Secondary (PGCE)

You’ll need:

• a 2:2 undergraduate degree 
• some subject knowledge 
• GCSEs (minimum grade 4/C) in English language and maths

Find the equivalent international qualifications for your country.

You don’t need experience in a school before you start this course, but we do recommend you spend some time in a classroom to improve your understanding the role of a teacher.

Please also provide full details of subjects and level of any Access or other qualifications you have.

If your GCSE qualifications aren’t suitable, we offer equivalency tests in English and maths (non-transferable) which cost £50 each.

If you’re currently studying for one of the required qualifications, any place offered would be conditional on a successful outcome of this, or of a Southampton University equivalency test.

Got a question?

Please contact us if you're not sure you have the right experience or qualifications to get onto this course.

Email: enquiries@southampton.ac.uk
Tel: +44(0)23 8059 5000

This is a full-time course. You’ll study from September to June, with breaks at Christmas and Easter.

You’ll divide your time between the University and 2 placement schools.

The course consists of 4 compulsory modules. We assess 3 of them at master’s level, 1 at undergraduate level. You’ll need to pass the 3 master’s-level modules to gain your PGCE award.

Want more detail? See all the modules in the course.

Learning

In your school placements, you’ll have structured opportunities to observe experienced teachers at work and to discuss professional issues with colleagues. You’ll spend the majority of time learning from practical experience in the classroom.

At university, the learning activities include:

• workshops and seminars
• tutorials  
• group activities  
• directed study  
• independent study and research 
• conference days
• guest speakers

Assessment

Assessment is based mainly on your ability to teach. You’ll also have 3 major assignments and several short tasks, which you’ll receive preparation for. 

 We’ll also assess you using:  

• written assignments  
• a presentation  
• a portfolio

Academic Support

We’ll assign you a personal tutor, and you’ll have access to a senior tutor.

Successfully completing this course will give you Qualified Teacher Status as well as your PGCE award. This means you'll be able to work as a teacher in state-maintained and special schools in England and Wales.

We have high employment rates from our PGCE courses, with many trainees going on to work in our partnership schools.

If you choose to continue your studies, the credits you build up from your master’s-level modules can be put towards a future master’s degree qualification.

Careers services at Southampton

We're a top 20 UK university for employability (QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2020). Our Careers and Employability Service will support you throughout your time as a student and for up to 5 years after graduation. This support includes:

• work experience schemes
• CV/resume and interview skills workshops
• networking events
• careers fairs attended by top employers
• a wealth of volunteering opportunities
• study abroad and summer school opportunities

We have a thriving entrepreneurship culture. You'll be able to take advantage of:

• our dedicated start-up incubator, Futureworlds
• a wide variety of enterprise events run throughout the year
• our partnership in the world’s number 1 business incubator, SETsquared

Tuition fees

Fees for a year's study:

• UK students pay £9,250.
• EU and international students pay £19,850.

Check fees for other versions of this course.

What your fees pay for

Your tuition fee covers the full cost of tuition and any exams.

Find out how to pay your tuition fees.

Accommodation and living costs, such as travel and food, are not included in your tuition fees. Explore:

• accommodation costs

• living costs

• budgeting advice

Extra costs you might have to pay

Travel to and from school placements.

Teacher training bursaries and scholarships

There is a variety of government funding available for teacher training, including bursaries of £24,000 and scholarships of £26,000.

Find out what you might be eligible for on the Department for Education website.

Other postgraduate funding options

A variety of additional scholarships, grants and bursaries may be available to help you fund your master’s study, both from the University and from other organisations.

Funding for EU and international students

Find out about funding you could get as an international student.

PGCE course applications are processed through UCAS. When you apply, you'll be taken to the UCAS website where you'll need to register an account with UCAS to submit an application.

Once you've registered with UCAS, you'll be invited to apply to several courses by including their course code in your application.

Application deadlines

UK students

Applications must be received no later than 4 weeks before the start of the course. You must supply all supporting documentation at least 2 weeks before starting your course.

International students

We recommend you apply at least 6 weeks before the start of the course to ensure you're able to meet our requirements and apply for a visa in time.

We cannot guarantee students who do not meet these deadlines will be able to begin their course.

Supporting information

Please note, we do close our courses when all places have been filled. Therefore, we recommend you apply as early as possible.

What happens after you apply

Following application through UCAS you'll hear back by email from the University. The University has 40 working days to respond to your application, but you'll almost always hear back much sooner than that.

If you get through to the next stage of the process we'll invite you to an interview where we will assess your suitability to train and teach. This will include a chance to find out more about the course and to ask questions. You'll give a short presentation, complete a short written task and have an interview with tutors. Following the interview, we'll make a decision on whether or not to offer you a conditional place. The decision will be uploaded to UCAS within 5 working days of the interview date.

Interviews will take place online if they are not possible in person. You'll receive an email from the admissions tutor if we'd like to talk to you before offering you a place.

All offers are conditional on enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and health checks.

Equality and diversity

We treat and select everyone in line with our Equality and Diversity Statement.

Got a question?

Please contact us if you're not sure you have the right experience or qualifications to get onto this course.

Email: enquiries@southampton.ac.uk
Tel: +44(0)23 8059 5000