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Postgraduate Diploma Secondary Education (QTS) - Science: Biology

Start date
September
Duration
36 weeks
UCAS code
C1X1
Course Type
Postgraduate, Taught
Ben Hooper, Alumnus

Our Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Science: Biology) leads to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and offers 120 credits towards our MA in Teaching Studies. Our programme, which offers high quality training and support, will prepare you to teach in the 11-18 age range and is run in close partnership with schools.

On the Biology Postgraduate Diploma Secondary Education course you will be challenged to develop informed and justified decisions about how you approach your teaching, in order to enable you to continue to develop over your career. The School of Education benefits from our unique collaboration with University of Birmingham School as well as a wide range of partner schools, including mixed comprehensive, single sex, religious and selective schools and sixth form colleges. The diverse communities we serve will enrich your experience on the PGDipEd Biology course.

PGDipEd (QTS) Secondary Biology is also offered as a School Direct programme with St Paul’s Caritas Christi and Windsor Academy Trust

You may be eligible for a bursary of up to £20,000 (depending on qualifications) in line with the government’s priority to attract more well qualified Biology teachers.

On successful completion of your PGDipEd, you may return to study with us on a part-time basis to complete your Masters in Teaching Studies.

The School of Education at the University of Birmingham has a long tradition of delivering teacher training courses. Its teaching has been graded as 'outstanding' three times by Ofsted inspectors which affirms the University’s status as one of the UK’s leading institutions for excellence in teacher training. 

You may also be interested in our other three PGDipEd Science courses:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

Equal Opportunities

The School of Education and University of Birmingham is committed to equal opportunities in the access to and provision of education. For more information please see the following documents:

Find out more about all our teacher training programmes.

 

Fees

Fees for 2023-2024 are:

£9,250 (UK), £21,150 (International).

When you apply for this course, it is important that you also take into account living costs and should ensure that you will have sufficient funds to finance the full duration of your studies. Our PGDipEd programmes include a significant amount of time spent on placements in a variety of schools at different locations, and so when budgeting to study you should also allow for travel to and from placements, as well as textbooks, printing, photocopying and stationery that you may need.

Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan

With or without a bursary, you can also access a  Tuition Fee Loan to cover your tuition fees and a Maintenance Loan for your living costs. The available loans for 2022-2023 are:

  • a Tuition Fee Loan of up to £9,250 to cover your fees
  • a Maintenance Loan of up to £12,667 to support your living costs

Additional financial support

If you have children or a disability, extra funding is available. For instance, you could get:

Find out more information on the  extra financial support available

Learn more about fees and funding

For further information contact the School directly or visit the Funding, Graduation & Awards Office via online enquiries. 

How To Apply

Apply online through DfE Apply

Course code: C1X1

The Interview process 

Selection is rigorous and designed to identify candidates with the strongest aptitude. Candidates selected for interview will be invited to:

  • meet course tutors
  • find out more about the course
  • have a one to one interview
  • show GCSE and Degree certificates (where these are available).

We work closely with partner schools to select candidates and applicants will often have the opportunity to meet senior colleagues from partner schools when they join us for interview day.  

Our Standard Requirements

  • All applicants to the Secondary PGDipEd (QTS) Science: Biology course must hold a degree or equivalent qualification from a UK Higher Education Institution. This will normally be a minimum 2:2 classification or equivalent qualification and this will be a condition of any offer where the degree has not already been awarded. Your degree content must be at least 50% biology relevant to the National Curriculum. You should also have 2 science A levels or the equivalent.
  • Please be aware that your degree classification may have an impact on your eligibility for a bursary. 

You must also have a GCSE in Mathematics and English (Grade 4/C or above) or an equivalent qualification which must be attained before making your application. Equivalency tests will be accepted but only from equivalency testing

If you have any questions about entry requirements, please contact us on ITEadmissions@contacts.bham.ac.uk

You must also:

  • complete an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check before taking up a place.
  • complete relevant checks to ensure you have the health and physical capacity to teach.
  • agree to abide by the University of Birmingham Code of Professional Conduct and Fitness to Practise.

*Equivalent GCSE grades

International Requirements



International Students

English Language requirements

IELTS 6.5 with no less than 6.0 in any band
PTE Academic 67 with no less than 64 in all four skills
TOEFL - 88 IBT overall with no less than 20 in Listening, 21 in Reading, 22 in Speaking and 21 in Writing
Cambridge English Advanced: 176 overall with 169 in each component

The PGDipEd programme runs from early September to late June.

PGDipEd programme information (this is for guidance only and is subject to change).
Number of weeks Programme of activities

Before the course

Pre-course learning

4 weeks (from mid-September)

University Work including some work in schools (SD students will have school induction prior to this)

12 weeks

School Placement 1 (Including School Half Term and 3 University Days)

2 weeks

Christmas Vacation

1 week

Review week

2 weeks

University Work

7 weeks

School Placement 2 (Including School Half Term and 1 University Day)

2 weeks

Easter Vacation

9 weeks

School Placement 2 (Including School Half Term and 1 University Day)

1 week

University Week

The course is essentially one of professional training combined with academic study appropriate to a course at Masters’ level. Much of the work of the first term is a direct attempt to prepare you for teaching situations that you may face on school placements. It should give you opportunities for developing your own thinking which can be trialled when practising those facets of teaching which are most directly related to the classroom and the laboratory situation. Time will be given to, for example: the preparation of: lesson materials; the organisation of laboratory work; and the use of demonstrations. These are only a sample of the techniques to manage and engage classes. Some are general skills that all teachers must develop regardless of their subject; others will be specific to the sciences.

The curriculum work is also concerned with broader and longer term aims. You will wish to familiarise themselves with current developments arising from and linked to the National Curriculum and various government initiatives. It is impossible to isolate the teaching of science from broader educational issues such as increasing awareness of the need for education to be connected to the remainder of pupils’ lives, to the concerns of society as a whole and to the world of work and leisure beyond school.

Our Professional Enquiry course provides breadth and depth of insight across key themes such as learning theories, assessment, equalities, inclusion and teacher health and wellbeing. An additional PSHE award is also available to all students.

So, on this course you will find that we have tried to integrate the theory and the practice and to ensure that you have a sound theoretical understanding on which your practice is based. We aim then to prepare you to become a science teacher by helping you to develop both personally and professionally. We believe that an education through science should generate a sense of curiosity, promote creative thinking and enable pupils to develop into reflective citizens ready to play a full part in a democratic society.

You will have a personal academic tutor to guide and support you, as well as a dedicated subject mentor in both your placement schools. You will benefit from a specialist programme, working with a subject tutor and peers, developing a professional network which will sustain you into your career.

There is currently high demand for secondary teachers in the region and beyond. Employment rates are consistently high and strong links with partnership schools mean that many students go into employment in the region.

After completing his PGDipEd course at the University of Birmingham, Waqar Yousaf now teaches biology at the University of Birmingham School. Read his full profile https://www.theguardian.com/get-into-teaching/2017/mar/31/im-very-happy-as-a-teacher-every-day-is-different

 

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