FAQs for Prospective Students

We do not offer PGCEs in Travel and Tourism, Consumer Studies, Religious Studies, Information Technology and Hospitality and Business Studies. Furthermore, Agricultural degrees which do not include Maths, Life Sciences and Natural Sciences subjects are not eligible.

Since you already have a degree/BTech, to obtain the relevant teaching subjects and/or extra credits, you can register for the teaching subjects as an occasional student at any South African university. You will need to obtain these credits prior to the PGCE.
Concurrent studies are not allowed during the PGCE.

A UCT’s Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) is an additional 1 year, full-time, programme. You may apply if you are currently in third year of a Bachelor's Degree or already have a Bachelor's Degree and want to become a teacher (see our leaflet). 

One would need to have either two teaching subjects up to second-year level (at least 60 credits each) to teach at SP&FET level or 1 teaching subject to third year (at least 120 credits) to teach at FET only level. 

English, History, Geography, Mathematics, Visual Arts & Design, Drama, Music and Dance.
Therefore, Accounting, Afrikaans, Economics, isiXhosa and *Life Orientation (LO) cannot be taken without a second teaching subject of at least 60 credits.

*Kindly note that one must have Psychology 3 (120 credits at least ) in order to teach LO. 

The PGCE is a one-year full-time contact programme which runs from January to November. It is neither offered part-time, nor online, nor by correspondence. You can try UNISA, Cornerstone Institute, MANCOSA, North West University or Varsity College for correspondence studies.

There are only online applications. Click here for the steps on how to apply online 

You should apply as early as April. PGCE applications are open from April to 31 August.

No. However, students who have any concerns are welcome to consult with the PGCE Co-ordinator at hum-education@uct.ac.za 

The PGCE is not offered concurrently as per the Humanities handbook and the policy that governs teaching requirements nationally - Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications (MRTEQ). Furthermore, the PGCE is a demanding full-time programme.

This is the only programme at UCT that enables one to become a teacher and teach within the South African schooling system. It enables one to register with the South African Council for Educators (SACE) which is recognised internationally and enables teaching abroad. Requirements vary across countries and certain countries may require some further accompanying courses, however, Languages (Afrikaans/isiXhosa) prior to PGCE.

We offer isiXhosa/ Afrikaans courses, as part of the PGCE (Afrikaans/isiXhosa) for students who are not proficient or who did not do languages during their undergrad or NSC. However, the undergrad courses are much more focused on the subject. We advise students who do not speak isiXhosa and Afrikaans to obtain an undergraduate credit. However, the decision is the student’s to make. 

Select SP&FET in order to teach Music at both Primary and High School level. Furthermore, successful Music students will be required to do a theory test in November, the same year that their application was made, which will be administered via the South African College of Music (SACM).
There is a maximum acceptance limit of 15 students per annum. Please apply early (before the published deadline) to avoid disappointment. 

Both Accounting and Economics have to be taken during our PGCE, therefore, one must have Accounting 2 and Economics 2 (60 credits each) or Accounting 3 (120 credits) and Economics 2 (60 credits) or vice versa.
Alternatively, one can have Accounting 2 (60 credits) and Maths 1 (30 credits) or Economics 2 (60 credits) and Maths 1 (30 credits). 

You could enquire about the Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE), if you already have teaching experience. Have a look at the ACE webpage

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