Postgraduate Certificate in 21st Century Teaching and Learning

Who is this course for?

The course is aimed at currently practicing teachers in post-primary schools in Ireland. It is suitable for teachers of any subject, not just STEM. Every year, we also have several primary school teachers take part; however, the course is only suitable for teachers of senior primary students, i.e. 5th and 6th class. We also accept teachers in Further Education, Third Level institutes, and informal educators such as CoderDojo staff. An interview may be required if an applicant falls outside our typical target audience. Due to the practical nature of most of the modules and assignments, applicants should be class teachers or at least have sufficient access to groups of students for the purposes of lesson planning and implementation.

Will the PG Cert qualify me to be a teacher?

No. The Certificate requires that students are already qualified teachers/other practicing educators. While the Cert allows students to explore issues in education and aims to enhance participants' knowledge and practice in educational spheres, it is not designed so as to qualify graduates to teach.

What is the deadline for applications?

The deadline is 31st July 2023. All supporting documents must be received by 25th August 2023. (See next section for a list of these)

What do I need to include in my application?

An application form (submitted online), two references and an up-to-date CV are required for all applications. An academic transcript from your degree, and a degree certificate (parchment) are also required. If you won't be able to submit the transcript or certificate until after 30th June, please upload placeholder documents in order to submit the application. Students who studied for their primary degree through a medium other than English are asked to provide certification of their linguistic competence in English (e.g. grade 6.5 IELTS).

When will I be informed of the decision on my application?

Applications are assessed and offers are made on a rolling basis. For non-EU students, we aim to communicate a decision on applications within three weeks of receiving the completed application.

Who should I choose as my referees?

Ideally you would give the names of one academic referee (e.g. a lecturer who taught you) and one professional referee (preferably the principal of your current school). If you have been out of formal education for some time, and would not have an appropriate academic referee, your second reference can be from another professional colleague (such as your deputy principal or a former principal).

Who should I contact for more information?

For general PG Cert queries, please contact the programme administrator, Michaela Gaffney, at admin21@tcd.ie, or by telephone: +353-1-896-3812.

The schedule has not been finalised yet, but course instruction will begin in September 2023 and run until March 2024. A 2-hour Orientation will be delivered virtually, via Zoom. The first module, Digital Media Literacy, is compulsory for all students, and will run onsite in Dublin on a full Saturday in mid-late September.

Students accepted to the programme will be asked to choose their preferred five additional modules, which will be delivered across Semester One (September - December) and Semester Two (January - March), also onsite in TCD. Please consult our brochure for descriptions of the available modules. Some extra virtual support sessions will be delivered via Zoom, but applicants should be prepared to attend the majority of the course in person.

The Postgraudate Certificate in 21st Century Teaching and Learning fees for the academic year 2023/2024, including the €55 application fee, making it great value Teacher CPD as well as a level 9 postgraduate qualification are as follows: