Initial Teacher Training
There’s financial help available if you’re studying to become a teacher. The type of help you can get will depend on the teacher training route you choose.
Help for undergraduate and postgraduate students
Postgraduate routes to qualifying as a teacher include:
- studying full-time or part-time for a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) or Professional Certificate of Education
- taking a School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) course (these often lead to a PGCE qualification)
If you’re doing a full-time undergraduate course of Initial Teacher Training (ITT), you can apply for tuition fee loans and financial support if you're a parent or have a disability on the same terms as other full-time students doing a first higher education course.
Part-time and postgraduate students can’t usually apply for the full finance package aimed at full-time students. But you’ll qualify for elements of it for a course of ITT, whether you’re doing it full-time or part time, or as an undergraduate or postgraduate.
If you're a Northern Ireland student on a postgraduate Initial Teacher Training course, studying in the UK, you may be eligible to apply for funding from Student Finance NI.
If you plan to study a postgraduate Initial Teacher Training course (such as a PGCE) in England, Scotland or Wales, contact the relevant jurisdiction to ask if there are any available bursaries or scholarships as well as any Student Finance NI funding.