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International (Distance Learning) PGCE

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    This course is eligible for Master's loan funding. Find out more.
    This course is eligible for Master's loan funding. Find out more.
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    Overview

    Enhance your skills as a professional educator and transform the learning opportunities of children worldwide with an online international teaching qualification that’s in high demand.

    A Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) is a highly respected qualification, valued by international schools, that offers you the opportunity of an exciting global career.

    Whether you’re an aspiring teacher or are already employed in a primary or secondary international school, this course will help you to build your curriculum knowledge, within a global context, by designing engaging and informative lessons and developing your delivery expertise. You’ll draw from inclusive practice, informed pedagogy and cognitive psychology.

    You’ll also undertake an exciting action research project, allowing you to choose an area of professional development, apply strategies in the classroom and evaluate outcomes using the knowledge you’ll acquire throughout the course.

    School-based study

    This course is delivered 100% online, so there’s no need to leave your country of domicile to gain your qualification. As our teaching combines theory and practice you will require access to a school and appoint a mentor for practice focused learning. See our placements section for further information.

    Please note, this course does not provide Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) status. It prepares you to work alongside Department for Education (2011) Teachers’ Standards that define the level of practice expected of teachers from the point of being recommended for QTS onwards. 

    Why study PGCE international at Huddersfield?

    We have a long and proud record of training teachers and educators since 1947. You’ll study at one of the top universities for education as we’re ranked in the Top 300 of the world’s universities in the QS World University Rankings 2025. This highlights our dedication to academic excellence and reinforces our position as an internationally leading institution.

    Why choose Distance Learning at Huddersfield?

    • Study 100% online, from anywhere, at any time. Balance your career with your studies and learn at your own pace.
    • Learn from the same highly qualified academics as our on-campus students
    • The opportunity to engage with live online learning sessions
    • Contact time with your Module Tutor, Personal Academic Tutor, Academic Skills Tutor and/or Project Supervisor

    Discover more about Distance Learning.

    Key Information

    Entry requirements

    Entry requirements for this course are normally:

    • An honours degree in a relevant subject at 2:2 or above, or a professional equivalent.

    If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent or Duolingo English certificate, score 105 or above. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.

    Start dates

    7 September 2026

    18 January 2027

    10 May 2027

    Duration

    1 year full-time

    Course Detail

    Curriculum Knowledge Development

    This module is designed to support you in becoming a reflective, critical practitioner with a high level of curriculum design and delivery expertise. This module will direct you to apply and consider the impact of your learning on the course in your classroom setting. Through applying theory, scholarship and research in your classroom, you will learn how to reflect on classroom efficacy, developing both your range of teaching strategies and your capacity to evaluate their effectiveness. As you do so, you will also develop your curriculum expertise, building your curriculum knowledge through designing engaging and informative lessons and sequences of lessons, and through partnership with school-based experts.

    Contextual Pedagogy

    This module is designed to enable you to apply, extend and critique the knowledge gained so far in the course in a manner that is conversant with your individual school context, taking account of the school itself, local social and cultural factors. and the student cohort. Theories, constructs and strategies introduced during the programme will be applied analysed through a contextual lens, deepening your understanding of the relationship between theory and contextual practice. You will explore an area of your practice, giving consideration to how context shapes the application of theory, and evaluate the outcomes, considering the outcomes for your professional knowledge and skill development, and in doing so, develop your ability to be a reflective and responsive classroom practitioner.

    This 60 credit course is taught for 1 year. For Distance Learning courses, we recommend dedicating approximately 10-16 hours study, per 20 credit module, per week. This may include guided independent study such as discussion boards, group discussions and live sessions, as well as independent study including asynchronous learning activities and recorded videos. Contact time with tutors is typically in small groups with peers and/or on a 1:1 basis. You’ll be supported throughout your studies by your module tutors and personal academic tutors. 

    Teaching

    Our Distance Learning courses have a range of start dates throughout the academic year, with varied assessments based on these. Start dates can be found on each course page.Information about University term dates including vacation dates are available here. Our Distance Learning courses are taught online so you have the flexibility to choose when and how you study.

    Feedback 

    Feedback (usually written) is normally provided on all coursework submissions within three term time weeks – unless the submission was made towards the end of the session in which case feedback would be available on request after the formal publication of results. Feedback on final assessment is available on request after the publication of results.

    Progression

    You may progress to the next stage of your course or research degree, subject to meeting University assessment criteria and professional, statutory or regulatory body guidelines. 

    As a Distance Learning student, you must provide and have access to the following IT equipment and facilities to access your Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and to fully participate on your course.

    • Personal computer. Courses are designed for personal computers. Some content may not be fully accessible via mobile devices including but not limited to assessments and where there is a need install supplementary software on your personal computer.
    • Internet connection with sufficient bandwidth to allow video streaming (4Mps minimum).
    • Microphone and webcam.

    Browser

    Your course can be accessed using the latest versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, or Microsoft Edge. Full functionality cannot be guaranteed in older or less commonly used browsers. JavaScript must be enabled in your preferred browser.

    Minimum Specifications

    Your personal computer and webcam will require the following minimum specifications to access your course and study materials:

    Hardware

    • Headphones, soundcard and speakers, microphone, and webcam. (If you are uncertain if your system meets the requirements, please check with the manufacturer or at the place of purchase).
    • Minimum Intel Core i5 (Minimum Dual Core 2 GHz) or AMD A10 or equivalent, 4GB of RAM (recommended 8 GB for better overall experience), with a screen resolution of at least 1280x800px.

    Operating systems

    • Windows: Windows 10 or later. Mac: OS X 10.13 or later.
    • Linux: 64-bit Linux distribution of Ubuntu 16.04+LTS, Fedora 30+ Workstation, RHEL 8+ Workstation or CentOS 8+.
    • Android: OS 10, 11 or 12.
    • iOS: iOS13 or iOS14.

    Internet connection

    Our distance learning courses can be studied from any location, however we recommend a broadband/high speed connection of 10 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload speed. (If you are unsure if your internet connection speeds meet requirements, please speak with your internet service provider for clarification).

    Other software requirements

    • Microsoft Teams, Adobe Creative Cloud and Office 365. Access to these applications will be provided to you as a University of Huddersfield student. Please note that some software, including Adobe Creative Cloud, will need to be downloaded and installed. You may be required to have full administrator rights to do this, which could be restricted if using an employer’s computer or shared device.

    Mobile App

    The University’s VLE, Brightspace, has a mobile Pulse app that can help students stay connected and on track with their course in Brightspace. The Pulse app only works with some core features of Brightspace. The Pulse app may not work on all Brightspace features. Third-party tools may not work as well. Mobile devices are not suitable for all courses, or some coursework. Users may need to complete some tasks on other non-mobile devices meeting the system requirements.

    Costs

    The costs of IT equipment and internet access are not included in the tuition fees and are your sole responsibility. For more information visit What’s included in your tuition fee? - University of Huddersfield.

    1. Our teaching staff rank first in England for the proportion with higher degrees and teaching qualifications, as well as being top five for those holding doctorates (HESA 2025). So you’ll learn from some of the best, helping you to be the best.

    2. We are second in the country for National Teaching Fellowships, which mark the UK’s best lecturers in Higher Education, winning a total of 24 since 2008 (2025 data).

    3. We won the first Global Teaching Excellence Award, recognising the University’s commitment to world-class teaching and its success in developing students as independent learners and critical thinkers (Higher Education Academy, 2017).

    Visit ‘Our experts’ page where you’ll find in-depth profiles of all our academic staff

    Placements

    Irrespective of your current role, you’ll need to be responsible for teaching a class for 4-6 hours per week (either through your employment or on a voluntary basis). For your placement, you’ll need the support of your school; this includes providing a suitably qualified and experienced mentor to support you through the process by providing guidance, observing lessons and providing feedback.

    Why study with us?

    Hear from our academic staff Dr Marc Turu Porcel and Julian White and find out how our International PGCE can help you to meet your career goals.  

    Study anywhere on any device
    Experience teaching excellence
    Fit your studies around your lifestyle

    Discover more about the course

    Your Career

    Discover the job roles our graduates are working in now.

    Careers advice

    Check out the personalised guidance we offer you.

    Student Support

    Discover all the support available so you can thrive.

    Further Study

    Learn about pursuing a Master’s or PhD at Huddersfield.

    Research Excellence

    See how our innovative research shapes what you'll learn.

    Important information

    When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by our terms and conditions, Handbook of Regulations and associated policies. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.

    Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons:

    Changes to a course you have applied for but are not yet enrolled on

    If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment. We may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and if you are unhappy with the change we will discuss with you other suitable courses we can transfer your application to. If you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

    Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

    Changes to option modules Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have an equivalent range of options to that advertised for the course. We will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

    Major changes We will only make major changes to non-optional modules on a course if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that substantially changes the outcomes, or a significant part of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum. For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators or a commissioning or accrediting body. We may also make changes to improve the course in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback or to ensure you are being taught current best practice. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff being unable to teach due to illness, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to pandemics, other disasters (such as fire, flood or war) or changes made by the government.

    Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but may happen sooner in an emergency. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will consult with affected groups of students and any changes would only be made in accordance with our regulations. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you let us know before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for any additional tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so and you may be eligible for an exit award depending on how far through your course you are.

    In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed in accordance with the student protection plan.

    The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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