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Graduate Certificate in PGCE Primary at Canterbury Christ Church University

Canterbury Christ Church University

United Kingdom, Canterbury

University Rank:#1201

The PGCE Primary is a Graduate Certificate degree offered by Canterbury Christ Church University on the Canterbury campus in United Kingdom. The program is delivered on campus as a Full Time course in English and requires approximately 1 year to complete. Students study at the Canterbury campus while gaining the knowledge and practical experience expected for this area of study. The next intake is available from September 1, 2026.

About Graduate Certificate in PGCE Primary

This course aims to enable you to meet, and exceed, the Teachers’ Standards criteria as set out by the Department for Education and the Teacher Regulations Agency for teaching across the primary phase of education.

The course will not restrict you to a limited age-range for your career. It will support you in meeting the requirement to teach across two consecutive age-phases, and within two different school settings.

You will be able to request whether to be based with 3-7, 5-11 or 7-11 age-phase for some professional placements. Similarly, there will be opportunity within the course to apply for a professional placement in a special educational needs school. Please note that all such requests cannot be guaranteed, but they will be taken into consideration when allocating students to placement offers received from schools.

You will study the following modules:

Curriculum and Pedagogy
Contemporary Issues in Education
Researching Teaching and Learning.

All learning on the course is designed to complement your work in the classroom and academic study will be informed by and will inform your teaching.

The Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Education enjoys a strong partnership with local primary schools and early years’ settings. They are fully involved in all aspects of the course, including recruitment and selection, course planning and development and leading support for your progress against the Teachers’ Standards when you are on placement.

The course is aimed at graduates who have a real passion, enthusiasm and commitment to joining the teaching profession as a primary teacher, and who seek to become the very best ‘leader of learning they can. Through our PGCE we will help you build on this passion for teaching children in early years up to year six. On successfully completing your PGCE, as well as pursuing your teaching career and moving into completing your Early Career Teacher (ECT) induction, there is also potential for you to engage in further study for a full Master's and on to a Doctorate in Education.

Requirements and Admission Criteria for Graduate Certificate in PGCE Primary at Canterbury Christ Church University

Entry Requirements

Bachelor degree For programmes requiring a 2:1:
A final grade of at least Very good/76% or a GPA of 3.0/4.0 For programmes requiring a 2:2:
A final grade of at least Very good/76% or a GPA of 3.0/4.0

English Requirements

TOEFLMin 6.5

English Program Requirements

All applicants for undergraduate programmes will need a minimum English level of IELTS or equivalent 6.0 overall, with no less than 6.0 in writing and no less than 5.5 in all other bands. Some programmes require 6.5/7.0 – please contact the International Office if you are unsure of your course requirement.

For postgraduate entry all applicants will need a minimum of IELTS 6.5 with no less than 6.0 in writing and no less than 5.5 in all other bands or equivalent. Some courses have a higher requirement – please contact the International Office if you are unsure of your course requirement.

For International Foundation entry all applicants will need a minimum of IELTS 5.0 or equivalent, with no less than 5.0 in writing and no less than 4.0 in all other bands.

If you have taken an IGCSE exam in English and have a Grade C, this will also usually be acceptable for most undergraduate courses.

We are also able to consider some non-UK English qualifications for entry. The International Admissions Team will advise if they are able to accept your English language qualification once you have applied.

Career Opportunities after Completing Graduate Certificate in PGCE Primary

Following successful completion of this course, the usual next step is to seek employment as an Early Career Teacher and to successfully pass that part of your induction into the teaching profession. From there, your teaching career can take you on to a very rewarding and exciting professional journey involving learning and teaching, leadership and management, research and advisory roles. There is also potential for you to engage in further study for a full Master's Degree and on to a Doctorate in Education.

Fee Information

How to Apply

Taught Master's degrees

Once you’ve decided what course you’d like to apply for, you can apply directly from the course web page.* You will need to create an account in our online system.

Depending on the course you’re applying for, we may ask you to upload supporting documents, such as qualification certificates or references.

Completing your application

The application is split into several stages and you can navigate back and forth throughout the process. You can also save and return to your application at any time. Simply login whenever you want to continue with your application or check the status.

*If you are interested in MA Social Work, MSc Nursing (Adult or Mental Health) or Physician Associate Studies you need to apply via UCAS.

Applying for a part-time course

If you'd like to apply for one of our part-time courses you need to apply directly to us via our online application system.

Visit the 'apply now' section on the course page to find out if the course you're interested in has a part-time option, and to complete and submit your application.

Learn more about applying directly to us.

Applying as an international student

If you’re an international student applying for a part-time or postgraduate course at Christ Church, you can do this via the online application system in the same way as a home student.

During the application you’ll be asked to upload your Passport and Visa details, any English Language qualifications you have, official translations of your transcripts or a statement of compatibility from ENIC. You can contact ENIC at www.enic.org.uk for more information.

For help and advice about completing your application, please visit our international pages.

You can also contact our recruitment partner, InUni, to start your application. The InUni team will support and guide you throughout your admission journey.

Phone: +44 208 175 3200

Email: [email protected]

Visit: https://inuni-admissions.inuniglobal.com/cccu-international

Graduate Certificate in PGCE Primary at Canterbury Christ Church University

Canterbury Christ Church University

United Kingdom, Canterbury