Program Overview

PGCE Secondary Education in Social Sciences with Qualified Teacher Status

Course summary

Combine practical teaching with academic study to begin your teaching career. Develop subject expertise through university and placement-based training. Apply theory, research and evidence to develop as a critically reflective practitioner. Study inclusive practices to promote positive outcomes for learners. Learn from expert colleagues and educational partnerships.

How you learn

We have been rated outstanding by Ofsted across all initial teacher education courses (March 2024). We offer sector leading initial teacher training in early years, primary, secondary and post-16 and we are rated outstanding in all four areas by Ofsted. Inspectors said that ‘Subject sessions are precise in their focus on the latest pedagogical research. This is connected expertly to classroom practice and the impact on pupils’ and that ‘the university’s work with partner schools is exceptional’.

Every young person deserves to be inspired by a passionate and knowledgeable social sciences teacher. Could you become a teacher that inspires in young people a curiosity and fascination with the world? If so, this PGCE Secondary Social Science course will provide you with every opportunity to become an inspiring and successful teacher.

This research-informed course, co-created with expert social science teachers, will help you to develop the professional knowledge, pedagogical skills and subject-specific expertise to successfully teach social sciences in diverse school contexts and have a rewarding career as part of a vibrant subject specialist teacher community.

You learn through:

• Seminars
• Directed tasks
• School-based experiences
• Collaboration with expert colleagues
• Intensive training and practice opportunities
• Independent study
• Online learning and collaboration
• Subject-specific practical work
• Assessment tasks
• Critical reflection
• Classroom debates
• Research-informed practice

Key themes

You are introduced to Social Sciences-specific skills through university sessions and school-based work. You’ll consolidate your development – both in university and in schools – by researching appropriate material and accessing wider resources.

The three modules on the course cover key aspects of professional and pedagogical development, as well as your school-based training. Your professional skills will be assessed by a range of strategies – from observation of your teaching to evaluations, reviews, target setting and action plans.

Your performance in schools will be monitored and reviewed by a trained school mentor and assessed in collaboration with an experienced university tutor. The other modules you study are assessed through formal academic assessment tasks.

Training Locations

You’ll be placed in schools for most of your course. Your school placements will be within commuting distance.

You can’t pick which schools you want to be in, but your university will try to take your journey time into consideration.

Universities can work with over 100 potential placement schools. Most will be within 10 miles of the university, but sometimes they can cover a wider area, especially outside of cities.

This course ensures that you’ll have the real-life experience you need to enter teaching. You’ll spend 120 days across two or more sites, with school- based mentors and campus-based tutors monitoring your progress and providing support. Upon graduating, many of our students go into full-time employment at schools in the region.

You will take responsibility for your own development against the statutory requirements for QTS and will record your progress using an online system. This collaborative process involves you, university-based tutors and school- based mentors. As you complete the course you will review your progress, plan for your entry to the teaching profession and for your ongoing development as an Early Career Teacher (ECT).

Applied learning

Placements

On school-based training you will use a range of methods and approaches to apply course theory to your teaching skills. These include observation, collaborative planning and actual practice in the classroom, including team and solo teaching.

Through our network of over 600 partner schools, colleges and other educational establishments you can train in a number of settings. This consists of a minimum of 120 days teaching over one year plus additional allocation of Intensive Training and Practice hours.

Networking

While training with us, you’ll access specialist expertise and gain professional connections to help you find employment.

Modules

Final year

Compulsory modules

• Exploring And Developing Pedagogical Practice In Secondary Education
  • Credits 30
  • Assessment Coursework 100%
• Professional Practice In Secondary Education (Qts)
  • Credits -
  • Assessment
• Reflecting On Professional Practice And Development In Secondary Education
  • Credits 30
  • Assessment Practical 100%

Future careers

The majority of Sheffield Hallam trainees graduate as qualified teachers.

You’ll also gain a number of key transferable skills for alternative progression or career routes, including:

• Academic careers as a researcher via Masters-level study and PhD
• Voluntary sector work or research
• Enrichment work with young people
• More general graduate careers

Equipment and facilities

The university-based sessions will be mainly based at City Campus and may include specialist rooms such as laboratories and workshops as appropriate.

There will also be opportunities to engage with online learning and collaboration. Much of your time will be spent applying and developing your professional knowledge in a school setting while on placement.

We have invested over £100m in new facilities to help you study how and when you want. This means 24-hour libraries and study spaces designed by our students.

Where will I study?

You study at City Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars and practical sessions as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.

City Campus

City Campus is located in the heart of Sheffield, within minutes of the train and bus stations.

City Campus map | City Campus tour

Location

Howard Street Sheffield S1 1WB

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Adsetts library

Adsetts Library is located on our City Campus. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.

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Entry requirements

All students

• An honours degree (normally 2.2 or above) or equivalent which includes substantial elements of the specialist subject or a relevant related subject.
• Normally GCSE grade C or Grade 4 in English language and mathematics, or equivalent.
• If English is not your first language you must have an IELTS score of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in all skills or equivalent.

In addition to meeting the academic entry requirements for the course you will also be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check and an Occupational Health check.

If you have lived/worked abroad for longer than 12 months in the last 10 years you will need to provide a criminal record certificate.

Selection event

If you are shortlisted, we will invite you to a selection event and you should present a passport or photo driving license. You can present other forms of photo ID for the selection event, but if you do, you will still need to present valid identity documents required by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) prior to starting your course.

See our selection event guidance for this course.

Course enrolment - professional requirements

Before enrolling you must complete all the professional checks that are required as part of entry for the course:

• Suitability Declaration
  • You must fully declare the following information on the pre-admission suitability declaration form provided during the admissions process:
    • Unfiltered criminal convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings. For further information on unfiltered offences please see the Disclosure and Barring Service website.
    • Involvement in disciplinary proceedings during paid or voluntary employment or education establishments.
    • Involvement with safeguarding proceedings, social services or related organisations.
    • If you have ever been removed from a teacher training programme as a result of your behaviour, or would have been removed if you had not left the programme.
• Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Criminal Record Check
  • You will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal record check prior to or during the enrolment week of your course. This will be provided by the University free of charge.
  • You will need to present valid identity documents (PDF) as part of the DBS application process.
  • If you have lived outside of the UK for more than six consecutive months in the last five years you must provide an overseas criminal record check. Further information on obtaining an overseas criminal record check.
  • Where your DBS Enhanced Disclosure certificate contains any recorded information you must present this to the Academic Administration Team within ten working days of receipt of the certificate.
  • In addition to this all those who are made an offer of a place will be checked against the DfE children’s barred list.
• Occupational Health Screening
  • You will need to undertake occupational health screening to determine your suitability to undertake the course. This will be provided by the University free of charge. As part of this assessment you are expected to provide all relevant, truthful and accurate information to ensure a safe environment for yourself and service users.

Fees and funding

Home students

Tuition fees for 2026/27 are not yet confirmed. Our tuition fee for UK students studying full-time in 2025/26 is £9,535 for the course. These fees are regulated by the UK government and therefore subject to change in future years.

If you are studying an undergraduate course, postgraduate pre-registration course or postgraduate research course over more than one academic year then your tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with Government regulations or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) published fees. More information can be found in our terms and conditions under student fees regulations.

International students

Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting full-time study in 2026/27 is £18,600 for the course.

Postgraduate student loans

Up to £12,858 is available in 2025/26 for home students on most masters courses.

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Additional course costs

The links below allow you to view estimated general course additional costs, as well as costs associated with key activities on specific courses. These are estimates and are intended only as an indication of potential additional expenses. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.

General course additional costs

Additional costs for Sheffield Institute of Education (PDF, 615.4KB)

Legal information

Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.