Education
Education is one of the most powerful means for change and growth in the modern world. If you are interested in the psychology, politics or social and cultural contexts of education and learning, you can study it on our Education course.
Education at Cambridge
Education is one of the most powerful means for change and growth in the modern world. If you’re interested in the psychology, politics or social and cultural contexts of education and learning, you can study it on our Education course. Below are some guidelines, but we strongly recommend you take the opportunity of coming to one of our Open Days and discussing the course with the Director of Studies, Dr Morag Morrison-Helme.
The course at Cambridge is a rigorous and rewarding interdisciplinary degree. You will follow one of three tracks, combining in-depth study of a particular field of interest with an examination of wider educational and social issues.
- The Education, Psychology and Learning track focuses on education from a psychological perspective; exploring human development and education in a variety of social and cultural environments.
- In Education, Policy and International Development you consider historical and contemporary discussions concerning these areas, and education's role in economic and social change.
- Education, English, Drama and the Arts combines the study of drama and/or English literature with key issues in education, such as debates around creativity, learning and culture.
Course
Course Outline
In your application (SAQ) you should indicate which track you are interested in studying.
You attend four to six lectures and seminars and one or two hours of supervision per week in the first year. You are assessed at the end of each year. Depending on the papers studied, this will be through coursework, written examination, or a combination of both. In the third year all students also submit a dissertation
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Year 1 (Part IA): You take four papers, including 2 compulsory Education papers:
Your two remaining papers are determined by the track you are following:
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Year 2 (Part IB): In Year 2 you take five papers. Two are compulsory:
You choose your third from several other education topics. The other two papers are dependent on the track you are taking:
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Year 3 (Part II): You take five papers in the final year. All students take at least two papers on particular issues in education and write a dissertation of 8,000-10,000 words. For the fourth you can take another issue in education paper, submit a second dissertation, or choose a paper from the options in the other relevant courses. Your final paper is track specific:
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Teaching of Education at St John's
The Director of Studies for Education at St John’s is Dr Morag Morrison Helme. She will oversee your progress through the Education Tripos and arrange your supervisions. Morag has taught Drama and Applied Theatre across a range of settings in Australia, the UK and Sweden. Morag now supervises and lectures on undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate courses in Drama, Creativity and Arts Education and co-ordinates the MPhil in Arts, Culture and Education. Morag's research involves Applied Theatre and Arts Education pedagogy in schools, Nursing and Health Care education.
Depending on which track you follow, your teaching and supervisions will be undertaken by a wide-range of world learning researchers of international standing in the field of Education, Sociology, Psychology, History and Philosophy. The Education Tripos will suit any student who is interested in a flexible course that enables the study of more than one discipline. Education students typically have a broad social sciences base, but those who have a sciences background and are interested in teaching their subject will also enjoy the course. The Tripos offers the opportunity to continue onto the Post-Graduate Certificate in Education, ranked as the best teacher training course in the country (The Good Teacher Training Guide 2017).
St John’s is a good choice if you wish to study Education. The College has an excellent library and good student computing facilities. Apart from Scholarships and Prizes awarded for academic distinction, special book grants and funds for travel and courses and conferences are also available. These combine to make St John’s an excellent setting for undergraduate studies in Education. The College also has a number of post-graduate students pursuing PhDs in Education, and usually has 5 – 6 PGCE students a year who are training to be teachers.
Entry Details
UCAS Code: X300
Entry Requirements
The standard offer for the Education Tripos is A*AA at A-level (or its equivalent) in line with all other Cambridge arts and social science degrees. If you are studying for the IB, our standard offer will be 40-42 with 776 at Higher Level Subjects. Applicants for the Education, English, Drama and Arts track are required to have A-Level English Literature/English Literature and Language (or equivalent).
Generally applicants are welcomed with any combination of A-levels (excluding General Studies and Critical Thinking). It is useful (but not essential) for applicants to have additional AS and A-levels in one or more of the social sciences, e.g. Sociology, Psychology and History. Please contact the College's admissions office should you require more information on appropriate subject requirements.
Application / interview procedure
We aim to take 3/4 students a year to study Education at St. John’s. Those who are invited to attend for interview will have two interviews: a general interview with the Tutor for the subject, and a second subject interview with the Director of Studies in Education and a subject specialist in the route you wish to take. The aim of the subject interview is to find out about your motivation, intellectual curiosity, and aptitude for the subject. We conduct our interviews in a friendly and informal manner, and you should not feel too daunted by the prospect of them.
At-Interview Assessment
Applicants who are invited to interview will sit the University’s At-Interview assessment for Education. More information can be found on the University’s webpage for Admissions Assessments. Further information can be found on the Faculty of Education webpage.
People
Directors of Studies
Dr Sue Brindley (MT18)
Dr Morag Morrison-Helme (LT 2019 onwards)
Tutor
Dr Jason Robinson
Further Information
Further Information
The Faculty of Education website contains full information for prospective applicants. If you have any questions about the Education Tripos you can also contact the Director of Studies in Education at St John's, Dr Morag Morrison or the Faculty of Education.