Some students do register with the Teaching Council in PME year 1, through the Further Education route. Further details can be found on the Teaching Council’s website at this link https://www.
FAQs
Note: Revised Curricular Subject Registration Requirements (Post-Primary) are in effect for ITE programme accreditation purposes and will come into effect from 1 January 2023 for applicants applying for registration with the Teaching Council.
If you wish to check that you have the required credits to be eligible to register with the Teaching Council for specific subjects, you should to go on this link Applying in 2022 for a place on a Professional Master of Education (PME) - Teaching Council and fill out a form for your chosen subjects. You need to ensure you can meet the teaching council requirements laid out for your subject, and ensure you have the required amount of credits also. You will have a good indication when you complete this form if you meet the teaching council requirements. You just need your degree transcripts to hand to do so. You don’t need to submit the form to PAC now, just fill it out to see if you meet all the elements. If you do want to apply for the PME the completed form must be sent with your application.
You should also make sure your degree is the equivalent to a Level 8 Degree in Ireland and that you have the minimum of a H2.2 (Second Class Honours) overall in it, as this is the minimum requirement to apply for the course.
If you meet both of these you should be eligible to apply. You can then take a look at https://v2.pac.ie/
Please note, it is the applicant’s responsibility to make sure on application that you do meet all the requirements, PAC can only review applications in full once submitted.
Once a student accepts a place on our PME programme, the Teaching Council also follows up in year one of the programme with their subject verification process.
If the Teaching Council has noted that you are missing credits for their registration processes, you may take additional modules for credit during the PME. Please note that we do not recommend a student take more than 5 extra credits per trimester due to workload.
All applications to the PME are made through the Postgraduate Application Centre (PAC). As detailed on the PAC website, the entry requirements are as follows:
You will be eligible if your degree is at level 8 and you have achieved a minimum of a 2.2 in your final results and have met the Teaching Council requirements for at least one subject. For undergraduates who are in the final year of an eligible Level 8 primary degree programme, they can apply but must secure a minimum 2.2 award in their overall degree when completed. Please note, this does not apply for the MGO. If your degree level is not stated on your transcript you must provide clarification that you hold an Eligible Level 8 Degree. Please refer to the website: The Teaching Council Subject Registration Requirements.
In the case of overseas applicants, you will need to get clarification from Quality and Qualifications Ireland (formerly NQAI) regarding your degree.
PAC also has a substantial FAQ page and they can be contacted at pmehelp@pac.ie.
Applications are assessed using a point system, and there are no interviews required. Further details are available at https://v2.pac.ie/institute/10. For further information, please contact pmehelp@pac.ie.
Fees information can be found at www.ucd.ie/fees.
Students on a multi-year programme should note that their fees are subject to change from year to year. The fees for other EU programmes (e.g. postgraduate taught) have seen increases of approximately 4% year on year.
UCD offers the following methodology subjects:
Accounting, Agricultural Science, Applied Mathematics, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Classical Studies, Computer Science, Economics, English, French, Gaeilge / Irish, Geography, German, History, Italian, Mathematics, Music, Physics, Physics and Chemistry, Politics & Society and Spanish.
Yes. You may apply to the PME via PAC and register as a teacher with the Teaching Council with one teaching subject. However, for the purposes of meeting the PME criteria of 120 credits you will have to register for two subject methods modules in each year of the programme. Students who have one teaching subject can discuss options for their second methods module with the PME programme director as required.
No. The PAC/PME system does not allow for deferrals. Once a student has accepted an offer on the UCD PME programme, any queries re deferrals are dealt with locally as required on a one to one basis under in line with UCD post-graduate student protocols.
We do, however, have a facility for, what is termed, First Refusals. This means that, around May each year, we will contact a small number of students who have not accepted their places the previous year to ascertain their interest in taking up their place for that coming academic year.
Your place on the PME programme in the following year, however, would not be guaranteed and is subject to availability.
PME year 1 students are in their respective schools for placement Monday morning, Tuesday all day, Wednesday morning and Friday all day. In PME year 1, students attend classes in UCD on Monday afternoons and Thursday all day, as well as some other evenings depending on their methodology subjects.
Students in PME year 2 are in their school placement all day on Monday, Thursday, and Friday, and in the morning on Wednesdays. PME students in year 2 attend classes in UCD all day on Tuesdays, and again depending on their subjects may have classes on other days in the evening. In the Spring trimester of PME year 2, students are on block placement and do not have any classes in UCD.
Students are required to complete a minimum of 4.5 teaching hours per week, with a maximum of 8 hours, during their school placement. This should be, where possible, equally split across both of their subjects. However, there must be at least one class per week in the student’s second subject.
Further details about the current course load and modules can be found here.
If the Teaching Council has noted that you are missing credits for their registration processes, you may take additional modules for credit during the PME. Please note that we do not recommend a student take more than 5 extra credits per trimester due to workload.
Depending on the subject of the credits you are missing, you should contact the relevant school directly for information about their module offerings. All contact details for individual schools can be found on the UCD website.
Yes. Undergraduates are to upload a set of transcripts showing all marks to date, even if this is only 2 years of their 3 year degree. The application will be based on the relevant completed degree years. Final year marks will be uploaded at a later date if you have been successful in being offered a place.
It is important to note that if you are applying on the basis of an incomplete degree, any offer to the PME will be provisional. If you do not meet the criteria for the PME before it commences, your offer will be revoked.
Please note that it is the student's responsibility to secure placement, and while the placement can be in any school of the student's choosing, it must be no further than 100 km from UCD.
PME students are in schools Monday morning, Tuesday all day, Wednesday morning and Friday all day. Students are required to complete a minimum of 4.5 teaching hours per week, with a maximum of 8 hours, during their school placement. This should be, where possible, equally split across both of their subjects. However, there must be at least one class per week in the student’s second subject.
Students on placement will be assessed by two UCD personnel: a main supervisor and a tutor. The co-operating teacher and Principal will be asked to comment on how the student teacher is doing over the course of the placement, but will not play a role in the evaluation. Students will have a minimum of four visits annually in each year. However, in cases where students are in difficulty or a school feels that a student needs additional support, additional visits will be organised as required.
Students cannot complete their full teaching requirements over one school day. In order to experience the rich variety of activities which take place in schools, students are required to be physically present in schools on a minimum of three days. If they are not timetabled on these days, they are encouraged to make themselves available for class supervision, extra-curricular activities, exam supervision, administrative support etc. as well as undertake lesson planning and preparation.
While the school placement module is aligned with the UCD academic year, a school may require PME students to commence their placement at the end of August, and to be available until the end of the school year.
It is important therefore that you establish the school's expectations prior to accepting your placement.
A Certificate of Attendance verifies years registered at UCD. It states your name, programme title, registration status and stage and is accepted by most third party institutions.
You can access a Certificate of Attendance directly through your SISWeb account. Full details are available here. If you have any trouble accessing this, please contact the UCD Student Desk and they will be happy to help you.
UCD Access and Lifelong Learning offer a Student Assistance Fund for PME students. Information can be found here.
There are also a number of Funding & Scholarship opportunities available through UCD. Further details can be found here.
Information regarding the SUSI Student Grant Scheme can be found here.
The School of Education also has the PATH 1 Teach(er) Me Bursary Fund. As part of this HEA funded project, the School of Education will award 5 current Year 1 students a fee remission of €3,000 each towards a student’s Year 2 fees. The purpose of this scheme is to support students who were not awarded SUSI grants but who have personal financial difficulties which may impact upon their ability to remain on the PME. Further details will be provided to all incoming PME 1 students.
All PME students must undergo Garda Vetting (organised by UCD registry). The UCD Vetting process must be complete before a student can begin their school placement. Even if the placement school organises a separate Garda vetting, all students are still required to complete UCD Garda vetting. If you do not complete the UCD Student Garda Vetting process, you will not be able to attend your placement.
The Student Vetting team will be in touch with all incoming PME students with information about this process.
Further details about this process can be found here. If you have any queries about this process, please contact the UCD Student Vetting team directly at studentvetting@ucd.ie.