The Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education (PCTHE) is a part-time, flexible course that can be taken over 12, 18 or 24 months in blended or online learning format. The course is delivered by a team from the Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development (OCSLD) and other colleagues with a broad range of experience in adult, further and higher education.
The course is validated by Oxford Brookes University as a postgraduate award carrying 60 M-level credits. Upon completion, staff can use the award to apply for membership of the Higher Education Academy which is the professional organisation concerned with teaching in Higher Education. The PCTHE is also accredited to the MA Education Higher Education. The PCTHE is a long-established and well-respected course that forms part of the 'First Three Years' programme - a support package for new academic staff at Brookes.
Aims
- To widen your repertoire of and competence in teaching and assessment methods
- To support you with teaching problems you face
- To increase your understanding of teaching and learning processes so that you can make appropriate and informed decisions about course design, teaching, learning and assessment methods
- To foster the habits of reflective teaching and of professionalism in evaluating and improving teaching
- To foster the development of a scholarly and research-based approach to teaching and learning in higher education
- To help you become a more skilled and scholarly teacher of your discipline
Oxford Brookes staff
The course is designed specifically for academic staff in higher education and is compulsory for Brookes staff appointed at 0.5 (or more) of a teaching post with a contract of 12 or more months, who have less than three years teaching experience. Most of the course participants work at Oxford Brookes University or one of its partnership organisations.
External applicants
Each year a number of external applicants are welcomed onto the course. If you are not a member of staff at Oxford Brookes the fee for the course is £2,000 for the year.
Modes of study
The course is designed to be flexible and offers choice in its structure and delivery. There are a variety of modes of study with taught sessions combined with online activities, tutorial support and independent study. A proportion of the activities and group tasks are delivered online so you may complete some of the course at times and in places of your own choosing.
Course structure
The 60 credit (30 ECTS) programme consists of one compulsory 40 credit module and 20 credits to be taken from three alternative modules.
Code and mode | Module Title | Credits | Status | Semester of delivery |
P70405
blended learning, both
face-to-face and online
| Learning and teaching in higher education | 20 | Compulsory (may be waived with credit for prior learning) note: p70405 is excluded in combinations with P70407&8 |
Offered in S1; or S2, or by
agreement with an external client
|
P70409 face-to-face, work-based learning sets; private online option | Reflection and enquiry in higher education Module description (PDF) | 40 | Compulsory
Prerequisite: P70405 or AP(E)L
| Runs over two semesters. Starts in S1 and concludes in S2 |