Geography Secondary Education PGCE

Apply now

Share your passion for human geography, physical geography, and the environment. Guide generations of young people. Become a Geography teacher.

Learning, teaching and assessment in 2021/22

Overview

Geography Secondary Education PGCE will qualify you to teach Geography at Secondary level in any state-maintained school in England and Wales.

This one-year course blends theoretical knowledge with carefully supervised teaching experience. You will attend placements in a variety of educational settings, to gain a broad understanding of the realities of Secondary level teaching.

Why us?

‘World-leading’ research in Education, according to the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF)
The University of Sunderland has a LOTC (Learning Outside the Classroom) quality mark, demonstrating high quality fieldwork experiences
Sign up to our Routes into Teaching webcast

You’ll spend at least 120 days on placement in schools or colleges
93.4% of our graduates are in employment, further study or training within six months of graduating, according to DLHE 2016/17 (based on full-time, first degree, home leavers)

Course structure

Placements are an important part of this course. During that time, you will benefit from practical learning and be supported by school-based trainers and University-based tutors.

Your progress will be assessed with written assignments, case studies, and assessments of your teaching practice.

This course is a mixture of University-based learning and in-school training. You will spend at least 120 days on placement in a school or other educational institution.

September – January

Full-time teaching practice placement (school or college)
Master's Module 1: Development of Learning: A Case Study – you will identify an educational intervention and explore its use, impact and influence upon the learning of one or more pupils
Subject Studies related module

Some modules have prerequisites. Read more about what this means in our Help and Advice article.

January – June

Full-time teaching practice placement (school or college)
Master's Module 2: Negotiated Individual Study in Education – you will undertake a piece of action research into an educational issue
Subject Studies related module

Facilities

You'll be based at The David Goldman Informatics Centre, situated on the award-winning St Peter's riverside campus. The location benefits from dedicated library services and has superb transport links with the city centre and City Campus.

Entry requirements

Our typical offer is:

Qualification	Minimum grade
a Canadian bachelor's degree	GPA 2.40
a USA bachelor's degree	GPA 2.5

If your qualification is not listed above, please contact the Student Administration team at studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk for further advice.

In addition to academic qualifications, you must also:

Have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
Complete a medical pro forma (based on DFEE Circular 8/92)

Your numeracy and literacy competency will be assessed continuously throughout the course, following the DfE’s removal of the Professional Skills Test.

If English is not your first language, you will also need International English Language Testing System (IELTS) at a score of 6.5, with at least 6.5 in writing, and no section below 6.0.

You will be assessed on your potential to learn and not your experience.

The way you apply for teacher training is changing.

The Department for Education (DfE) has developed a new GOV.UK application service, Apply for teacher training, for those applying for a postgraduate teacher training course. This new service will eventually replace the current UCAS Teacher Training portal for postgraduate teacher training.

Apply for teacher training is user friendly, simple to use and flexible. It will allow candidates from a wider and more diverse pool of talent to showcase their skills, experience and potential to be excellent teachers. The University of Sunderland is an early adopter of this new service; please use the Apply now button at the top of this page for more information.

All successful applicants will be invited to an interview. Interviews start early November, so we recommend that you apply as soon as UCAS opens.

Please note, applicants with a foundation degree will need to supplement this qualification with at least 60 credits at level 6 (HE level 3) in order to attain an equivalent single qualification.

Is your qualification not displaying here? For international qualifications, search our full list of international entry requirements for this course.

Fees and finance

The annual fee for this course is:

£9,250 if you are from the UK/Ireland/EU settled/pre-settled
£12,500 if you are an international student

Learn more about settled status, pre-settled status, special discounts, visa requirements and Common Travel Area (CTA) agreements for the Republic of Ireland applicants in our Help and Advice article.

Take a look at the Your Finances section to find out about the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.

This information was correct at the time of publication.

Career ready

This degree awards Qualified Teacher Status, which means that when you graduate you’ll be qualified to teach in any state-maintained secondary school in England and Wales. Most graduates from this course go on to teach in secondary schools.

Good teachers are always in high demand. The average starting salary for a teacher is £24,373, and experienced teachers can earn up to £62,735 outside London, and £70,540 in London. Head teachers can reach a salary of between £46,457 and £114,060.

School placements

The University of Sunderland has partnerships with over 200 schools, in 12 local authorities. You’ll spend at least 120 days on placement. We’ll work with you to find you the perfect placements - schools that can nurture and support your aspirations and interests, and help you become the best secondary teacher you can be.

Meet the team

Related courses

PGCE Secondary Religious Education (11-16) with QTS

Contact

Contact the Student Helpline for further information about studying at the University of Sunderland:

0191 515 3000

student.helpline@sunderland.ac.uk

View Programme Specifications for the Faculty of Education and Society.

Page last updated: 16 February 2021

Sign up to receive emails about your subject area.

Keep me up to date relating to my interest in the University of Sunderland via:

Email

You may unsubscribe at any time.

Using Your Personal Information
The University of Sunderland is collecting this data in order for you to receive information on your chosen subject(s). Your information will be stored securely in our Customer Relationship Management system which is provided by a 3rd party and used only for the administration and provision of this information. Should you choose to opt in to further communications we will also use your information to facilitate other useful marketing information based on your preferences. Further information on how your data is stored and used can be found in our Privacy notice - marketing.