Anglia Ruskin University

ARU will allow you to pursue your academic interests, build on your strengths and amplify your future with a Masters degree. You’ll be taught, inspired and supported by leading industry experts through a postgraduate degree programme that will ultimately help you become an expert in your own right.

We offer more than 100 full-time and part-time postgraduate courses, as well as online study with our distance learning pathways. Our distance learning programmes are popular, more than 4,000 students in over 90 countries have studied online with us. We are perfectly positioned to make postgraduate study work for you with the help of our passionate, supportive teaching and business support staff – whether that is in-person or online.

Worldwide reputation

We’ve been named one of the top 40 universities in the UK and ranked in the top 350 in the world for the seventh year running in the Times Higher Education magazine’s Europe Teaching Rankings, which analyses students’ views on the quality of their teaching and learning facilities.

We’ve also been ranked 1st in the UK and 20th in the world for Health and Wellbeing in the 2022 THE Impact Rankings.

We received The Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2021 for its world-leading music therapy work – and in particular its research with people living with dementia, and their families.

Business and Law

By studying Business, you’ll cover all the areas that underpin a successful organisation, including HR, marketing, and finance. You’ll also look at current issues in the world of business, such as globalisation, sustainability and social change. There’s a Bloomberg Financial Markets Lab at both Cambridge and Chelmsford campuses, giving you access to portfolio management from day one.

If you choose Law, you’ll hone your legal knowledge and have the chance to work with qualified solicitors in our Law Clinics and practice your arguments in our mock court rooms. Whatever your course, you’ll benefit from our unique optional ARUCPD courses to enhance your employability and gain extra credit.

Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care (HEMS)

We’re the largest provider of health, social care and education courses in the East of England and are proud to train the doctors in Essex's first School of Medicine. Learn in facilities which mirror real-life clinical situations, and graduate with the skills o impact people's lives.

Science and Engineering

The Faculty of Science and Engineering in one of the largest at ARU. We're home to just over 6,000 students from all corners of the globe. We offer a range of courses across the area of Science and Engineering at postgraduate and research levels.

Our Faculty has invested a large amount of resources to ensure the very top tier quality of education is provided to our students, this includes everything from our experienced academic staff, cutting-edge facilities and accreditation partnerships.

Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS)

Our Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences nurtures creativity and critical thinking to educate, entertain, inspire, and understand people - as well as improving their lives. We’ve been pioneering this change since 1858 when the Cambridge School of Art was first established.

We’re a Faculty of firsts: first University in the UK to offer a Masters in Children’s Book Illustration now recognized as world-leading and the first University in the UK to launch a Masters in Music Therapy. Hundreds of our graduates have published thousands of books all over the world and we’ve trained hundreds of music therapists who practise world-wide. Our world-leading Music Therapy work won ARU The Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2021 for research with people living with dementia.

Future career prospects

From your first day at ARU, we'll support you to build the skills and abilities employers value in graduates. Our dedicated careers and employability service offers advice and guidance for students to amplify their career possibilities and stand out from the crowd, including careers advice, campus job fairs, workshops and employer visits, and help with your CV and job searches.

A growing number of our Masters degrees offer placements as an integral part of the course. These placements range from 12 weeks to 34 weeks. You'll be responsible for sourcing your own placement, but there'll be plenty of support and guidance on offer in your faculty.

English language support

Our Anglia Ruskin University Language Centre has been established for over 35 years and we've taught more than 15,000 students. We can help you to improve your academic English language skills, prepare for English examinations, and prove English language ability with tests. We’re here to support your academic success.

Our standard entry criteria for postgraduate courses is IELTS 6.5 or equivalent, with nothing lower than 5.5 in any of the four elements (listening, speaking, reading and writing). Some of our courses may have higher English language proficiency requirements.

Facilities and support arrangements

ARU Facilities

• £115m of investment in recent years
• Science Centre with SuperLabs and a 300-seat lecture theatre
• Essex’s first School of Medicine complete with specialist simulation rooms, mock hospital wards and the ARU Anatomy Centre
• University Eye Clinic and Law Clinics open to the public
• Bloomberg Financial Markets Lab to trade and invest virtual money with real-life data
• Specialist and industry-standard equipment for engineering, computing, sport, forensics, art, gaming, tv and film production and more
• Ruskin Gallery and theatre in Cambridge

ARU Support

• In-person and online consultations and services for health, wellbeing and money advice
• Employability teams to help with CV writing and securing part-time work, placements or internship opportunities
• Anglia Ruskin Enterprise Academy provides business and start-up support
• Free counselling and wellbeing services
• Study Skills Plus scheme (academic support) and Personal Development Tutors
• Learn a modern foreign language with your degree
• Study abroad support and funding available
• Students’ Union provide confidential, impartial advice and run events / volunteering

Fees, funding and costs

If you're an eligible postgraduate student, you can apply for a Master's Loan to cover your course fees and living costs.

You can borrow up to:

• £11,836 if your course starts on or after 1 August 2022
• £11,570 if your course started between 1 August 2021 and 31 July 2022
• £11,222 if your course started between 1 August 2020 and 31 July 2021

The amount you'll receive is not dependent on your or your family's income. If your course lasts for more than a year, the loan will be divided equally across each year of your course.

You won't start repaying your Masters Loan until you're earning more than £21,000 a year.

Please visit our postgraduate student finance page for more information.

Location

Cambridge, Chelmsford and Peterborough are all within 1 hour from London via train, meaning they are well connected to public transport for commuting students as well as offering new opportunities for work, leisure and anything else in-between. We work with the local communities and surrounding areas such as the NHS, city councils and research companies, to provide students the chance to gain work experience, internships and networking opportunities locally during their studies.

Accommodation

If you’re studying with us in Cambridge, you’ll have the option to live in halls or shared houses. Some of our halls are on campus, and our houses are within easy walking distance. Each hall or house is different, as are the social opportunities and surroundings.

Over on our Chelmsford campus, we have our Chelmsford Student Village. Because it’s right at the heart of campus, our Student Village is really close to all the University facilities. There are loads of high street shops, restaurants and cafes 15 minutes' walk away.

We allocate accommodation on a first come first served basis, so we recommend that you apply online as soon as you have firmly accepted a conditional or unconditional offer from us.

We have a specialist Tenancy Support Team who can help you find private rented accommodation and give you advice about any issues that could occur when you're renting.

Culture

We have 3 city-centre campuses in the East of England: Cambridge, Chelmsford and Peterborough. All are well connected, easily accessible and offer excellent learning environments for your Masters study. Each city has its own distinctive charm and atmosphere, with a variety of places to create new adventures. Some of the places you can explore in these cities include shops, restaurants, cafes, sport facilities, bars, museums, gyms, libraries, parks, leisure centres, ice rinks, clubs, and rivers! There really is something for everyone to enjoy and help balance out studies.

How to apply

ARU offers postgraduate courses with start dates in January, May and September – giving you flexibility to join throughout the year. Once we've received your application, it can take us up to four weeks to consider it, so we suggest applying at least a month before your preferred start date