MSc in Strategic Learning and Development

course overview

Our MSc in Strategic Learning and Development is the only graduate programme of its kind in Ireland, an innovative partnership between DCU and the Learning & Development Institute (formerly known as the Irish Institute of Training & Development (IITD)),  the professional body representing Learning & Development Professionals in Ireland.

The development of this new programme is supported by L&D Skillnet. Together this partnership has created this exciting new programme, informed and shaped by the needs of the L&D community of tomorrow.

The programme is designed for graduates to combine study for a NVQ Level 9 Masters award while gaining business knowledge and skills. This accredited programme is specifically customised and designed to map against industry needs to develop the current and future L&D leaders in Ireland.

This two year part-time Masters programme encourages critical thinking, teamwork and communication, analytical and managerial competence, and develops a diverse range of professional attributes which equip graduates to excel and to adopt L&D leadership positions in their professional lives.

This programme is perfect for you if you are a strategic thinker with strong problem-solving abilities. This programme is very much about people: how we interact, learn and develop in the workplace. 

Designed in conjunction with both leading industry and academic experts, subject matter incorporates both professional and applied L&D business material as well as an analytics component.  Lectures are delivered by experienced experts from academia, industry and practice, facilitating graduates with the most up-to-date theory and practice.

Students on the programme are all eligible for Learning & Development Institute membership as part of the fees for the two-year duration of the programme. 

DCU Business School is a double accredited, internationally focused business school, whose globally ranked Master’s Degrees offer clear routes to career progression in a wide range of business areas. Our internationally respected academic faculty have thought leadership, industry experience and deep, active, research expertise that ensures our courses stay at the cutting edge. Our classroom environment allows a rich exchange of real world business experience and problem solving that is equally valuable.

We match the ambition and career goals of our postgraduate students with an exceptional specialist business education that allows them to progress confidently to the next stages of their careers.

Learning & Development Institute leads the learning and development profession in Ireland by inspiring excellence in practice to develop individuals and organisations to reach their full potential.  The Learning & Development Institute strives to provide professional education in Training and Development along with a rich range of services, supports, events and resources; to provide a basis for member certification, enhance professional development and thus employment opportunities.

Who is this programme for?

The programme is aimed at those working across the full breadth of the people development arena: professionals who are working with their organisations, or with clients, to support the advancement of organisational performance through people.  It’s for people in learning and development roles, those working on the agenda of organisational change and transformation, people committed to ensuring the talent pipeline is strong to support the organisation’s achievement of its ambitions for the future, and those who have a commitment to their own personal development and to maintaining their own high professional standards and to leading by example on the importance of having a strong theoretical basis to inform their professional practice.

Structure & Delivery:

This MSc in Strategic Learning and Development is designed in conjunction with both leading industry and academic experts. 

Changes in technology, work practices and business models have created a demand for continuous learning and development, which requires Learning & Development professionals to examine more contemporary ways in which to improve their practice.  Subject matter incorporates both professional and applied business material as well as an analytics component.

This programme has been designed with the very practical and logistical expectations of our learners in mind.  Lectures are delivered by experienced experts from academia, industry and practice, facilitating graduates with the most up-to-date theory and practice.  The flexible delivery model is designed to suit people’s working lives and to enable them to take learnings from the course and apply them directly to their work.

On this programme students will participate in an interactive, supportive, multicultural learning environment, and will be well-positioned for success in Learning and Development Careers.  Students will also complete a Strategic Consultancy Capstone Project, a group-based consultancy assignment where they can gain applied knowledge through real world problems with a live client. 

After you’ve completed the programme, graduates will be able to:

– Display an understanding of the role of an L&D Director/Manager

– Demonstrate an identifiable set of key L&D Leader Competencies

– Display high autonomy and demonstrate expertise in you L&D Role

– Understand how L&D programmes translate into learning impact outcomes for your organisation

– Build engagement strategies with internal and external stakeholders

– Develop strategies for leading L&D developments effectively through organisational change

– Develop creative solutions to exploit the opportunities and surmount challenges facing L&D teams

– Motivate and empower colleagues and external stakeholders to stimulate L&D activity and innovation to achieve organisational goals 

– Participate in discussions on a managerial level

Programme Structure:

This programme will take place online on one evening each week from 4pm-7.30pm (day to be confirmed).

There are three on-campus days each semester on Week 1, Week 6 and Week 12 from 9am-5pm (the exact day to be confirmed).

Are you passionate about learning in the workplace? Do you see the benefits of personal development for both individuals and businesses? And would you like to know more about how knowledge creation can keep companies competitive?

The MSc in Strategic Learning and Development might be the perfect programme for you. It combines elements from L&D Design and Strategy to Organisational Transformation, Leadership and Change, Digital Learning Tools, the Future of L&D and Data Analytics.

This programme is an excellent way to accelerate your career. Upon graduation, you will have the analytical and practical skills you’ll need to develop and implement strategies. You will also be positioned to contribute to decision-making and policy discussions at a senior level. This programme will prepare you for a role in L&D departments of large or multinational organisations.

Being one of a very few people in the market with this unique qualification will position you very strongly and open up a range of exciting career opportunities.  Not only will you have the support of DCU and the Learning & Development Institute with building your knowledge and expertise, as well as keeping ahead of the latest L&D trends with global research and whitepapers, you will build a strong professional network of like-minded learning and development professionals which will endure long after you have graduated from the programme.

Graduates of the MSc in Strategic Learning and Development will progress their careers in Strategic Learning & Development, Leadership, Talent & HR, Organisation Change & Transformation, People and Culture.  They will be attractive to L&D Departments with a strategic emphasis towards skills development, both indigenous and multinational organisations seeking to recruit graduates who can make significant contributions to discussions and decisions at boardroom level. 

Graduates will be highly sought after for a variety of positions, including:

• Change and Development Manager
• Head of Leadership Development
• Talent Business Partner
• Senior Talent Management Specialist
• Head of Organisational Learning
• Transformative Leadership Specialist
• Learning & HR Technology Business Partner
• People Development Manager
• Skills Development Leader
• L&D Director
• Head/Director of Talent Management
• Organisational Transformation Manager/Director
• People & Culture Partner/Director