Secondary Teaching

There are three ways you can become a secondary teacher:

1. One-year PGDE teaching course

If you already have a degree in the subject you want to teach, the quickest and easiest way to become a teacher is to do the one-year Professional Graduate Diploma of Education (PGDE) course at a Scottish university.

The PGDE course lasts for one academic year. At the end, you'll be qualified to teach in a Scottish secondary school.

2. Part-time or distance learning PGDE courses

If you are unable to take on a full-time PGDE course, there are part time and distance learning courses available. The Universities of Aberdeen, Dundee and Strathclyde and the Open University offer a range of PGDE (Secondary) courses on this flexible basis.

3. Four-year undergraduate BEd course
If you don't have a degree in the subject you want to teach, you can do a four-year undergraduate BEd course or a combined degree course at a Scottish university.

See which universities offer teacher training courses in Scotland on the Where to Study page.

Qualifications

For secondary teaching in Scotland, your degree must be relevant to the subject you wish to teach.
You will also need a to have a teaching qualification and provide documentary evidence of an official transcript of your Professional Qualifications.

This evidence should show the age range in years and subjects which apply to your professional education. If it doesn't, you'll need to get documents from your university or college.