Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Education (PGCert) (2025 Entry)

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Course code

P-X3AU

Start date

13 January 2025 or 16 June 2025

Duration

5 months part-time

Qualification

PGCert

Led by

Centre for Teacher Education (CTE)

Location

University of Warwick

Course code

P-X3AU

Start date

13 January 2025 or 16 June 2025

Duration

5 months part-time

Qualification

PGCert

Led by

Centre for Teacher Education (CTE)

Location

University of Warwick

Meet us

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Find out more about our Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Education (PGCert) degree at Warwick

The Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Education is a supportive pathway for eligible, experienced teachers, school leaders and educational specialists to have their work-based learning assessed against the learning outcomes for academic credit towards our MA in Professional EducationLink opens in a new window qualification.

A time-efficient and economical alternative to full or part-time study for the first half of the programme, whilst refreshing and updating candidates’ academic skills in preparation for progressing to the final 18 month MA course.

Course overview

As an experienced teacher or educational specialist, your skill-set is unique and the Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Education is designed to reflect that.

The programme runs as a five-month cycle every January-June and June-November. It comprises the submission of two portfolios related to Strategic Research and Effective Leadership and Mentoring. The portfolios can be completed together during the same five-month cycle, or separately through two cycles in consecutive years.

Entry requirements

General entry requirements

Minimum requirements

You must hold a UK Bachelor's degree with Honours at 2:2 or above, or equivalent level.

English language requirements

Your spoken and written English must be of an adequate standard for postgraduate study. You can find out more about our English language requirementsLink opens in a new window.

This course requires the following:

Band A
IELTS overall score of 6.5, minimum component scores not below 6.0

Additional requirements

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Modules

Core modules

Two Portfolios, each with a unique 'module' theme:

Strategic Research (30 Credits)
Effective Leadership and Mentoring (30 Credits)

An academic statement to accompany each portfolio.

Optional modules

There are no optional modules for this course.

Tuition fees

Tuition fees are payable for each year of your course at the start of the academic year, or at the start of your course, if later. Academic fees cover the cost of tuition, examinations and registration and some student amenities.

Find your taught course fees

Fee Status Guidance

We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Students will be classified as Home or Overseas fee status. Your fee status determines tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available. If you receive an offer, your fee status will be clearly stated alongside the tuition fee information.

Do you need your fee classification to be reviewed?

If you believe that your fee status has been classified incorrectly, you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire. Please follow the instructions in your offer information and provide the documents needed to reassess your status.

Find out more about how universities assess fee status

Additional course costs

As well as tuition fees and living expenses, some courses may require you to cover the cost of field trips or costs associated with travel abroad.

For departmental specific costs, please see the Modules tab on the course web page for the list of core and optional core modules with hyperlinks to our Module Catalogue (please visit the Department’s website if the Module Catalogue hyperlinks are not provided).

Associated costs can be found on the Study tab for each module listed in the Module Catalogue (please note most of the module content applies to 2024/25 year of study). Information about module department specific costs should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below:

Core text books
Printer credits
Dissertation binding
Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Scholarships and funding

Scholarships and bursaries

Scholarships and financial support

Find out about the different funding routes available, including; postgraduate loans, scholarships, fee awards and academic department bursaries.

Living costs

Find out more about the cost of living as a postgraduate student at the University of Warwick.

Teaching

What support and access does the Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Education provide?

An experienced mentor supporting the completion of the Postgraduate Certificate portfolio.
You can access the University of Warwick library, giving you access to thousands of journals and online publications. Including those from the British Educational Research Association, the British Educational Leadership Management, the Administration Society and their international equivalents.
Access to the Moodle Virtual Learning Platform and Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Education handbook.
An Advanced Academic Skills workshop to help facilitate the completion of the required academic statements.

Assessment

The programme runs as a five-month cycle every January-June and June-November. It comprises the submission of two portfolios related to Strategic Research in Educational Practice and Effective Leadership and Mentoring in Professional Practice. Applicants have flexibility within these portfolios and can focus on themes that are pertinent to school improvement and individual professional development opportunities.

For example, for the Strategic Research Portfolio an applicant can focus on a strategic aspect of school improvement by selecting a theme of interest to them and their school. For the Effective Leadership and Mentoring Portfolio an applicant might focus on exploring a theme within their SLT roles/responsibilities, ECT mentoring activities or subject leadership/SENCo/Partnership responsibilities.

Reading lists

If you would like to view reading lists for current or previous cohorts of students, most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library on the Talis Aspire platform.

You can search for reading lists by module title, code or convenor. Please see the modules tab of this page or the module catalogue.

Please note that some reading lists may have restricted access or be unavailable at certain times of year due to publication dates. If you cannot access the reading list for a particular module, please check again later or contact the module’s host department.

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you when you join us.

Careers

Your career

Our graduates go on to work in a variety of roles within education, as classroom specialists, mentors, middle and senior leaders, and in pastoral positions.

Our teachers also move into related roles outside of school-based education, into Higher Education, social work and alternative education provision for example. They work across the state, independent and international school sectors.

In addition, our teachers have pursued further research by advancing onto our MA in Professional Education and/or through PhD/EdD further study, and have shared their research widely at conferences and through publication.

Department

Centre for Teacher Education (CTE)

Our vision and ambition for the Centre for Teacher Education (CTE) derives from a commitment to continue the long history of Teacher Education at the University of Warwick where generations of new teachers gain employment in our partner schools to improve the life chances of the children they teach. Our programmes are underpinned by our core values of social justice, intellectual curiosity and creativity.

Our commitment is to ensure we support and develop you as an Early Career Teacher and engage you as part of our alumni community. CTE’s Master's in Professional Education is aimed at practising teachers and school leaders and is designed to ensure the content aligns with an individual’s educational research interest. You will focus your research on an area of your own choice to ensure your studies and learning has real value and impact within your school context.

We pride ourselves on making a difference to our students. We place high-quality teaching and student support at the heart of what we do and recognise that our success is built on the strength of our partnership with our students and schools. Teaching is our top priority and our commitment to our students is paramount.

Learn more about us from our website.Link opens in a new window

Our Postgraduate Taught courses

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How to apply

To start this course in January 2025, applications close on Monday 25 November 2024. 

How to apply for a postgraduate taught course

After you’ve applied

Find out how we process your application.

Applicant Portal

Track your application and update your details.

Admissions statement

See Warwick’s postgraduate admissions policy.

Join a live chat

Ask questions and engage with Warwick.

2024 entry

Find out how to apply to us, ask your questions, and find out more.

Explore ways to connect with us

We understand how important it is to visit and explore your future university before you apply. That's why we have put together a range of online and in-person options to help you discover more about your course, visit campus, and get a sense of postgraduate life at Warwick. Our events offer includes:

Warwick hosted events
Postgraduate Fairs
Live chats
Talk and Tours
Department events

See 2025 entry »

Why Warwick

Discover why Warwick is one of the best universities in the UK and renowned globally.

Why Warwick

Discover why Warwick is one of the best universities in the UK and renowned globally.

8th in the UK

in the Guardian University Guide 2025

6th Most Targeted University

by the UK's top 100 graduate employers (The Graduate Market in 2024, High Fliers Research Ltd)

69th in the World

out of 1,500 institutions across 104 locations (QS World University Rankings 2025)

Page updates

We may have revised the information on this page since publication. See the edits we have made and content history.

About the information on this page

This information is applicable for 2026 entry. Given the interval between the publication of courses and enrolment, some of the information may change. It is important to check our website before you apply. Please read our terms and conditions to find out more.

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Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Education (PGCert) (2025 Entry)

Find out more about our Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Education (PGCert) degree at Warwick

Scholarships and financial support

Living costs

After you’ve applied

Applicant Portal

Admissions statement

Join a live chat

Find out how to apply to us, ask your questions, and find out more.

Explore ways to connect with us

Why Warwick

Why Warwick

Why Warwick

Why Warwick

8th in the UK

6th Most Targeted University

69th in the World

5th best student city in the UK

Gold standard teaching

92% of our research

Page updates

About the information on this page

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