Entry requirements
Our typical offer is:
| Qualification |
Minimum grade |
| a bachelor's degree | |
If you already hold a postgraduate qualification, please see our Applying for additional postgraduate degrees Help and Advice article.
If you don't meet our standard entry requirements, you can take one of the foundation pathways at our partners ONCAMPUS Sunderland. Find out more information and whether your course is eligible on our ONCAMPUS page.
If your qualification is not listed above, please contact the Student Administration team at studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk for further advice.
When completing your application, you will need the consent of your school and a suitable mentor. The University of Sunderland will need to approve the school and designated mentor.
Along with your application, you will need to submit the online trainee agreement.
As part of this agreement, you will be asked to provide email addresses for two referees, your host school(s) headteacher, and mentor. They will be contacted for further information and to provide their consent.
Please note, it is mandatory that all forms are completed and submitted prior to being offered a place on the programme.
You will also need to submit a strong personal statement as part of your application which will be crucial in how your application is assessed. Please note the following information and criteria for your personal statement.
When completing your personal statement please consider the following areas:
- What made you want to be a teacher?
- What character and personality traits will you bring to the teaching profession?
- What skills and abilities will you bring to the teaching profession?
- What is your own philosophy for teaching and learning?
Essentially, this is a portrait of you as a teacher, a self-reflective statement od your beliefs about the teaching and learning process, and, where appropriate, the ways in which you enact or plan to enact these beliefs in the professional school environment.
Your response in the Personal Statement will be individual to you and reflect and embrace the diversity of your background and the richness of your experiences and what you will bring to the teaching profession.
To apply for iQTS you will need:
- A bachelor’s degree, or equivalent, from a UK or non-UK university
- To have achieved a standard equivalent to grade 4 in GCSE mathematics
- To have achieved a standard equivalent to grade 4 in a GCSE science subject (biology, chemistry or physics) if teaching children aged 3 to 11 (equivalent to English primary school)
- For those without a first degree studied in the medium of English, Academic IELTS is required. (A minimum Academic IELTS band score of 6.5, with 6.5 in writing, and no less than 6 in Reading and Speaking and Listening)
- To be able to satisfy the practicum and mentor requirements trainees will have to find a placement school (if not already employed) that will provide a teaching experience for a total of 120 days, 10 days of which should be in a second school setting also. The placement must provide a suitably qualified mentor with a minimum of 2 years’ experience post-teaching qualification. Please note that securing a setting and mentor is the responsibility of the trainee and not that of the University and details of these must be provided before you can formally take up an offer and begin the programme
- Any previous school experience is not a requirement for successful admission to the PGCE iQTS programme. Successful admission will be determined by your potential to teach assessed using both your application and, if successful at application stage, an interview process. Please note, for those not currently working as an employed teacher, you will be responsible for arranging your own placement, both the main teaching experience blocks and the second school experience
- Two references – one of which should be from your most recent employer
- Police checks to be undertaken by trainees in country of domicile plus, an ICPC for those trainees who have lived or worked in the UK.
If successful with your application and subsequent interview, you will need to provide/complete the following before beginning practical teaching:
- Completion of Fitness to Practice and Code of Conduct documents
PGCE iQTS (Distance Learning) FAQs
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 is £9,250.
A £1,000 deposit must be paid prior to the start of the course. This deposit is refundable up until the point of enrolment.
This information was correct at the time of publication.
