Ask the experts - UK PGCE
In the latest edition of our ‘Ask the experts’ feature, our Research, Data and Insights team is answering another popular question that members ask us.
This month, UK ENIC’s Research Manager Emma Kirby provides the answer to this question: what are the two types of UK PGCE?
The PGCE is probably the most well-known pathway to become a teacher in the UK. Confusingly, though, the term can be used to mean two slightly different things.
These days, the most common version of the PGCE is the ‘Postgraduate Certificate in Education’. This award is aligned to FHEQ level 7, placing it alongside a Master’s degree. The level-7 PGCE often leads to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England and Wales.
The other type of PGCE is a ‘Professional Graduate Certificate in Education’, which may be abbreviated to ‘PgCE’ or ‘ProfGCE’. The learning outcomes of this award are aligned to FHEQ level 6 i.e. Bachelor level. This PGCE may also confer UK teaching rights.
Both awards would typically follow on chronologically from a Bachelor degree. However, ‘Postgraduate’ indicates more advanced, Master’s-level content, while ‘Graduate’ courses typically cover undergraduate material.
The Graduate Certificate is often associated with professional conversion. Programmes may be aimed at graduates who previously obtained a Bachelor degree in a different subject.