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Biology with Science (PGDE - Graduates only)

Entry requirements


GCSE/National 4/National 5

A national qualification in English at SCQF Level 6 (Higher) Grade C or above?. A national qualification in Maths at SCQF Level 5 (National 5) Grade C or above.

Higher (SCQF Level 6) English Grade C or above

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

About this course


Course option

9months

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Secondary teaching

The Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) is the graduate entry route to those who want to become a Primary or Secondary teacher in Scotland. The PGDE is an internationally recognised qualification, newly qualified teachers will be able to apply for qualified teacher status (QTS) or equivalent in their home country.

Why PGDE Biology with Science ? This course is a professional training course which qualifies you to teach secondary education.
The qualification is recognised throughout the world and is regulated by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) and the Scottish Government.
You learn from on-campus classes and 18 weeks of placements in schools in Scotland.
The qualification allows you to teach in locations worldwide.
If you're a Scottish, rest of UK or EU student, you're guaranteed a job for one year in a Scottish school after you graduate.

The biology component of the PGDE course builds on your existing knowledge of biology to transform it into a form which school pupils can understand. You'll work in groups with other student teachers to explore the practicalities of teaching a biology class before, during and after the lesson. What prior knowledge do the pupils have about the topic? What misconceptions are they likely to have and how can you address them?

What about behaviour management? How can you plan practical work so it engages pupils’ thinking? How can you help pupils to learn to love biology? Once you have taught the lesson, how will you reflect on what you could do better in future.

Your Career
A degree in education will equip you for a range of careers working with children and young people. Most of our PGDE graduates go on to work as teachers in secondary schools across the country.

Recent graduate job titles include:
Secondary Teacher
Head Teacher
Further Education Lecturer
Special Educational Needs Teacher

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£18,050
per year
International
£18,050
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£1,820
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Strathclyde

Department:

Strathclyde Institute of Education

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

74%
Secondary teaching

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Teacher training

Teaching and learning

76%
Staff make the subject interesting
82%
Staff are good at explaining things
76%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
84%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

75%
Library resources
88%
IT resources
88%
Course specific equipment and facilities
42%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

85%
UK students
15%
International students
33%
Male students
67%
Female students
61%
2:1 or above
14%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
B

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Teacher training

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£22,000
low
Average annual salary
99%
med
Employed or in further education
98%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

97%
Teaching and educational professionals
1%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
1%
Agricultural and related trades

The stats above mainly cover teaching degrees for training and qualifying in primary school education. These tend to be three or four-year courses — check with course tutors about how long you will need to study to get your Qualified Teacher Status. Most graduates go into teaching roles — usually primary school teaching, so these courses have good employment rates and starting salaries. We have a shortage of teachers of all kinds, which is deepening, and whilst many of the most severe are at secondary level, the prospects for this degree are not likely to take a downturn any time soon.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Teacher training

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£28k

£28k

£33k

£33k

£31k

£31k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here