Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE)

Study for your Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) at one of the best schools in the UK. The PGDE is the qualification you need to become a teacher in Scotland. It’s a well-recognised qualification which will prepare you to teach here or further afield.

Why study teaching at Edinburgh?

Moray House started as a teacher training school in 1846. For nearly 200 years, we have been at the forefront of teacher education. We are 1st in Scotland and 12th in the world in the 2024 QS World University Ranking by subject: Education and Training.

Explore our latest rankings

A teaching degree from Moray House gives you the rewarding opportunity to shape young lives and minds. Our graduates have gone on to successful careers in Scotland and around the world.

We focus on values-driven teaching, with an emphasis on sustainability and social justice. Our students become informed, confident, reflective teachers who are ready to meet the needs of children and young people. They are also flexible and ready to adapt to changes in the education system.

Apply now

Students apply through the UCAS website.

More information is available on our Applying for the PGDE page.

Applying for the PGDE

Programme start date

The programme typically starts around mid-August.

Programme overview

The programme lasts 36 weeks (9 months). You will spend 18 weeks learning on campus at Moray House and 18 weeks on professional placement in schools in Scotland.

On-campus learning

On-campus learning includes lectures and workshops, with some online sessions.

Required courses: PGDE Primary

All PGDE Primary students must take and pass six required courses. These courses cover the nursery, early, middle primary and upper primary years.

Professional Placement in schools - Three blocks of around six weeks each.
Dimensions of Teaching - Students will develop critical awareness of social justice issues in Scottish education and practice. Further, students will engage with current policy developments as they relate to practice, with a particular view to exploring how play pedagogy is articulated in policy and practice.
Making and Conceptualising Curriculum - This course helps students understand why and how educators build the curriculum. It also covers how to create appropriate, engaging learning opportunities and environments.
Developing pedagogies - Students develop an informed understanding of pedagogy, with a specific focus on pedagogy through cultural, political and philosophical lenses. Developing reflective and reflexive practice, students will take a critical approach to practitioner inquiry, enhancing their understanding and teaching methods.

Course descriptions (2025-26)

Please note course names and details are currently under review and may be subject to change.

Required courses: PGDE Secondary

All PGDE secondary students must take six compulsory courses:

Placement in schools - Three blocks of around six weeks each.
Curriculum and Pedagogy: To develop critically informed and confident subject teachers to meet the needs of our children and young people in the 21st Century.
Professional Studies: This course, taught in multidisciplinary groups, provides student teachers with a range of opportunities to critically engage with wider policy and educational research, in order to develop an understanding of their role as an inquiring teacher.
Curriculum Plus course
- Curriculum Plus 1 - For those specialising in Expressive Arts or Physical Education
- Curriculum Plus 2 - For students not undertaking expressive arts or science courses. Students must choose one of the following options: Critical Literacy, Teaching in Multiliterate Classrooms, Learning in the Outdoors, Philosophy with Children
- Curriculum Plus 3 - For students with a science-related degree

Professional placement

As part of your learning, you will spend around half of your time on the programme on a professional placement, allowing you to gain real-world experience as a teacher in Scottish schools. You will complete three placements, each at a different school, throughout the year. Working with an experienced teacher, you'll gain valuable classroom knowledge and skills, including:

understanding how to plan, manage, organise, assess and evaluate pupils’ learning
taking on the role of class teacher for increasing periods

The University does not permit students to arrange their own placements. Schools, local authorities and universities work together to complete this process.

Moray House School of Education and Sport has established partnerships with six Scottish local authorities.

Key local authorities

Most placements are in schools within these authorities. However, students may be placed in independent schools and other local authorities across Scotland.

Student teachers might need to travel up to 90 minutes each way from their stated term-time address to their placement school. Students are placed closer where possible.

Please note that due to the location of schools teaching Chinese, placements for Chinese Language PGDE students will be Edinburgh and the surrounding area only and this will have implications for travel time to placement if living outside the Edinburgh area.

After graduation

Female teacher talking to a young student

Accreditation with the General Teaching Council for Scotland

Our teaching qualification is recognised around the world.

Graduates of our Initial Teacher Education programmes are eligible for provisional registration from the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS). GTCS awards full registration once teachers complete one satisfactory probationary year of teaching at primary or secondary education level. Eligible graduates can apply for a probationary teaching role through the GTCS's Teacher Induction Scheme or the Flexible Route.

General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS)

Teacher Induction Scheme and Flexible Route

Graduates from Scotland, other parts of the UK, and Ireland who attended a Scottish Higher Education Institution can join the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS). TIS is a guaranteed, paid, one-year probationary post organised by the GTCS.

Students from the European Union (EU) are also eligible if they:

hold settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) or
have applied for settled or pre-settled status but have not yet received a decision

The scheme is not compulsory; some may choose to follow the Flexible Route instead. The Flexible Route is a way to complete probationary service for teachers who:

choose to opt out of the TIS
are not eligible to join the TIS
cannot commit to a full-time post
wish to complete their probationary year somewhere other than a Scottish state school
are already registered in one or more subjects and want to gain Professional Registration in another subject
are from overseas countries who studied on a teacher education programme in Scotland and are able to remain in Scotland after their studies

The Flexible Route is less structured than the TIS and may better suit some people’s circumstances. Those using the Flexible Route are responsible for finding their own employment for their probationary year.

Learn more about the Flexible Route

Preference Waiver Payment Scheme

Graduates may join the GTCS's Preference Waiver Payment Scheme. Those who join the scheme agree to work in any Scottish local authority for their induction post. In return, secondary teachers receive £8,000 and primary teachers receive £6,000. Only students who complete their TIS year in their allocated local authority receive this payment.

Graduate Visa

Students from overseas can apply for a graduate visa once they successfully complete their PGDE programme. Visit the University's Graduate Visa page for more information.

Graduate visa information

It's important to note that PGDE graduates with a graduate visa must use the Flexible Route for their probationary period in order to teach in Scotland. Those using the Flexible Route are responsible for finding their own employment for their probationary year.

What is the Flexible Route? (gtcs.org.uk)

Career-long professional learning

You may apply the masters-level credits (60 credits) earned on your PGDE towards our MEd Leadership and Learning masters degree. This degree consists of Postgraduate Certificates that enhance teachers' professional learning, inquiry, and research. These include an extended work-based project and a course for moving Into Headship.

MEd Leadership and Learning

Our students

Former PGDE primary and secondary students talk about their time on the programme.

Hear from our PGDE students

Isabel Bradbaart

'I know I will stay in touch with the friends I’ve made for a long time – not just because they are colleagues who share educational interests and values.'

Lizzie McGhee

'I feel I can be completely transparent about how I’m doing throughout the year, the highs and lows, and always receive a listening ear, encouragement and understanding.'

Andrew Broadfoot

'They know their subjects, they know how to teach us and teach pupils. And Edinburgh is a wonderful city.'

Further information

Applying for the PGDE

Our entry requirements, UCAS links, further guidance on your personal statement and what to expect after applying.

PGDE fees and funding

Find details of tuition fees and opportunities for scholarships and financial support for our PGDE programmes.

Place2Be partnership

We have a unique partnership with Place2Be, a children's mental health charity. Working with Place2Be, we provide our student teachers with mental health resources and support. A Place2Be clinician helps our student teachers develop emotional resilience and understanding of mental health for themselves and children.

Learn more about the Place2Be partnership and how it benefits our student teachers