PGCE Course

Welcome to the PGCE information site

If you are thinking about taking a teacher training course for graduates, you will have to choose either the Professional Graduate Certificate in Education or the Postgraduate Certificate in Education. The latter of the two is somewhat more demanding but will provide you with credits towards a master’s degree.

Professional and Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in England and Wales

To teach in state schools you will need to obtain Qualified Teacher Status, this status is compulsory. The majority of training providers in England and Wales award the PGCE with the award of QTS.

The majority of training providers the Professional Graduate and/or Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) qualification with the award of QTS. The Professional Graduate Certificate in Education is the same level academically as the final year of an honours degree course (H level). The Postgraduate Certificate in Education contains some credits at master's degree level (M level credits) and H level credits. The number of M level credits in postgraduate awards varies significantly from one training provider to another. Many providers will give you the opportunity to study for the additional M level credits required to obtain a full master's level qualification after you have completed your PGCE course.

Course provision in England and Wales also differs from one training provider to another. Some providers only offer professional graduate or postgraduate courses and others offer courses at both levels. Training providers that award both a Professional and Postgraduate Certificate in Education will recruit differently. Some providers will recruit for two separate courses and, if you take up a place on one course, you will not necessarily have the option of transferring to the other course after you have started your studies.

Some training providers that only offer postgraduate level courses may still be able to award QTS if you do not reach the required academic standard for the postgraduate qualification.

Before you make any choices on your application, you should contact the training providers where you want to study to confirm whether or not their course provision meets your requirements.

How long are the courses?

The majority of PGCE courses involve one year of full-time study. Some PGCE training providers also offer part-time courses that last between 18 months to two years