Education
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| UCAS code See box below |
| Duration Three years |
| Entry requirements Typical A Level offer A*AA Typical IB offer 40–42 points, with 776 or 777 at Higher Level Essential: A Level/IB Higher Level in the subject you want to study with Education. See also course requirements. |
| Colleges The following Colleges admit for all Education courses: Christ’s, Churchill, Clare, Downing, Fitzwilliam, Gonville and Caius, Homerton, Hughes Hall, Jesus, Lucy Cavendish, Magdalene, St Edmund’s, St John’s, Selwyn and Wolfson. The following Colleges admit for only some Education courses (see College pages): Emmanuel, Queens’, Robinson and Trinity Hall. Not available at the following Colleges: Corpus Christi, Girton, King’s, Newnham, Pembroke, Peterhouse, St Catharine’s, Sidney Sussex, or Trinity. |
| Applications per place 2010 entry 2 |
| Open day 2011 8 July. Booking required, see Faculty website for further information. Attend a College open day or one of the Cambridge Open Days. |
| Further information Telephone: 01223 767678 Email: ugrad@educ.cam.ac.uk |
| Website www.educ.cam.ac.uk/undergradstudy |
Education on the Applicant Toolkit: |
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If you are interested in studying Education, consider applying for a Sutton Trust Summer School. |
An exciting degree which allows you to combine the diversity of educational issues, in policy, global contexts, and in creative teaching and learning, with the study of a particular subject.
Social justice, the arts, the learning mind, education and gender, language and literacy, new technologies, values, policy and practice in classrooms across the world – Education at Cambridge offers you fresh perspectives on the key role of Education in different societies; past, present and future.
| "Education is truly an incredible course which never fails to surprise! The Education Faculty is also one of the leaders in the field, where the study of academic education is a key priority in a university where excellence is guaranteed." – Nav |
The Education course is unusual in that it allows you to combine the academic study of education with another subject. Therefore, in effect, it's a combined honours degree: you take specialised papers offered by the Faculty of Education, that cover the study of education – history, philosophy, psychology and sociology – as well as global issues in education, while also taking papers from the relevant faculty for your accompanying subject.
Structure of the degree
Like all other degrees at the University of Cambridge, Education is divided into two Parts. Part I occupies the first two years, with examinations at the end of that period, and Part II the final year. As a preparation for the second year all students sit a Preliminary Examination at the end of their first year.
Content and options
A balance between education and your specialist subject is maintained in each Part of the degree. However, there's also a great deal of choice available within the course. In Part I, you take two papers in education and two papers in your specialist subject in each year. In Year 2, you also take a fifth paper, which can be in either education or your subject specialism.
In Part II, you take three education papers, one of which is a dissertation based on your own research. For your other two papers, you can choose either to specialise completely in education or continue to take papers in your specialist subject. In both Parts I and II there's a wide range of papers to choose from within each subject specialism, some offered by other faculties and some by the Faculty of Education.
Teaching and resources
During the degree course you encounter a wide range of different teaching and learning styles. In Education, you attend four to six hours of formal lectures or small–group seminars and workshops, and one or two hours of supervision per week. Depending on your specialist subject, you also attend a similar number of lectures, seminars and supervisions for your specialist subject. In some cases this may include practicals in laboratories or drama studios or fieldwork as well.
The Faculty of Education has excellent facilities, including a library service offering one of the best education collections in the UK. The teaching staff includes specialists in the foundation disciplines of education as well as specialists in areas such as gender and international education – issues which cut across discipline boundaries. Throughout your studies, you benefit from being part of a world–class university where research constantly enhances the quality of taught courses.
What if I want to go into teaching?
The undergraduate course provides an excellent basis for those intending to teach. The Faculty offers a 'plus 1 year' route to Qualified Teacher Status for primary or secondary teaching. On successful completion of the degree course, students who wish to teach normally proceed to the Faculty's outstanding PGCE course.
What are we looking for?
We're looking for students who are fascinated by the philosophy, psychology and politics of education, whether or not they wish to go on to teach. Our students are concerned about the role of education and social justice in both national and international contexts. Education graduates continue to engage with, and contribute to social and political discourses in society through teaching, and working in development and policy organisations.
Changing course
Part II of Education is also available to undergraduates who have successfully completed Part I of another course. It's normally taken as a two–year course.
Career and research opportunities
The Education course quips students to enter a wide range of careers relating to education, including policy–making in both local and national government, arts and museum education, journalism, and educational activities within the community (including drama and music). The emphasis throughout the course on understanding contemporary issues in society means that the degree can lead to careers in a range of other areas as well, such as international organisations, charities and the media. The Faculty of Education also offers the opportunity for further academic study at postgraduate level on full or part–time masters courses, or by entry to the PhD programme.
| Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) | The Faculty of Education offers the one–year PGCE course, with some 275 students training each year to teach as subject specialists in secondary schools and 160 students training to teach in the primary sector. The Prospectus and applications forms are available from the Faculty of Education Registry. |
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| Course outline | |
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Education is split into two Parts, with a twoyear Part I and a one–year Part II. You're assessed at the end of each year and this could be in a variety of ways. It may be through submitted work such as essays or dissertations, by practical work (eg drama productions, musical performances and composition, laboratory or fieldwork notebooks) and/or by written examination. How you're assessed depends on the subject studied and the papers you choose but you can normally expect about 75 per cent of assessment to be by written exam. Year 1 In your first year, you take four papers; two in your specialist subject (usually taught by the relevant department) and two in education:
The education papers are taught by the Faculty of Education. Although the primary emphasis is oriented towards education, this is conceived in a broad context, taking full account of the complex interaction between school, home and wider community cultures, including those in parts of the developing world. Year 2 In the two compulsory education papers you continue to study the philosophy, psychology, sociology and history of education. If you wish to take your fifth paper in education you study the Modernity, Globalisation and Education paper; examining the roots of modernity in the Western Enlightenment, considering its transformations and consequences, its impact on global development and the challenges created for education. |
Year 3
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