


This degree equips you to tackle the challenges of Special Educational Needs, Disability, and Inclusion (SENDI), preparing you for a career in education, advocacy, policy, or support services.
The Special Educational Needs, Disability, and Inclusion (SENDI) course explores exclusion, discrimination, and barriers to learning by reshaping cultures, policies, and practices. You will examine neurodiversity and the voices of children, young people, and adults with SEND, challenging stereotypes, interrogating inequalities, and co-producing asset-based approaches that value diversity.
Engage with local, national, and global SEND communities through research, teaching, and placements. Develop key skills in participatory practices, equipping you to make a real difference in shaping policy, research, and practice in the SEND field.
About this course
This forward-thinking degree challenges exclusion, discrimination, and barriers to learning, empowering you to create a fairer, more inclusive society. Rooted in equity and diversity, it equips you with the skills to interrogate inequalities, rethink policies and practices, and advocate for meaningful change.
Explore key topics such as neurodiversity, institutional inequality, and participatory approaches that amplify the voices of people with SEND. You’ll challenge stereotypes, co-produce asset-based solutions, and develop inclusive practices that celebrate diversity and recognise strengths.
Practical placements each year—locally or abroad—offer hands-on experience in SEND schools, charities, and advocacy organisations. These placements help you apply theory to practice, gaining first-hand experience working with children, young people, and adults with SEND.
To enhance your expertise, you can gain additional qualifications such as Forest School, and play-based therapies like Lego therapy—highly valued skills that will strengthen your ability to support individuals with SEND.
Guided by expert academics and enriched by Hull’s strong SEND networks, you’ll benefit from high-quality teaching, innovative research, and global collaborations. With a blend of theory, practice, and participatory approaches, this degree prepares you to lead change and drive inclusion at every level.
Could you teach us a thing or two?
Module options
Each year, you’ll study modules worth a certain number of credits, and you need 120 credits per year. Most modules are 20 credits – so you’ll study six modules each year. Some longer modules, such as a dissertation, are worth more. In these cases, you’ll study fewer modules - but the number of credits will always add up to 120. Some modules are compulsory, some are optional, so you can build a course that’s right for you.
0 filters selected
Education, Power and Knowledge
Education is at the forefront of social change for social justice. This module offers you the opportunity to make a difference, through Education, from the beginning of your studies. As agents of educational change, you will undertake a collaborative project which focuses on the issues you are passionate about alongside fellow students and academics. You will examine how mainstream education has been shaped through agendas of power that reproduce social inequalities. This module then introduces you to existing alternative approaches to education and to the direct action of educators and learners which come from those approaches. Alternative approaches to education can act as driver of change to challenge poverty, inequality, and sustainable community development at local, national, and global contexts.
compulsory
20 credits
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
This engaging module provides foundation knowledge and skills that will enable you to develop understanding and analysis of social inequalities and the nature of discrimination in contemporary society. There will be opportunities to explore key equality legislation and policy. The module will explore the ethical and political rationale for developing equitable, diverse, and inclusive practices as part of an agenda for social justice and social change.
compulsory
20 credits
Learning Across the Lifespan
This module explores a diverse range of theories of human development and learning. Using real world examples, you will be encouraged to apply a combination of theories to understand, consider and reflect upon appropriate courses of action to address issues found across a range: of relevant settings and contexts.
compulsory
20 credits
Ethical Dilemmas and the Moral Maze
Dealing with real-world, ethical, or moral dilemmas is both challenging and pertinent to all areas of lived experience and professional, practice. The module will introduce you to a range of theoretical models and provide opportunities to explore these in relation to real world ethical dilemmas drawn from professional practice contexts.
compulsory
20 credits
Social Justice and Social Change
Social Justice and Social Change offers an exciting opportunity for you to make a difference from the outset of your studies. You will work collaboratively to co-produce the big social justice questions. Why are so many children still living in poverty in the UK? Why does inequality still exist? Why do so many young people leave school without being able to read and write? What will good work look like in 2030. How is social media affecting ideas about education? What is your vision for the type of society you want to live in? With these big questions in mind, you will become familiar with innovative, creative projects and initiatives that work with children, young people, and communities, locally, regionally, nationally and globally. The module provides field work visits and placement alongside teaching and learning.
compulsory
40 credits
Professional Practice Placement
You will have the opportunity to make a difference to the lives of people and communities through an extended placement within your chosen field, either in the UK or abroad. The placement will support you to become increasingly confident, and able to drive your own professional development. We have exciting placement opportunities in various contexts that will introduce you to a range of innovative ways you can work with and alongside SEND organisations, practitioners, children, young people, and families which have impact in their lives.
compulsory
40 credits
Managing Self in Contemporary Practice Contexts
This module will provide opportunities to understand how organisations work in contemporary society and will consider different approaches to leadership. The module will encourage you to explore your own approach to leading and managing in the 21st century and introduce you to a range of graduate futures across all organisation types including for example schools, charities, health services or your own enterprise business. The module will encourage you to think about leadership in new ways as well as understanding the challenges facing organisations in developing ethical and socially just practices and services. You will acquire a range of skills and develop your knowledge to help you make a difference through activities such as knowing where to source funding and write a funding bid to evidence good practice.
compulsory
20 credits
Creatively and Critically Exploring Neurodiversity
This module utilises a novel and innovative approach to collaborative inquiry. Working with the concepts of difference and affect students will be encouraged to develop asset based analysis that draws on first person accounts of neurodivergent people becoming the authors of their own stories, influencing and shaping approaches to policy, research and practice, Students will be encouraged to develop their own critical literacy skills and build their own conceptual tool box in relation to neurodiversity that they can develop alongside children, young people, communities with whom they may engage with in the future.
compulsory
20 credits
Working Therapeutically and Inclusively with Children with SEND
This exciting module enables you to consider how you might work more effectively and inclusively with children and young people who have Special Educational Needs Disabilities. You will be able to develop hands-on practical experience with therapeutic approaches such as play therapy, life story work and Lego therapy.
compulsory
20 credits
Our facilities

Watchlist
Dr Patricia Shaw
Course overview
2 mins
Rewilding Reading
Course Highlight
9 mins
Our academics
You'll benefit from the outstanding support of academic staff who are experienced education practitioners.
Our research is driven by the belief that education can challenge inequalities and injustices in society, and seeks social and educational change to enhance fairness, equity and social justice.

Gwadabe Kurawa
Pathway Lead
Gwadabe is the Pathway Lead for MA in Special Educational Needs, Disabilities and Inclusion. His teaching covers equality, diversity and inclusion in education, and international and intercultural perspectives.

Dr Tricia Shaw
Senior Lecturer
Tricia, a senior lecturer in Education Studies here at Hull, is currently the Director of the Doctoral College. She previously served as a primary school teacher and SENCO, ensuring support and inclusive education for children with SEND.
Entry Requirements
Fees & Funding
How much is it?

Future prospects
Graduates of this course pursue impactful careers as Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officers, SEND Co-ordinators, Pastoral Care Officers, Disability Rights Advocates, Mental Health and Wellbeing Officers and more. Many also work in teaching, educational management, youth work, and charities supporting SEND communities.
The course also provides a strong foundation for postgraduate study, for example our MA Social Justice and Community Engagement or MA SENDI degrees, opening doors to advanced roles in education and beyond.
Become part of the next generation of futuremakers
Like what you've seen? Then it's time to apply.
The standard way is to apply through UCAS. This will give you the chance to showcase your skills qualities and passion for the subject, as well as providing us with your academic qualifications.
Not ready to apply yet?
Visit our next Open Day, and see all that Hull has to offer for yourself. Talk to our lecturers about your subject, find out what university is really like from our current students, and take a tour of our beautiful campus and amazing facilities.
You may also be interested in...
94.9% employability (Education Studies) UK domicile full-time first degree leavers; Higher Education Graduate Outcomes statistics, for the academic year 2021/22, published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency June 2024.
1st in the UK for teaching on my course National Student Survey (NSS) 2024, HEIs only.
All modules presented on this course page are subject to availability and this list may change at any time.