Graduates of the PGCE Primary course will have the knowledge, skills, values and dispositions to achieve qualified teacher status (QTS) and be a professional teacher, ready to work in Wales and beyond.
* This degree will undergo a revalidation and review in the academic year 2023/24 to ensure the course content is and remains current. Should any changes to course content be made as a result of the review, all applicants will be informed once changes are confirmed.
Course details
- On-campus
- Full-time
- English
- Welsh
Tuition Fees 2023/24 and 24/25
Home (Full-time): £9,000 per year
Overseas (Full-time): £13,500 per year
This programme is subject to revalidation.
Why choose this course?
What you will learn
The core content includes:
- Alternative setting – an opportunity to experience education in its widest sense;
- Bridging – the process by which practical and theoretical knowledge meet, and the transformative approach is enacted;
- Compulsory modules – the co-constructed and co-delivered content (pedagogic and subject-related) of the programme;
- Electives – a school-based and University-supported experience where graduates can elect to follow a more specialist line of inquiry in order to deepen curriculum knowledge;
- Partnership conference – the opportunity to share best practice at a conference event in order that the partnership can be transformed;
- Qualified Teacher Status – a compulsory professional pathway leading to the award of qualified teacher status;
- Welsh Language Skill Development – a compulsory professional pathway to develop graduates’ confidence and competence in speaking Welsh.
The programme is full-time over 36 weeks.
Broadly, the programme comprises 12-weeks of university-based provision and 24 weeks based in school.
Disclaimer
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We listen to student feedback and insights from industry and from professionals to ensure that course content is high-quality and up-to-date, and that it offers the best possible preparation for your future career or study goals.
For this reason, there might be modifications to the content of your course over time, to keep up to date with changes in the subject area or in the sector. If a module is no longer running, we’ll make sure to keep you informed, and work with you to choose a different suitable module.
Ratings and Rankings
Staff
Our People
You will be taught and supported by a wide range of professional staff and teams here to help you get the university experience you are looking for. Our teaching staff were ranked 2nd in Wales for assessments and feedback (NSS 2023) meaning the comments you get back from your work will help you learn. Our commitment to your learning has seen our students place us as Top 10 in the UK for Lecturers and Teaching Quality. Find out more about our academic staff who teach across our courses.
Accommodation
Swansea Accommodation
Swansea has a huge student population, and the variety of accommodation available will leave you feeling spoilt for choice. Various purpose-built student accommodation providers provide accommodation in Swansea, and the accommodation team can guide you through your options. It will offer ongoing support throughout your time as a UWTSD student.
Further information
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Undergraduate Degree
Applicants are required to hold a good honours degree (2:2 minimum).
GCSE Qualifications
- Grade C (grade 4 in England) or above in GCSE English Language or Welsh Language or a standard equivalent.
- Grade C (grade 4 in England) or above in GCSE Mathematics or GCSE Numeracy or a standard equivalent.
- Grade C (grade 4 in England) or above in GCSE Science or a standard equivalent.
A-Levels/Level 3 Vocational Qualifications
If applicants do not hold an undergraduate degree in a curriculum subject, successful study at appropriate higher levels must be evidenced.
Work Experience
You should be aware of the realities of being a teacher and life in a classroom and so we ask for recent and relevant experience in a primary educational setting. This may be through employment or volunteering in a school and should be for a minimum period of two weeks.
Gaining experience in a school classroom will help to strengthen your application and better critically inform your personal statement. It will also prepare you for our selection process and give you some experience from which you can draw in your interview.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
If accepted into our programme, you will be required as soon as possible to obtain a clearance check via the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Please note there is a fee associated with the service and you should ensure also that you opt for the ‘update’ service to maintain the validity of your clearance check.
For further information please contact dbs@uwtsd.ac.uk.
What are we looking for?
- A positive view of education as a means to transform lives
- Motivation towards becoming an excellent teacher
- An empathetic desire to make a difference to young people’s lives
- Positive attitudes to social justice, inclusion and equity
- Ability to work individually and as part of a team
- Energy, enthusiasm and flexibility
- Resilience and reliability
- Professional attitudes and behaviour
- Willingness to be a lifelong learner.
How do we select our student teachers?
- Quality of personal statement
- Evidence of subject expertise
- Recent and relevant experience in an educational setting
- Quality of individual interview
- Performance in selection tests – e.g. literacy, numeracy and dispositions.
As part of its commitment to widening access, UWTSD pays particular attention to recruiting student-teachers from under-represented groups and has a proactive marketing strategy for engagement with Community First areas, groups with disabilities, ethnic minority communities and Welsh medium learners.
Many schools and college departments, both locally and nationally, have former student-teachers as a part of their staff with many going on to forge successful teaching careers at strategic, professional and management levels at home and abroad.
Our PGCE graduates usually remain in close touch with us as they make their careers in the teaching profession and they often become Subject/Class Mentors on the programme. This creates a very strong, sustainable professional network of teachers which is a rich source of continuing professional development.
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The programme design provides the opportunity for assessments to be closely related to classroom practice and draw upon evidence gained from personal experience. This approach further establishes the links between intellectual and experiential learning.
For example, students will be required to design, conduct, evaluate and share a close-to-practice research project which will directly impact on learners. Whenever possible, assignments will be submitted and marked electronically to facilitate timely and effective feedback.
Assessment components include written assignments, a portfolio, an individual video and a research project.
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Our students have access to a diverse range of equipment and resources, which in most cases are sufficient to complete their programme of study. However, students will likely incur some unavoidable additional costs over and above the cost of their university tuition. These are as follows:
Mandatory Costs
- Travel to placement schools and University
- Travel to off-site specialist provision (including schools and other training providers)
- Travel to schools for ‘Bridging Days’ and other whole-cohort initiatives as per calendar
- Use of a laptop (MS Office is free to students).
Necessarily Incurred
- Travel to participate in enhancement activities
- Purchasing teaching resources
- Travel to ‘Electives’ placements.
Optional
- Printing costs
- Optional study trips.
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You may be eligible for funding to help support your study. To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available, please visit our Bursaries and Scholarships section.
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Graduates are highly employable as qualified teachers in Wales and beyond.
Graduates will be equipped with a strong set of critical thinking, analytical and problem-solving skills reflecting transferable skills considered desirable by employers.
Graduates will be working in roles that require secure digital competence, numeracy and literacy skills together with skills of collaboration, time management and working in a complex environment. The nature of the content across the proposed programme – both in terms of delivery and assessment – will provide graduates with experience in presenting work through a variety of media. These are highly transferrable skills used in a variety of employment options.