Everything you need to know...
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What is the fee?
Home: See fees section below
International/EU: £18,600 for the course -
How long will I study?
1 Year
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Where will I study?
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What is the UCAS code?
C1X1
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When do I start?
September 2026
Course summary
- Critically reflect on subject-specific teaching and learning
- Explore inclusive science teaching to promote understanding, critical thinking and practical skills
- Participate in lab-based sessions to develop subject knowledge up to A Level
- Learn to deliver practical science confidently and creatively
- Join a supportive, subject-specific community of educators and mentors
Every young person deserves to be inspired by a passionate and knowledgeable biology teacher. This course gives you the tools and experience to do just that. You’ll learn how to plan and deliver science lessons that build understanding, spark curiosity and support all learners. Through placements and practical training, you’ll become a confident and reflective teacher, ready to make a difference in the classroom and beyond.
This course will close for international applicants on Friday 17th April 2026.
This course will close for home applicants on Friday 17th July 2026.
Student satisfaction
This course scored 100% for overall student satisfaction in the Postgraduate Taught Student Satisfaction Survey 2025.
Come to an open day
Find out more at our postgraduate open days. Book now for your place.
How you learn
We have been rated outstanding by Ofsted across all Initial Teacher Education (ITE) courses and offer sector-leading ITE (Ofsted 2024). Inspectors said that ‘subject sessions are precise in their focus on the latest pedagogical research. This is connected expertly to classroom practice to impact on pupils’ (Ofsted 2024).
On this course, you’ll develop your professional expertise by working with trained school mentors and expert colleagues in two contrasting placements, alongside highly regarded and experienced subject specialist university tutors. You’ll explore research-informed subject-specific pedagogy in university sessions and apply it during your school-based training.
You’ll learn through:
- specialist subject seminars
- subject-specific practical work
- cohort lectures
- collaboration with expert colleagues in both university and schools
- intensive training and practice opportunities
- independent study
- online learning and peer collaboration
- directed tasks during school-based experiences
- critical reflection to connect theory to practice
Key Themes
This research-informed course, co-created with expert teachers, will help you develop the professional knowledge, pedagogical skills and subject-specific expertise to teach biology in a range of diverse school contexts.
You’ll complete three modules covering science education theory, subject pedagogy and school-based training. Lab-based sessions support your ability to deliver practical science lessons, while academic assignments help you reflect on your professional learning. Your progress will be guided and assessed by mentors and university tutors throughout the course.
Course-Level Support
You will be supported in your learning journey towards highly skilled, graduate-level employment through a number of key areas. These include:
- access to specialist support services to help with your personal, well-being, financial and academic development
- access to our Skills Centre with opportunities for one-to-one support, webinars and online resources, to get help with planning and structuring your assignments
- employability activities specific to early entry into the teaching profession
Applied learning
Work Placements
Whilst undertaking school-based training, you’ll use a range of approaches to apply theory to practice – including observation, collaborative planning, team teaching and solo teaching.
This course includes a minimum of 120 days of teaching experience in at least two contrasting schools. You’ll also complete 20 days of Intensive Training and Practice (ITaP), which enables you to focus on a specific aspect of teaching and learning in depth. Together with university-based training, this provides 36 weeks (180 days) of professional learning.
Placement timings:
- Placement 1: mid-September to December
- Placement 2: January to June
Each placement includes support from a trained school mentor who works closely with your university tutor. You’ll also undertake a two-day primary placement during Placement 1 and may be offered an additional post-16 placement, depending on your school. Although this is an 11–16 course, it does not prevent you from teaching post-16 once employed.
We partner with over 100 schools across the region, selected for their excellence in supporting teacher development. While most placements are within 10 miles of the university, some may be further afield. Travel time, transport options and personal circumstances – such as childcare – will be considered when placements are allocated.
Networking Opportunities
While training with us, you’ll access specialist expertise through subject-specific cohort sessions. These will help you develop your professional network and connect with science education colleagues across the region to support your transition into teaching.
Graduate View
Watch graduate Lois Burden talk about what it's like to study this course.
Modules
Important notice: The structure of this course is periodically reviewed and enhanced to provide the best possible learning experience for our students and ensure ongoing compliance with any professional, statutory and regulatory body standards. Module structure, content, delivery and assessment may change, but we expect the focus of the course and the learning outcomes to remain as described above. Following any changes, updated module information will be published on this page.
Final year
Compulsory modules
This module will develop your knowledge and understanding of what it means to be an effective teacher and explores inclusive pedagogies and adaptive teaching approaches that are relevant to the subject or age range for which they are training to help them develop their professional practice.
In lectures and seminars you will engage with the underpinning research and theory that informs effective pedagogical approaches. You will develop their understanding by observing and exploring how theory and research is applied in practice in their placement settings.
You’ll study topics such as:
• Recognition of prior knowledge
• Subject and phase specific pedagogy and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK)
• The domains of knowledge that are relevant to the subject and phase being taught
• Decolonising the curriculum
• Exploring misconceptions
• Modelling, scaffolding, explanations, metaphors and analogies
• Dialogic talk
• Learning sequences, lesson design and curriculum thinking in the specific subject and phase being taught
• Inclusive practice and adaptive teaching approaches in the subject and phase being taught
The aim of this module is to enable you to meet the Standards for QTS. From September 2012 the Teachers' Standards for use in schools in England have defined the minimum level expected of you from the point of being awarded QTS. This module will enable Students to gain Qualified Teacher Status by developing the appropriate subject knowledge, skills and attitudes identified in statutory requirements and non-statutory guidance.
You’ll study topics such as:
• Personal and professional conduct
• Statutory requirements and non-statutory guidance
• Expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
• Planning, teaching, assessment strategies and techniques
• Subject, phase and curriculum knowledge including early reading and fundamental mathematics and English
• Adaptive teaching and progression
• Behaviour management
• Trauma informed practice
• Effective working relationships with TAs (Teaching assistants)
• The role of the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co Ordination) and LAC co-ordinator
• Pupil Premium
• EAL (English as an Additional Language)
• Engaging with parents and carers
• Meeting the needs of a diverse range of learners
• Working with colleagues, parents and other adults
This module enables you to reflect upon their professional learning in your specialist subject throughout the course and prepare for your progression into a professional role.
You will be supported to synthesise their professional learning and to understand the distinctiveness of teaching in your specific specialist subject and age-phase.
You will demonstrate an awareness of the specific needs of your learners and the context and how this may impact on their learning. They will critically engage with underpinning research and theory to inform their development of adaptive pedagogies in their specialist subject in order to improve the outcomes of all their learners.
You will secure learning and critically engage with underpinning research and theory both in the pedagogy of their specialist subject and wider pedagogical issues in order to support a critical evaluation of their practice and articulation of their values and beliefs.
You’ll study topics such as:
• Inclusion including an understanding of the specialist subject context
• Understanding the educational context of learners
• Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
• Assessing pupil progress in the specialist subject
• Reflective models
• Vision and values for teaching in the specialist subject
• Continuing professional development
• Workload and well-being
• Evaluating impact on pupil learning
Future careers
This course prepares you for a career in:
- secondary biology teaching (with QTS and PGCE)
- wider educational work or research across the sector
- academic careers as a researcher via Masters-level study or PhD
- more general graduate careers
‘Trainees and early career teachers from Sheffield Hallam University are valued highly by local employers. School leaders commend the considerable insight trainees bring that enriches the settings in which they teach’ (Ofsted, 2024).
Equipment and facilities
University-based sessions are primarily held at City Campus and may include access to laboratories, workshops and other specialist facilities where appropriate.
You’ll also participate in online collaborative learning sessions. A significant part of your development will take place on school placement, where you’ll apply and reflect on your training. These placements run from September to December and January to June.
We’ve invested over £100m in learning environments – including 24-hour libraries and modern study spaces designed with students – to help you study how and when you need.
Where will I study?
You study at City Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars and practical sessions as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.
City Campus
City Campus is located in the heart of Sheffield, within minutes of the train and bus stations.
City Campus map | City Campus tour
Adsetts library
Adsetts Library is located on our City Campus. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.
Learn moreEntry requirements
All students
An honours degree (normally 2.2 or above) or equivalent which includes substantial elements of biology or biological study.
Normally GCSE grade C or Grade 4 in English Language and mathematics, or equivalent. Where applicants have achieved a GCSE grade 4 or above in English literature only, we will look for further evidence of a breadth of achievement in English. We will consider applicants who are in the process of obtaining the relevant GCSEs.
Should you have specific questions about the subject entry requirements for this course, please contact Jodie Booth. You are advised to do this prior to applying via DfE Apply.
In addition to meeting the academic entry requirements for the course you will also be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check and an Occupational Health check. If you have lived/worked abroad for longer than 12 months in the last 10 years you will need to provide a criminal record certificate.
If English is not your first language you must have an IELTS score of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in all skills or equivalent. For equivalents see our English language entry requirements web page.
You are encouraged to gain experience of schools through direct observation of teaching and learning and/or by working with young people in subject-related, or other related educational activities.
Candidates who are successful will demonstrate a sound understanding of teaching and how children learn, where possible within a school setting. We encourage all candidates to evidence their understanding by drawing on related examples or experiences, such as time spent in schools or other learning settings. Demonstrating an ability to make links between experience and knowledge, and their proposed career would be desirable.
Selection event
If you are shortlisted, we will invite you to a selection event and you should present a passport or photo driving license. You can present other forms of photo ID for the selection event, but if you do, you will still need to present valid identity documents required by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) prior to starting your course.
See our selection event guidance for this course.
As you will work with children, you must complete a declaration of criminal convictions and health check forms.
We welcome applications from people seeking a career change, and we actively encourage applications from those groups under-represented in teacher education, to help ensure that the teaching profession represents the diverse nature of contemporary UK society.
Course enrolment - professional requirements
Before enrolling you must complete all the professional checks that are required as part of entry for the course:
Suitability Declaration
You must fully declare the following information on the pre-admission suitability declaration form provided during the admissions process:
- Unfiltered criminal convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings. For further information on unfiltered offences please see the Disclosure and Barring Service website.
- Involvement in disciplinary proceedings during paid or voluntary employment or education establishments.
- Involvement with safeguarding proceedings, social services or related organisations.
- If you have ever been removed from a teacher training programme as a result of your behaviour, or would have been removed if you had not left the programme.
Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Criminal Record Check
- You will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal record check prior to or during the enrolment week of your course. This will be provided by the University free of charge.
- You will need to present valid identity documents (PDF) as part of the DBS application process.
- If you have lived outside of the UK for more than six consecutive months in the last five years you must provide an overseas criminal record check. Further information on obtaining an overseas criminal record check.
- Where your DBS Enhanced Disclosure certificate contains any recorded information you must present this to the Academic Administration Team within ten working days of receipt of the certificate.
- In addition to this all those who are made an offer of a place will be checked against the DfE children’s barred list.
Occupational Health Screening
You will need to undertake occupational health screening to determine your suitability to undertake the course. This will be provided by the University free of charge. As part of this assessment you are expected to provide all relevant, truthful and accurate information to ensure a safe environment for yourself and service users.
Other background checks
All applicants that have accepted an offer will also be checked against the prohibition list to ensure you are not:
- Subject to a prohibition order issued by the Secretary of State.
- Prohibited to teach in another country of the European Economic Area (EEA).
If your personal circumstances change in relation to any of the professional requirements, from when you apply to the end of your course, please notify the Academic Administration team immediately by emailing professionalchecks@shu.ac.uk.
Additional information for EU/International students
If you are an International or non-UK European student, you can find out more about the country specific qualifications we accept on our international qualifications page.
For details of English language entry requirements (IELTS), please see the information for 'All students'.
Fees and funding
Home students
Tuition fees for 2026/27 are not yet confirmed. Our tuition fee for UK students studying full-time in 2025/26 is £9,535 for the course. These fees are regulated by the UK government and therefore subject to change in future years.
If you are studying an undergraduate course, postgraduate pre-registration course or postgraduate research course over more than one academic year then your tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with Government regulations or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) published fees. More information can be found in our terms and conditions under student fees regulations.
International students
Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting full-time study in 2026/27 is £18,600 for the course.
Scholarships and bursaries
If you are starting a PGCE you may be entitled to financial support.
Additional course costs
The links below allow you to view estimated general course additional costs, as well as costs associated with key activities on specific courses. These are estimates and are intended only as an indication of potential additional expenses. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.
General course additional costs
Additional costs for Sheffield Institute of Education (PDF, 154.2KB)Legal information
Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.
