Master of Teaching (Primary)
2026 Deakin University Handbook
| Year | 2026 course information |
|---|---|
| Award granted | Master of Teaching (Primary) |
| Course Credit Points | 16 |
| Deakin course code | E778 |
| Course version | 1 |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts and Education |
| Course Information | For students who commenced from 2026 onwards |
| Campus | Offered at Burwood (Melbourne), Online |
| Online | Yes |
| Duration | 2 years full-time or part-time equivalent or 18 months full-time accelerated mode* |
| Course Map - enrolment planning tool | These course maps are for new students commencing from Trimester 1 2026: Course maps for commencement in previous years are available on the Course Maps webpage or please contact a Student Adviser in Student Central. |
| CRICOS code | 118363D Burwood (Melbourne) |
| Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition | The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 9 |
| Supplementary Information | * An optional accelerated course structure is available in this course, allowing students to complete the course in 1.5 years duration by enrolling into 4 consecutive trimesters. Students undertaking the accelerated course structure are required to enrol in Trimester 3. All students are advised to seek course advice prior to attempting the accelerated course structure from Student Central. Students have until the start of Trimester 2 of Year 1 to decide whether to enrol into the accelerated course structure. International students on a student visa who complete the course earlier than the registered 2-year course duration will have their early completions reported to the Department of Home Affairs, resulting in their CoEs updating to 'Finished' status. International students who complete the course early are required to either enrol into another CRICOS registered course that is of the same AQF level as their visa was granted for or depart Australia within 28 days from the date of their early completion reporting. International students are advised to seek visa advice by contacting a Registered Migration Agent on the MARA website. Deakin splits the academic year into three terms, known as trimesters. Most students usually undertake two trimesters each year (March-June, July-November). |
Course sub-headings
- Course overview
- Professional recognition
- Career opportunities
- Participation requirements
- Mandatory student checks
- Research information
- Course Learning Outcomes
- Course rules
- Course structure
- Other learning experiences
- Research and research-related study
- Fees and charges
Course overview
If you’re passionate about nurturing young, inquisitive children from prep to grade 6 and are motivated to make a genuine impact on future generations, Deakin's Master of Teaching (Primary) is for you.
Ranked #3 in Australia and #13 worldwide for education and educational research*, Deakin is also the only university to embed the Berry Street Education Model into all of our initial teaching degrees. You’ll graduate equipped with practical, trauma-informed strategies to support every learner. You’ll know how to manage safe, healthier and more engaging learning environments and build positive relationships to promote academic success – giving you and your employer confidence.
Ready to become a highly sought-after primary school teacher with a holistic understanding of how young people learn and make sense of the world?
The Master of Teaching (Primary) is infused with practical learning. With a focus on dynamic skills and communication, you will graduate classroom-ready, a finely tuned educator and leader with a set of adaptable techniques.
A career in education provides flexibility, variety and security. Learn first-hand from highly experienced and passionate teachers who understand the importance of recognising all students as people first.
Discover how to shape teacher/student relationships to ensure students build positive connections with their peers, their school and themselves. Gain the critical knowledge required for modern-day digital classrooms, engaging with topics such as diversity and inclusion, teacher inquiry, context and leading-edge research, coupled with culturally relevant approaches to teaching.
At Deakin you will also collaborate with early childhood educators, primary and secondary teachers. Our multidisciplinary approach will enable you to gain a well-rounded view of how young people learn.
This, combined with at least 60-days of professional placement and your completion of a Deakin Teaching Performance Assessment (DTPA), benchmarked against national standards, means you will be set for success in the classroom anywhere in Australia and beyond.
To be considered for an offer, prospective teaching students need to successfully complete the Casper test – an online, video scenario-based test that lets you demonstrate your suitability for a teaching career.
* U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities Subject Rankings 2025-2026
Professional recognition
This course is accredited by the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) as a nationally accredited course and students are eligible to apply for registration with VIT upon graduation. If you intend to apply for registration in Victoria or interstate you may be required to provide further information.
Applicants are advised to check the registration requirements in their state or territory, carefully.
Career opportunities
A Employment in education and training is projected to grow by 12.4% or 150,100 new jobs by 2034 according to Australia Government employment projections.^ As one of the largest growing employment sectors in Australia, there are many career opportunities to explore.
The knowledge and skills you will develop through the Master of Teaching (Primary) prepare you well for a diverse range of industries and settings, including:
- teaching in public, independent or private schools
- arts, museums and learning centres
- corporate learning and development
- counselling
- human resources
- policy
- universities
- youth work.
For more information go to DeakinTALENT.
^2024 Jobs and Skills Australia, Employment Projections May 2024 to May 2034.
Participation requirements
Placement can occur at any time, including during standard holiday breaks. Learn about key dates at Deakin.
This course includes at least 60 days of supervised professional experience and requires students to successfully complete the Deakin Teaching Performance Assessment (DTPA) in their final year. If a student does not pass the DTPA, they must seek guidance from the Course Director.
Graduation from the course confirms that students have met the Graduate Teacher Standards and achieved all Core Content learning outcomes outlined in Schedule 2.
Reasonable adjustments to participation and other course requirements will be made for students with a disability. More information available at Disability support services.
Mandatory student checks
Students will be required to hold a valid Working with Children (WWC) Check prior to undertaking professional placements as part of this course. Learn more about Working with Children Checks.
Interstate applicants must check the requirements and meet all conditions for undertaking professional experience in schools for their state or territory before undertaking professional experience placements as part of this course.
Inherent requirements
It is expected that all students will be able to abide by, and ensure their behaviour is in accordance with the Deakin University initial teacher education inherent requirements.
Immunisations
Immunisation and/or vaccination requirements will be communicated by the Professional Experience Office in line with the Department of Education and Training's directions at the time of placement.
For further information contact the School of Education, Professional Experience Office.
Research information
This is a graduate entry teaching course that introduces research-based practice throughout the core professional studies units (a total of six credit points), which includes demonstrating their application of knowledge and skills through their 60 days of professional practice in education-based contexts e.g. primary schools. As part of the series of core professional studies units, students are also required to complete a capstone assessment in the final year to demonstrate their evidence-based professional practice informed by data analysis and scholarship of teaching and learning.
Course Learning Outcomes
| Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes | Course Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|
| Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities | Contribute to critical, professional debates about education theory; local, national and global trends; curriculum; Indigenous and intercultural perspectives; and legal, professional and ethical codes and standards, and critique and apply these understandings to inform their own practice. |
| Communication | Apply critical thinking, pedagogical knowledge and effective interpersonal, oral, written and multimodal communication skills to demonstrate empathy, foster learner agency, establish positive and inclusive learning-friendly environments, and build effective professional partnerships and trust with families/caregivers, teaching colleagues and other stakeholders. |
| Digital literacy | Act in accordance with the ethical and legal frameworks and policy that inform responsible and ethical practice in digital environments, and critically discuss, evaluate and employ a range of appropriate digital literacies, resources and technologies for professional/community/learner engagement and agency. |
| Critical thinking | Contribute to critical and professional debates about education trends, theory, policy and research and use these understandings to critically reflect on and evaluate own teaching practices and diverse learning data sets to make informed evidence-based judgements for enhancements and innovations to improve learner agency and outcomes. |
| Problem solving | Collaboratively and independently use evidence and research to identify, prioritise and creatively respond to problems that arise in professional learning and practice. |
| Self-management | Engage autonomously and responsibly with critical self-reflection, self-assessment and feedback from others, to inform their own learning, plan for professional development and to balance academic demands with self-care /self-management. |
| Teamwork | Actively and collaboratively participate in, and/or lead learning communities, involving learners, families, community members, colleagues and the broader profession to deepen understandings of education and to optimise learning and learner well-being. |
| Global citizenship | Apply culturally responsive, critically reflective and embodied self-knowledge of decolonial praxis in the design, delivery and evaluation of teaching and learning that honours and respects the educational expectations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and diverse learners, families and communities. |
Approved at Faculty Board 2025
Course rules
To complete the Master of Teaching (Primary) you must pass 16 credit points. This includes:
- DAI001 Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0-credit-point compulsory unit) in your first study period
- ELN010 Australian Literacy Test (0-credit-point compulsory unit)*
- ELN011 Australian Numeracy Test (0-credit-point compulsory unit)*
- ETI010 Trauma Informed Practice (0-credit- point compulsory unit)^
- ESL010 Science Education Lab Safety Induction (0-credit- point compulsory unit)
- 16 credit points of core units.
*ELN010 and ELN011, which support the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education (LANTITE). You are expected to attempt these tests in your first year; failure to do so may prevent course progression until an attempt is made.
^ETI010 (Trauma Informed Practice), which incorporates the Berry Street Education Model (BSEM).
Most units are equal to one credit point. As a full-time student you will study four credit points per trimester and usually undertake two trimesters per year.
Students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements.
Course structure
Core units
Compulsory 0-credit point units
To be completed in the first trimester of study:
| DAI001 | Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (zero (0) credit points) |
To be completed in the first year of study:
| ELN010 | Australian Literacy Test (zero (0) credit points) |
| ELN011 | Australian Numeracy Test (zero (0) credit points) |
| ETI010 | Trauma Informed Practice (zero (0) credit points) |
| ESL010 | Science Education Lab Safety Induction (zero (0) credit points) |
Units
| EDU701 | The Brain and Learning |
| EEH794 | Health, Wellbeing and Physical Education in the Primary School |
| EMP700 | The Arts and the Art of Teaching |
| EMP701 | Mathematics and Numeracy Curriculum and Pedagogy A |
| EMP702 | Mathematics and Numeracy Curriculum and Pedagogy B |
| EMP703 | The Science of Reading in Primary Education |
| EMP704 | English and Literacy in Lower Primary |
| EMP705 | English and Literacy in Upper Primary |
| EMP706 | Primary Pedagogies in Action: Research and Design Foundations |
| EPO701 | Primary Humanities |
| EPS735 | Primary Science and Technology Education |
| IND730 | Decolonising Teaching and Learning: Recognition, Relationships, and Reconciliation on Unceded Land |
Professional experience placement units*
(*please note unit rules for order in which these must be completed)
| EPR781 | Orientation to the Teaching Profession |
| EPR782 | Building Capacity in Professional Experience |
| EPR786 | Transition to the Profession 1 |
| EPR787 | Transition to the Profession 2 |
Course duration
You may be able to study available units in the optional third trimester to fast-track your degree, however your course duration may be extended if there are delays in meeting course requirements, such as completing a placement.
Other learning experiences
Experiences in community and school or early childhood settings are embedded in some curriculum units beyond the professional experience placements. Students are also encouraged to volunteer in these settings. Wherever possible, academic staff work alongside education professionals and preservice teachers in these authentic learning experiences.
Research and research-related study
Independent research and practitioner research and training components are embedded across a number of units. Preservice teachers are expected to apply an integrated, critical and advanced understanding of complex bodies of knowledge and research skills in education in their practice.
Fees and charges
Tuition fees will vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study, your study load and/or unit discipline.
Your tuition fees will increase annually at the start of each calendar year. All fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD) and do not include additional costs such as textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment, mandatory checks, travel, consumables and other costs.
For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current students website.
Further information
Contact Student Central for assistance in course planning, choosing the right units and explaining course rules and requirements. Student Central can also provide information for a wide range of services at Deakin. To help you understand the University vocabulary, please refer to our Enrolment codes and terminology page.