Postgraduate Certificate Secondary Education (QTS) - Geography

The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Geography) leads to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Our specialist 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.

Our Postgraduate Certificate Secondary Education (QTS) geography course is recognised as one of the strongest in the country. It benefits from its supportive partnerships with geography mentors in a variety of schools in the West Midlands. It offers opportunities to learn in a range of settings and includes a week of residential fieldwork with children. The course will encourage you to combine the theory and practice of geographical education, whilst also developing your professional understanding and competence as a geography teacher.

The School of Education benefits from our unique collaboration with the 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 geography teaching programme.

We expect candidates for the Secondary PGCE (QTS) to be able to demonstrate the academic quality to teach the subject that they will be training to teach. This will include a strong academic record at A level or equivalent in relevant subjects, along with a strong degree (usually a minimum of 2:2) relevant to the subject taught. In all cases we will be looking at the relevance of your degree, other qualifications and experiences related to your proposed teaching subject in assessing academic suitability. You must also have GCSE Maths and English (Grade 4/C or above) or equivalent qualifications which will be a condition of any offer, if not already achieved. Equivalency tests will be accepted but only from equivalency testing.

All applicants to the Secondary PGCE (QTS) Geography course must hold a degree from a UK Higher Education Institution or an equivalent qualification. This will normally be a minimum 2:2 classification and will be a condition of any offer where the degree has not already been awarded. We will expect your first degree to consist of at least 50% geography (either Physical or Human, but preferably a balance of both). Degrees in Environmental Science, Geology, Geosciences, etc. may be considered, but the university must be certain that such degrees contain at least 50% geography. You will be expected to show a broad base of geographical knowledge (both human and physical) at the interview.

IELTS 6.5 with no less than 6.0 in any band

TOEFL - 88 IBT overall with no less than 20 in Listening, 21 in Reading, 22 in Speaking and 21 in Writing