ip target image
You are currently browsing our site with content tailored to students in your country

PGCert in Education (PGCE)

UK

5

What will I learn?

About the course

The Oxford Internship scheme, as the PGCE programme is known at the University, is a one-year, full-time course of teacher education for graduates, involving a close partnership between the University department and local comprehensive schools. This enables all aspects of the course to be planned, carried out and evaluated jointly and results in a course which integrates work in the University and in school throughout the year.

Teaching students are known as interns during the PGCE course.

At Oxford, graduates are prepared to teach in secondary schools (11-19 age range) in one of the following subjects.

  • English
  • geography
  • history
  • mathematics
  • modern languages (French, German, Spanish, Mandarin)
  • religious education
  • science (biology, chemistry, physics)

The programme has been developed with colleagues from Oxfordshire partnership schools and covers the key professional skills of.

  • lesson planning and preparation
  • assessment, recording and reporting
  • responding to individual learning needs
  • classroom and behaviour management.

This is a full-time course which will involve travel to your placement school, although most partnership schools do lie within the Oxfordshire county boundaries.

Assessment

You will complete three written curriculum assignments, two of which are formally examined, as well as one PDP assignment about a wider educational issue, which is also formally examined. In all assignments practical investigation of pedagogical or educational issues through your own practice and school-based research is integrated with reading of research and professional literature.

Successful completion of the examined assignments at master's level carries 60 M-level credits, which may be built upon to achieve a full master's degree. All three examined assignments must be passed at master's level for the award of the Postgraduate Certificate in Education with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), provided that your practice also meets QTS requirements. Those who pass the assignments at Honours level will be awarded a Professional Graduate Certificate in Education with QTS - provided, again, that your practice meets the required QTS standards.

Graduate destinations

The numbers of interns going into teaching at the end of the course is high with most of interns having secured a teaching post in a state-maintained school. As of October 2019, 93% of our graduates were employed in, or actively seeking, teaching roles. 37% of them were working in a partnership school.

Which department am I in?

University of Oxford

Study options

Full Time (1 year)

Tuition fees
£36,000.00 (US$ 46,492) per year
This is a fixed fee
Start date

12 October 2025

Venue

University of Oxford

University Offices,

Wellington Square,

Oxford,

Oxfordshire,

OX1 2JD, England

Entry requirements

For international students

Applicants must hold, or be in the final year of, an undergraduate degree. Students typically study the subject in which they wish to complete a PGCE, but degrees from related subjects will also be considered. Applicants must also hold a GCSE at grade C (level 4) or above in English and mathematics. Applicants who do not hold a GCSE in English or mathematics (or a satisfactory equivalent) will be asked to complete a GCSE equivalency test. Your individual case will be reviewed by the Course Director and tailored advice given once a formal offer has been accepted. Applicants need to have an IELTS score of 7.5 with a minimum of 7.0 per component; TOEFL iBT score of 110 with a minimum component score of 22 in listening, 24 in reading, 24 in writing and 25 in speaking.

*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.

ADD TO MY FAVOURITES

Get in touch