Why study Education at Christ's?

Many students who choose Education want to help change society in progressive ways. At Christ’s you’ll find a friendly space with plenty of opportunities to contribute positively to the college community – and beyond – during your time here. We recruit internationally so there’s a richly diverse mix of people taking the subject with us.

We have a strong record of admitting talented students. Former graduates include Clementine Beauvais who did a doctorate and became a Junior Research Fellow in Cambridge. She’s now a multiple award-winning children's author and well-respected academic.

An Education degree can lead to a huge variety of career opportunities across the globe. As well as further study and teaching, graduates move into research, educational psychology and neuroscience, publishing and the Civil Service. Others work in government policy and administration, the media, theatre, heritage and museum education, HR, business and consultancy, charities and NGOs, and international development.
 

Course content and structure

Education is a major social science in its own right. At Cambridge, we encourage you to engage with important contemporary themes and the ongoing debates faced by educational researchers, policy-makers and professionals.

The Education course (or ‘tripos’) is a three-year degree. You choose from one of three tracks which combine in-depth study of a particular field with analysis of wider educational and social issues.

  • Education, Psychology and Learning
  • Education, Policy and International Development
  • Education, English, Drama and the Arts

Please visit the University website for full details of the Education course content and structure.
 

Teaching

As well as lectures organised by the University, you have weekly ‘supervisions’ at the College. These small-group tutorial sessions give you the advantage of personally-tailored tuition and guidance, and are arranged by Christ's Director of Studies in Education Dr Blanka Grzegorczyk.

Education is an interdisciplinary degree, so you benefit from some supervisions with students from other subjects in College, such as Education for higher degrees or PGCE courses. It’s a small course, and we hold dinners each year, so you get the chance to make friends in different years and support each other with useful advice.

Student Q&A film
  Watch the Christ's student Q&A film

What do our students think?

Read about Mira’s experience studying Education here at Christ’s.

If you’d like to hear from other Christ's students, please watch the Christ's student Q&A film, and visit our Student Profiles page.
 

How to apply to Christ's College

Visit How to Apply for full details and a timeline of the application process. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and school types, all over the world. If you're applying from outside the UK, please read our international students section.

You should apply for Education through UCAS. You’ll be asked on the additional questionnaire(s) to select which of the three tracks you want to study:

  1. Education, Psychology and Learning
  2. Education, Policy and International Development
  3. Education, English, Drama and the Arts


Subjects: what do I need?

Applicants for Education should take at least one A-level or IB Higher Level subject that is relevant to the track that you wish to study. 'Relevant' subjects might include social science and/or essay-based subjects, e.g. English Literature, English Language and Literature, Sociology, Psychology and/or History.

The most important thing to demonstrate in your application is that you have a genuine passion for Education and for your chosen track. We encourage you to explore your own interests within Education and to find issues that really interest you.


Written work

After we receive your application, we ask you to send us two pieces of work you feel accurately reflect your abilities and interests. These should be work you’ve done during the normal course of your studies and already marked by a teacher. We recommend you keep copies for your own reference as we may discuss them at interview.

We publish full guidelines on written work in the Current Applicants section on 20 September each year.

Interviews

If we invite you for interviews, these usually take place in early December. Those invited for Cambridge interviews are normally interviewed for 35-50 minutes in total. At Christ’s, we usually split the time into two interviews with academics in Education. We may give you a piece of text to study and prepare a short time before one of the interviews.

For an idea of what to expect, read the information and watch the short films on Cambridge admissions interviews. We also hold interviews in various locations overseas for international students.

There is no Admissions Assessment taken at interview for Education at Christ's College.

Offers

At Christ's we don’t have fixed quotas for places, so the number of students we admit in any year depends on the strengths of the applicants. In Education we typically admit at least two students each year.

Our typical conditional offer for Education is:

  • A*AA at A-level
  • 42 points overall in the IB with 7,7,6 in Higher Level subjects
  • If you're taking another qualification, we expect you to be working at or close to the top of the mark range i.e.
    • Option Internationale du Baccalaureat: at least 17/20 overall, with 17 or 18 in relevant subjects
    • European Baccalaureate: at least 85% overall, with 9/10 in relevant subjects

Read about offer levels in other exam systems and international entrance requirements.

If you will have finished school when you apply, read about post-qualification applications.
 

Helpful resources

Suggested reading Ideas for reading around the subject / an individual track, and to help you start thinking about some key debates
HE+Education Website for secondary school students who want to explore Education
Department for Education UK Government website
Education podcasts Public seminars from Oxford Department of Education.
FutureLearn online course Challenges of 21st Century Education (University of Exeter)
CamGuides Introducing the academic and information skills that you will need during your studies, as well as how and where you be working.

 

Come to an Open Day or Online Event

Our open days and events page advertises regular online opportunities as well as events you can attend in Cambridge. If you can, sign up for a College Open Day (our October, February and September events normally include a meeting with a subject specialist). Between February and August we run regular webinars:

  • Subject Matters: The importance of post-16 subject choices (this one is also run Sept - Nov)
  • Cambridge for Beginners
  • Christ's College: A look at the Grounds and Facilities
  • Personal Statements and preparing for an application

Further subject-specific opportunities you might wish to consider include Subject Masterclasses organised by Cambridge Admissions Office, and subject-specific talks in the July Cambridge Open Days. If you are a UK student from a background where there is little tradition of entry to Higher Education, you can apply to attend a Sutton Trust Summer School in Education or to shadow a current undergraduate studying Education via the Cambridge SU Shadowing Scheme (do be aware that there's a high proportion of applicants to places for both of these last two opportunities so please don't be discouraged if you don't get a place).

 

Want to know more?

For a fuller picture of what the course involves, take a look at Undergraduate Education admissions on the University website and make sure you visit the Faculty of Education too.

If you have any queries about the course itself, please contact us at admissions@christs.cam.ac.uk . We’ll be glad to help.

 

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