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Ms Linda Fisher MA MBA
Magdalene has strong teaching resources in all the academic subjects which may be combined with Education, including two Fellows in Geography, two Theologians, a large number of Natural Science Lecturers and three English Lecturers. The College's Director of Studies in Music is a Fellow of another College (Girton).
Currently we have 3 students on the PGCE course, 4 research students and 2 undergraduate students. The annual student intake on the Tripos course for the whole University is approximately 110. As this is a relatively new course, it is unlikely that numbers have stabilised.
The average number of applicants at undergraduate level is 2 per year. These numbers are fairly small not only because Magdalene is a relatively small college, but also because some colleges have traditionally accepted a high proportion of students wishing to study Education. Applications for the new BA in Education are expected to be around 3 a year. Places are allocated according to the calibre of the candidates.
Education can be studied at Undergraduate and Postgraduate Level.
At Undergraduate Level Education can be offered both in Part I and in Part II of the Tripos.
At Post-Graduate Level, it can be studied both within the one-year course leading to a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and for a higher degree (M.Phil. and Ph.D.).
It is important to note that in order to acquire Qualified Teacher Status (necessary for teaching in the state sector in the U.K.), it is essential to complete successfully the PGCE course.
The annual number of post-graduates overall pursuing the PGCE course (for secondary and primary school teaching) is around 500.
At research level, there are currently registered about 80 students on the M. Phil. course, 160 on the MEd course and about 60 for a Ph.D.
Tripos. The Education Studies Tripos enables students to study Education at undergraduate level. In Part I, students combine Education Studies papers with papers from another academic subject selected from Biological Sciences, English, English with Drama, Geography, History, Music or Religious Studies. Part 2 focuses more on the study of Education, but students may offer one or two papers in the other academic subject. 
P.G.C.E. The one-year course is essential for all those wishing to teach in state schools in the U.K. The course at Cambridge can be taken at either Primary or Secondary level and is run in conjunction with local schools. It runs for 36 weeks (i.e. longer than the traditional academic year) with approximately two thirds of the time being spent in schools. The Faculty-based component of the course includes elements of both subject teaching methodology and more general professional training. Full details of the course may be found in the Postgraduate Certificate in Education prospectus. For the PGCE course applicants should be graduates or have qualifications that are recognised as equivalent. They must also have GCSE passes in English Language and Mathematics or the equivalent. Application for the course must be made through the Graduate Teacher Training Registry as well as to the Faculty. Please consult the PGCE prospectus for full details.
Research. The degrees of Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy are both offered within the Faculty of Education. The M.Phil. programme offers a choice between a research route and a taught route. The research route requires a substantial piece of supervised research on a topic of the student's choice; the taught route allows students to follow one of six distinct courses. Students may progress from the M.Phil., course onto a Ph.D. or may be accepted directly into the Ph.D. programme. Full details of the two programmes may be found in the Graduate Study in Education prospectus.
For entry at undergraduate level, a typical offer would be A*AA though lower offers might be considered, especially from mature applicants who possessed experience in teaching or of previous study of one of the disciplines of Education (e.g. Psychology). Depending on the route taken through the course, the acquisition of some experience of working with children is considered useful.
Candidates may be accepted for deferred entry. Candidates are advised to plan a gap year carefully and to be prepared to discuss their plan at interview. If you want advice about planning your Gap year, please ask us.
Advice on the feasibility of reapplication will be given on an individual basis. Candidates are advised not to give up a place at another good university to pursue a re-application to Cambridge without careful thought.
Applications from mature students would be welcomed, especially from those who have had experience of working with children or who have done any study/work relating to one of the disciplines of Education.
For the Tripos, we warmly encourage applicants from all types of school and college background and although the information about offers given above indicates a typical requirement, each candidate is looked at in the light of his or her individual circumstances.
There is no Faculty specific funding available at undergraduate level. However, as a result of Government concern over teacher supply, there are considerable financial incentives being offered at PGCE level. An outline of these is provided in the PGCE prospectus. The College offers scholarships for undergraduates, awarded on the basis of University examinations and there are also several College prizes and travel awards.
Admission to Part I of the Education Tripos has three elements: the general College interview, the Education interview, and that relating to the other subject. For the Education element, applicants will normally be required to submit copies of two school essays or equivalent and may be requested to complete a short academic exercise on an educational topic. At the interview, applicants will be expected to be able to discuss their own schooling in an objective and critical way. They will also be expected to explain why they wish to study Education at undergraduate level and in what ways they are especially suited to such study. Some reading within the field and/or relevant work experience may enhance the impression given by an applicant. Strong candidates are likely to be those who combine a good school academic record, clear notions of what is involved in Educational Studies and a clear rationale for why they wish and are suited to pursue them. It is also important that they receive a positive report resulting from the admissions procedure of the other academic subject. Because of the importance of the other academic subject within the Education Tripos, applicants will normally have to have reached the same standard in that subject as applicants wishing to study it alone. Some measure of relaxation may be made in this approach for any mature applicant who has had some substantial experience of teaching or who has already studied one of the disciplines of Education (e.g. Psychology). Refer to the subject information for the other academic subject to find out about requirements and interviews.
For PGCE and Research Admissions, please refer to the relevant Faculty prospectuses or visit www.educ.cam.ac.uk
We are always pleased to receive applications from overseas candidates. Those who are available for interview will be invited to come to Cambridge, but we are able to consider overseas applicants without interview. Written work will be asked for and in some cases a test may be completed by candidates via fax.
Applicants for any of the above courses are invited to visit the Faculty website at www.educ.cam.ac.uk and are advised to read carefully the prospectus relating to their prospective course. Prospectuses may be obtained from the following address:
Faculty of Education
184 Hills Road
Cambridge
CB2 2PQ
Tel: 01223-767600
If applicants have particular queries relating to the courses or questions of personal concern, they are most welcome to write to Ms. Linda Fisher, the Director of Studies for Education, at the Faculty of Education address above.
June 2010
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Registered Charity Number 1137542