What course should I choose to go into teaching in higher education?

Question

Hi there,

I would like to know exactly what teaching qualification I will need to become a teacher in further education. I have been told that I need to take a PGCE course, but the course descriptions I have read for this all state that it is the path to secondary school education, which is not what I am looking for. Does it apply to people looking to teach at college/university level as well? If not, what is the correct one?

Any suggestions on the best place to study it are also welcome - I have been looking at the OU as I'd like to do it part time around work, but if anyone has experiences with other good universities which offer it part-time I would be interested.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Do you already have a degree? If so then PGCE is a good option. You can complete the course in a year, choosing either primary (4-11) or secondary (11 - 18). If you haven't already got a dregree you can choose the BEd route which you study for 3/4 years, doing teaching practices as you go along. There are also a number of other routes which take a year as well - SCITT and GTP are options too. You can research these online. There are lots of places which will offer you these courses across the country. Good luck!

Also.. as these 1 year courses are quite intense it would not really be possible to work at the same time but most of the courses offer funding for certain subjects. A friend of mine took Secondary IT and received £9000.

Answer 2

Hello there,

There are various PGCE courses available in relation to what age group it is that you want to study. I hope to be a Sixth Form teacher when I finish university, so I will also need to do a PGCE, but in Post Compulsory Education (16-18). There is a PGCE available for Higher Education, you may just need to do some research on where offers the course and how to apply for it.

Ideally as a University Lecturer, you will hold a PhD, or will be working towards one. You will need a relevant degree in your subject field, ideally a first class degree or a 2:1. Masters would be essential for you in order to obtain your PhD, and also broaden your skills and knowledge.

You will be required to gain some experience in the teaching environment first of all. The good thing about PGCE courses is that most of them (well the ones I have looked into) say you must have a work placement in a school whils studying for the PGCE. That way you can gain experience and work at the same time as studying.

Here are some websites that I have found that may be of some interest to you:

This is a regular website that I recommend people to. It's very informative on job profiles, outlining the activities within the job, qualifications needed etc etc. I have narrowed the search into Higher Education for you:

http://www.learndirect-advice.co.uk/help...

This website is actually stated as an external link on the previous website I gave you. It's a link to the Higher Education Academy, you may find some useful information there.

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/

And finally I came across this on Google. It's all about applying for a PGCE course and it explains what different ones there are.

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/...

I hope I helped you find what you are looking for, good luck!

Answer 3

Generally I've found a lot of my lecturers have PhD's, so it may be that the best route is through a PhD in your chosen field (as lecturers also do research). A specialism in a chosen field, and proving yourself would make you an asset to a university.

PGCE is for teaching in primary and secondary schools as you mentioned, I'm not sure there's a similar degree for university. Do you have a degree already? If so do you know a decent lecturer who you can chat to about it?

In my experience lecturers generally are academics in their field.

If you're talking 6th form and college etc, I think you can also do that from a PGCE. A friend of mine completed his PGCE and went straight into teaching 6th form.