Creative Education at UCA
UCA’s Creative Education Postgraduate Certificate programmes give you the tools to develop your confidence as an educational professional, within creative contexts and settings.
There are two pathways for this course:
- Postgraduate Certificate Creative Education
- Postgraduate Certificate Creative Education (Advance HE Fellowship Pathway)
The Fellowship Pathway is available to UCA staff and Advance HE collaborative partners only. For more information please see the course information documents.
At UCA, we recognise the transformative potential of education to improve the lives of individuals and communities, and the two pathways offered will help you build on your teaching practice to make more confident judgements regarding teaching, learning and assessment. Using a range of creative approaches, you will develop your ability to design, plan and facilitate effective learning to meet the needs of a diverse student body.
As part of our commitment to maintaining an equitable, diverse, connected and democratic community that supports effective learning, we offer flexible study opportunities, and the courses are delivered predominantly online to enable you to study around your professional commitments.
Taught sessions are delivered by video-conference on Wednesday mornings between 10am and 12noon (GMT), and on Thursdays with the option of either 11:30am to 12:30am (GMT) or 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm (GMT). In addition to these, you will participate in online discussions and activities that enable you to apply your learning in your own professional context.
On the Advance HE Fellowship pathway only, each unit of study is aligned with Descriptors 1 and 2 of the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF), ensuring you are well prepared to work effectively as a creative educator in the Higher Education sector upon graduation. Successful completion of each unit of study on this pathway enables you to be recognised as an Associate Fellow (unit 1) or Fellow (unit 2) of Advance HE.
If you’re ready to get creative with your teaching, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact the course leader, Nikolai Elkins, for an initial conversation.
What you'll
study
The content of the course may be subject to change. Curriculum content is provided as a guide.
Learning About Creative Education
The first unit, Learning About Creative Education, focuses on how students learn in creative contexts and enables you to explore inclusive and intercultural approaches to education. Using relevant academic literature, you will examine the characteristics of creative learning environments and guidance, and consider the role of assessment and feedback in effective learning. The unit also provides opportunities to compare the educational value of a range of learning technologies, and to consider ways of engaging and motivating students.
Analysing Creative Education
The second unit, Analysing Creative Education, explores the ways in which educational experiences can enable us to transcend personal and professional constraints, and examines your role in facilitating these opportunities. By relating your professional experiences to relevant academic literature, you will critically reflect on issues including:
- the role of assessment and feedback in effective learning,
- your role in quality assurance,
- appropriate and creative use of a range of learning technologies, and
- the wider social and policy context of creative education.
By the end of the unit, you will be able to critically reflect on your professional development needs and identify potential next steps.
Course specifications
Please note, syllabus content indicated is provided as a guide. The content of the course may be subject to change in line with our Student Terms and Conditions for example, as required by external professional bodies or to improve the quality of the course.
Fees & financial support
Tuition fees
- 2024/25 entry: £1,390 (per 30 credits)
Please note: the fees listed here are correct for the stated academic year only. For more detailed information about our course fees please see our fees and finance pages.
Financial support
There are lots of ways you can access additional financial support to help you fund your studies - both from UCA and from external sources. Discover what support you might qualify for please see our financial support information.
Additional course costs
In addition to the tuition fees there may be other costs for your course. The things that you are likely to need to budget for to get the most out of a creative arts education will include books, printing costs, occasional or optional study trips and/or project materials.
These costs will vary according to the nature of your project work and the individual choices that you make. Please see the Additional Course Costs section of your Course Information for details of the costs you may incur.
Course
connections
Our course provides the opportunity to focus on developing teaching practice, at the same time as professional art and design practice. This dual professionalism is highly valued in FE and HE contexts.
You will gain experience of developing a small-scale research project provides experience of producing, writing and disseminating research.
Past participants have found this valuable when applying for practice-based research funding or writing PhD proposals.
A successful career in teaching or supporting learning in FE and HE contexts requires three key ingredients. These include: a subject discipline qualification (preferably at Masters level), significant professional art and design or professional support practice, and a teaching qualification
The Postgraduate Certificate in Education is the generally accepted teacher or supporter of learning qualification in the FE and HE sectors.
For those working in the FE sector - the Postgraduate Certificate in Creative Education covers the FE and skills sector mandatory content of the Diploma in Education and Training.
You may want to undertake further study or research to specialise even more.
Entry & portfolio
requirements
The entry requirements depend on the pathway you select:
Entry requirements for the PgCert Creative Education
-
Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS)/equivalent (e.g. City and Guilds 730 or Certificate in Education) or,
-
BA (Hons) (normally first or upper second or equivalent)/international equivalent in a relevant discipline),
-
A confirmed teaching/supporting learning related workload of at least 40 hours for the duration of the programme. This must be in a teaching/supporting learning role at a Higher Education/ Further Education and Skills establishment.
-
Your teaching/supporting learning workload must include student contact hours and assessment responsibilities*
*In some instances, this requirement for teaching experience may be provided through 1 day per week of voluntary (unpaid) teaching support for UCA, subject to satisfactory interview with the relevant UCA manager or course leader. The PgCert Creative Education course team do not arrange placements.
Entry requirements for the PgCert Creative Education Advance HE Fellowship Pathway
-
Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS)/equivalent (e.g. City and Guilds 730 or Certificate in Education) or,
-
BA (Hons) (normally first or upper second or equivalent)/international equivalent in a relevant discipline),
-
A confirmed teaching/supporting learning related workload of at least 70 hours for the duration of the programme. This must be in a teaching/supporting learning role at UCA, or an approved UCA collaborative partner.*
-
Your teaching/supporting learning workload must include student contact hours and assessment responsibilities.
* If you do not meet this eligibility criteria, our PgCert non-fellowship pathway may be more appropriate for you.
Additional information
Applicants working at UCA (including sessional staff) must, in the first instance, seek approval of their line manager to do the course. Line manager and Head of School/Department sign off will subsequently be needed.
Mathematics Level 2 for entry to the course isn't needed, but applicants should be aware that they may need this qualification to gain employment in FE and skills sector.
Portfolio requirements
These courses do not require a portfolio.
Due to visa requirements, this course is not available to students that require a Tier 4 (General) visa.
If you have another category of visa please contact us: internationaladmissions@uca.ac.uk to find out if you are eligible to study.