am in the insider researcher position, taking on the characteristics of the sap/bethey, I am a traveller. The story of the sap/bethey is about travelling away from home (Zenadth Kes) to the land of the ‘Ladaigal’ (Aboriginal) people.

Dr Bonita Marie Cabiles

Bonita Cabiles is a lecturer at the Faculty of Education. Her research has focused on schooling, specifically in the primary setting, looking at curriculum and pedagogy by engaging with historical and sociological perspectives. She has engaged with Bourdieusian sociology and qualitative research approaches in her more recent work. She is interested in exploring educational practices, as well as the practice of educational research, to examine issues of disadvantage and social justice. Her work endeavours to attend to the intersections of theory, methodology, and practice to understand how issues of inclusion, participation, and diversity manifest and are addressed in schooling.

Bonita’s doctoral thesis examined the dynamics around student participation in the context of cultural and linguistic diversity. Her thesis entitled, ‘Participation and cultural and linguistic diversity: An in-depth qualitative inquiry of an Australian primary classroom’ was awarded the Penny McKay Award for most outstanding thesis.

Bonita teaches in the Master of Teaching and Master of Education programs. She coordinates the subject, Diverse and Inclusive Classrooms (DIC) for the primary, and early childhood and primary student cohorts. She is also coordinating the Engaging and Assessing Learners 1 (E&AL1) subject for the primary cohort.

Prior to joining academia, Bonita worked as a teacher and development worker. She has taught in her home country, the Philippines, and in Indonesia. Working in/with non-governmental organisations, she has contributed to educational assistance and curriculum reform projects for under-resourced and minoritised communities in the Philippines.

Personalise your experience

Graduate Coursework

Master of Education

• Arrow-right #1 in Education in Australia
• Arrow-right #12 in Education globally
• Course code:   MC-ED

Course structure

Over the course of the degree, you will develop a strong foundation in education theory whilst being given the tools to apply these learnings in a practical way. This focus on real-world application will assist with progression in your role or promotion to positions of leadership and management in the education field.

Taught by internationally-recognised researchers and education leaders, through the course you will connect with the latest developments and research in the field, and gain the expertise to move beyond the classroom to explore system-level issues and challenges.

Study Structure

The flexible structure of the Master of Education, with a range of electives and specialisations, will allow you to qualify in your particular area of interest. Entry points to the course are in both semester 1 and 2, designed to suit most schedules. There are different offerings which you can take to complete the Master of Education, depending on your professional experience. For flexibility around professional or family commitments, we also offer the Master of Education on a part-time or full-time basis.

Standard program:

• This is the standard offering for those without a teaching qualification or experience
• 200 points of coursework
• Year 1: 4 x compulsory subjects and 4 x specialisation subjects/electives. Students must complete the 4 compulsory subjects first in semester 1, before their specialisation subjects or electives
• Year 2: 6 x electives/specialisation subjects and 1 x capstone professional project subject
• Students in the full program may choose to complete up to two specialisations.

Fast-track program:

• Students who hold a four-year education degree (or equivalent) or an undergraduate degree in any discipline and at least 100 credit points (or equivalent) of graduate study in education can apply for this fast-tracked version of the course
• 100 points of coursework with advanced standing
• Year 2: 6 x electives/specialisation subjects and 1 x capstone professional project subject.

To specialise in a particular area, you must successfully complete each of the four specialisation subjects. However, if you wish to complete a general Master of Education without a specialisation, you may choose subjects from across the range of elective and specialisation subjects.

Research pathway:

• This pathway is designed for students intending to pursue graduate research, such as a PhD.
• Students in the 200-point program must achieve an average of at least H2A (75%) in the first 125 points of the course;
• Students in the 100-point program must achieve an average of at least H2A (75%) in their first 50 points of their course.

Specialisation options

Create the course your career needs with our Master of Education specialisation areas. Our eight specialisations and over 50 extra electives give you the ability to build a flexible course around your own interests, helping further your teaching practice. Whether you want to choose just one, or multiple specialisations, be in control of building a course that will give you the knowledge to accelerate your career in education.

Arts Education

Designed for creative practitioners and arts education professionals, it’s also relevant for arts education specialists, generalist teachers, artists, community educators and other practitioners who work with children and young people. Through engaging in critical inquiry into arts-based engagement, learning, pedagogy and practice, you’ll gain the knowledge and skills to play a leading role in fostering creativity.

Assessment and Pedagogy

For classroom teachers and educators in a variety of learning environments such as schools, universities, vocational education, hospitals or other workplaces. Employing the latest research, and with a focus on collaboration and engagement, you’ll learn how to maximise student engagement, strengthen your skills as a practitioner, and become a leader in designing learning, assessment and related pedagogy.

Equity, Diversity and Social Change

Harness your passion to effect social change and foster equity and diversity in schools and other educational settings. Broaden and enhance your own practice by deepening your understanding of key concerns in contemporary policy and practice.

Leadership and Management

Designed for educators working in a range of educational settings in government and non-government sectors, VET and tertiary sectors, and workplace training contexts who are seeking to advance into leadership positions. Access practical knowledge, conceptual frameworks, and state-of-the-art research with a global perspective to help you grow into an effective and sought-after leader.

Literacy Education

For those wanting to learn more about literacy or interested in influencing literacy development. Equip yourself to lead schools and students in all facets of literacy development, from early years to adulthood, and gain contemporary in-depth knowledge of literacy policy, theory and curriculum.

Mathematics and Science Education

Whether you are a teacher, education leader, policy maker, educator or someone who engages with mathematics or science at work, equip yourself with research-informed knowledge, practical skills, and insight to empower your professional practice. Develop the understanding, skills and confidence to lead science, mathematics and numeracy learning and learn innovative approaches to teaching and communicating these subjects in ways that lift engagement and performance.

Policy in a Global Context

For a wide range of education professionals, in particular teachers or educators looking to move into education policy roles and school leaders seeking to better understand education policy and reform, plus those working in government or NGOs in policy roles. Delve into education policy in a global context and get an understanding of domestic educational policy and its relationships with education systems from around the world.

Student Wellbeing

Suited to teachers and other school staff who wish to deepen their knowledge of student wellbeing, as well as those working in or interested in student wellbeing roles. Develop your capacity to contribute engaging school communities that promote the wellbeing of all students and support their academic progress and personal development.

How will I study?

The Master of Education has been designed around the lives of working professionals. The delivery mode of our course is face-to-face classes on the Parkville campus, running evenings and weekends.

University Handbook: Master of Education

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