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Institute of Continuing Education (ICE)

Alert:

This course is not open for online applications. If you would like to enquire about this course please do so using the 'Ask a question' button.

Applications for this academic year have now closed and we are not accepting any late applications. We hope that you will consider applying to next year's cohort, which will start in September 2024. Please keep an eye on our website for applications to open around September this year.

The Master of Studies (MSt) in Coaching has been designed to address a gap in the market for experienced coach practitioners who wish to deepen their knowledge and understanding of evidence-based psychological models of coaching praxis, with academic modules in neuroscience, practical philosophy, systems theory and emerging trends in research – suitable for coaching in a range of contexts.

The programme is aimed at coach practitioners who have at least 3 years’ demonstrable coaching experience in their chosen domain.

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Teaching & Assessment

We plan to deliver our postgraduate and MSt qualifications in-person in the academic year 2023-24. Please note that this will be reviewed in line with the latest public health guidance available at the time. If required, to ensure the health and safety of students, we may look to utilise alternative teaching formats and will contact students if we expect changes to the course delivery.

Teaching

The taught units are as follows:

Psychological Coaching  

This unit sets out the landscape for the course that advocates a psychological mindedness approach to coaching, irrespective of the coaching context in which students operate.

Practical Philosophy for Coaching

This pivotal unit provides students with the opportunity to reflect on and contemplate their coaching practice through a philosophical lens. The aim of the unit is to not only provide insight and clarity on what has been studied so far but to also provoke healthy challenge and debate to students’ understanding of the coaching landscape.

Evidenced-Based Coaching

This unit moves students’ thinking and attention from pure psychologically based models to those that are more evidenced based. The unit intention is to help students to develop the competence to challenge that evidence base critically and rigorously.

Neuroscience and Coaching 

This unit builds on the previous units and helps to strengthen students’ competence in critical and analytical thinking as more scientific evidence is presented to them about coaching related issues in the context of the emerging interest and understanding of brain research.

Coaching in Systems

This unit develops the idea that coaching does not happen in isolation and argues for coaches to take a systemic approach to coaching that ultimately yields greater benefits to all those potentially affected by the outcomes of the coaching process.

Emerging Trends in Coaching

This unit builds on the learning gained from Evidence Based Coaching and can be considered a synthesis of the content of all the units studied so far. The actual content of this unit is informed by contemporary and emerging research studies.

Dissertation - Research Methods: Theory and Practice

This unit consists of 3-days Research Methods taught provision with additional online support followed by the Dissertation plus supervision.

Provisional residential dates

Students are expected to attend in-person teaching sessions in Cambridge. Please note, the following dates are provisional:

  • 4-8 September 2023
  • 8-12 January 2024
  • 22-26 April 2024
  • 2-5 September 2024
  • 9-12 December 2024
  • 31 March-3 April 2025

Assessment

All units on the course use summative assessment approaches designed to ensure experiential learning and work-based real-life relevance. Approaches may include, but are not limited to: short answer questions, essays, evaluative studies of problem-based scenarios, group presentations, critical analysis of literature and case studies, research proposals and research dissertations. All unit assessments are the equivalent of a 3000-4000 essay.

The dissertation examination shall include a research project of 12,000 (+/- 10%) words.

Course dates

04 Sep 2023 to 31 Aug 2025

Course duration

2 Years

Apply by

31 Mar 2023

Course fee

Home: £17,000
Overseas: £29,750

Course director

Venue

Various locations
Cambridge
United Kingdom

Qualifications / Credits

180 credits at Master of Studies

Course code

EDM17