Graduate Certificate / Graduate Diploma / M Ed in Digital Leadership in Education

Programme Overview

The Graduate Certificate/Graduate Diploma/M Ed in Digital Leadership in Education is designed for individuals working in education to support them in leading, designing, implementing, and evaluating an integrated and innovative model of digital learning within their educational contexts. Learners will collaborate to address problems that explore the essential elements of a successful digital learning ecosystem, particularly the relationship between digital learning policy; digital pedagogies; digital equality, diversity, and inclusion (Digital EDI); open and distributed e-leadership; digital literacy and well-being; and digital infrastructure when planning digital learning in their schools or educational institutions.

Key Features

• A future-focused program that adopts an integrated approach to developing 21st-century educational leadership skills.
• Encourages exploration of the relationship between open and connected leadership, e-leadership, digital literacies, digital well-being, digital EDI, and digital pedagogies, which are crucial for modern educational leadership and a successful digital learning ecosystem.
• Delivered using a hyflex model, allowing learners to choose how they wish to engage with the program material and with each other.
• Fosters cross-sectoral communities of practice to collaboratively bridge theory and practice and develop a digital learning ecosystem that addresses the needs of the entire educational community, including students, educators, parents, and communities.
• Models and promotes a transformative digital learning experience based on principles of Universal Design for Learning, Heutagogy, Transformative Learning, and Learner agency.
• Encourages learners to reflect on dilemmas and challenges encountered in the digital-learning era and become agents for change at various levels to develop sustainable models of digital learning across the education sector.

Career & Further Study Opportunities

Graduates of this program are prepared to lead, design, implement, and evaluate innovative digital learning models in their educational contexts. M Ed graduates may pursue further studies at the PhD level.

NFQ Levels

Postgraduate Certificates are classified as Level 9 Minor Awards, while Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters qualify as Level 9 Major Awards on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), awarded by the University of Limerick.

Programme Content

Full-time Option (1 Year)

Certificate in Digital Leadership in Education

• Semester 1
  • Digital EDI (9 ECTS)
  • Digital Pedagogies (9 ECTS)
• Semester 2
  • Open Leadership (12 ECTS)

Diploma in Digital Leadership in Education

• Semester 1
  • Digital EDI (9 ECTS)
  • Digital Pedagogies (9 ECTS)
  • Applied Research Project (12 ECTS)
• Semester 2
  • Open Leadership (12 ECTS)
  • Digital Infrastructure (9 ECTS)
  • Digital Literacies (9 ECTS)

M Ed in Digital Leadership in Education

• Semester 1
  • Digital EDI (9 ECTS)
  • Digital Pedagogies (9 ECTS)
  • Applied Research Project (12 ECTS)
  • Principles & Practice of Research (9 ECTS)
  • Dissertation 1 (6 ECTS)
• Semester 2
  • Open Leadership (12 ECTS)
  • Digital Infrastructure (9 ECTS)
  • Digital Literacies (9 ECTS)
  • Dissertation 2 (15 ECTS)

Part-time Option (2 Years)

Certificate in Digital Leadership in Education

• Not applicable

Diploma in Digital Leadership in Education

• Year 1, Semester 1
  • Digital EDI (9 ECTS)
  • Digital Pedagogies (9 ECTS)
• Year 1, Semester 2
  • Open Leadership (12 ECTS)
• Year 2, Semester 1
  • Applied Research Project (12 ECTS)
• Year 2, Semester 2
  • Digital Infrastructure (9 ECTS)
  • Digital Literacies (9 ECTS)

M Ed in Digital Leadership in Education

• Year 1, Semester 1
  • Digital EDI (9 ECTS)
  • Digital Pedagogies (9 ECTS)
  • Applied Research Project (12 ECTS)
• Year 1, Semester 2
  • Open Leadership (12 ECTS)
  • Digital Infrastructure (9 ECTS)
  • Digital Literacies (9 ECTS)
• Year 2, Semester 1
  • Principles & Practice of Research (9 ECTS)
  • Dissertation 1 (6 ECTS)
• Year 2, Semester 2
  • Dissertation 2 (15 ECTS)

Entry Requirements

• Applicants must hold a relevant degree/Postgraduate Diploma/Professional Master at the 2.2 Honours Level or higher (Level 8 - National Framework of Qualifications).
• A minimum of two years' experience in education is expected.
• Admission is based on qualifications, performance during an interview (if applicable), language proficiency level (if applicable), and the application form.
• Applicants who do not meet normal entry requirements may be assessed on prior learning in accordance with University policy on the Recognition of Prior Learning and may undergo an interview to evaluate their prior educational experience.

Semester Modules

Semester 1 Modules

• Applied Research Project
  • Allows learners to devise and complete an independent research project based on their own inquiry.
• Digital Pedagogies
  • Explores education's meaning in the digital age, critiques pedagogical theories relevant to digital environments, and reflects on ICT usage for teaching, learning, and assessment.
• Digital Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
  • Investigates inclusivity in digital learning, encouraging reflection on values and biases, and exploring frameworks like Universal Design for Learning.

Semester 2 Modules

• Open and Distributed e-leadership
  • Examines concepts of distributed and connected (e)-leadership, encouraging reflections on personal leadership styles and action plans for digital-learning strategies.
• Digital Literacies and Wellbeing
  • Evaluates digital competency frameworks from teaching staff's and learners' perspectives.
• Digital Learning Infrastructure
  • Investigates technologies necessary for effective digital learning, focusing on analysing and procuring digital learning technologies.

Mary Immaculate College (MIC), known in Irish as Coláiste Mhuire Gan Smál, is a university-level College of Education and the Liberal Arts in Limerick, Ireland, academically linked with the University of Limerick. Founded in 1898 by Bishop Edward Thomas O'Dwyer and the Sisters of Mercy for the professional education of Catholic primary school teachers, MIC is the oldest third-level institution in Limerick City.

The foundation stone was laid on 8 December 1898 on an 11-acre site jointly purchased by the Bishop and the Sisters of Mercy, with construction led by Dublin architect George Byrne and Limerick contractors Molloy. The College opened its doors to its first students on 21 September 1901, and was officially opened on 16 May 1902. From its original 75 young women enrolled in 1901, MIC has grown into a multi-campus institution with a student population of over 5,000.

Mission

Mary Immaculate College is a third-level Catholic College of Education and the Liberal Arts. The College community promotes excellence in teaching, learning and research at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and seeks to foster the intellectual, spiritual, personal and professional development of students within a supportive and challenging environment that guarantees the intellectual freedom of staff and students. In particular, the College seeks to foster in its students a spirit of justice and compassion in the service of others, together with an openness to the religious tradition and values of each individual.

The College promotes a sense of identity enriched by an awareness of its Catholic tradition, the cultures, languages and traditions of Ireland, and its special commitment to the Irish language. Mary Immaculate College respects cultural diversity and strives to promote equity in society, providing an environment where all have the freedom and opportunity to achieve their full potential.

Founding vision

MIC continues to embrace the founding vision of Catherine McAuley, who established the Sisters of Mercy as champions for the most marginalised in society, with the conviction that education was essential to that mission. This emphasis on social justice and educational inclusion remains central to the College's institutional identity as it has grown and diversified over more than 125 years.

Academic structure

MIC offers programmes across two faculties, Education and Arts, spanning Level 4 to Level 10 on the National Framework of Qualifications. Undergraduate programmes are offered in:

• Primary and Post-Primary Teaching (Bachelor of Education, Teaching Council-accredited)
• Liberal Arts, with a choice of 14 subjects across a flexible, wide-ranging programme
• Early Childhood Care and Education
• Psychology, including a Bachelor of Science in Psychology incorporating workplace experience
• Drama and English
• English Language and Literature

The MIC Thurles campus additionally offers post-primary teacher education programmes in Home Economics, Gaeilge, Mathematics, Business Studies, Theology and Religious Studies, and Accounting. Postgraduate study is available across both faculties at Diploma, Master's and PhD level, alongside professional development and lifelong learning programmes.

Campuses

MIC is a multi-campus institution with centrally located, state-of-the-art facilities in both Limerick City and Thurles, Co. Tipperary:

• MIC Limerick: the College's original and main campus on South Circular Road, home to the historic 1899 building that remains central to College life today, alongside a state-of-the-art Sports Complex completed in 2008 at a cost of €16 million, and the 510-seat Lime Tree Theatre, officially opened in October 2012
• MIC Thurles: incorporated into MIC in 2016, originally established as a second-level school in 1837 and later a major seminary, today offering seven undergraduate programmes delivered by staff from both the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Arts, with on-campus accommodation and the O'Dwyer Library housing approximately 15,000 print resources

Both campuses are characterised by an informal, relaxed atmosphere and a close rapport between students and staff, with the amenities of city and town life on the doorstep.

Affiliation with the University of Limerick

MIC has been academically linked with the University of Limerick since a formal partnership was established in 1990, with UL becoming MIC's accrediting body. Degrees were conferred by the National University of Ireland until 1994, and by UL from 1995 onward. In 1999, MIC became the first Irish College of Education to offer a Bachelor of Arts degree programme. The first PhD was awarded by MIC in 2003. MIC is also a member of the Shannon Consortium, a collaborative framework alongside the University of Limerick and Technological University of the Shannon.

Student life and facilities

• Wired FM (Wired 99.9FM): Limerick's only licensed student community radio station, run in partnership with the Technological University of the Shannon
• Lime Tree Theatre: a 510-seat venue on the Limerick campus hosting theatre, music, comedy, traditional arts, school performances and conferences
• MIC Munster GAA Centre of Excellence and extensive College Sport opportunities, supported by the dedicated Sports Complex
• CRAFT Maker Space, supporting hands-on creativity and enterprise
• Mary Immaculate Students' Union (MISU), marking 25 years of representing the student body
• Clubs and Societies, Arts and Culture programming, and a strong Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Interculturalism (EDII) commitment
• Recognition as an Age Friendly Campus
• Careers Service, Study Abroad opportunities, and an Off-Campus Programme

Leadership and governance

The College's first six Presidents were members of the Sisters of Mercy, beginning with Sr Paul Quinlan in 1898, followed by Sr Veronica Cullinan, Sr Celsus Barry, Sr Loreto Ní Chonchúir, Sr Cabrini Moloney and Sr Angela Bugler. Professor Peadar Cremin, appointed in 1999, was the seventh President and the first lay person to hold the position. He was succeeded by Professor Michael A. Hayes in 2011 and Professor Eugene Wall in 2018, the ninth President in the College's history. Mary Immaculate College is currently led by Professor Dermot Nestor, President of the College, with the Bishop of Limerick serving as Chairperson of the Board of Trustees.