Train to teach if you do not have a degree

Bachelor’s degree courses

You need a bachelor’s degree in any subject to train to teach in primary, secondary and special schools in England. If you do not already have one, you can train to be a teacher as part of a bachelor’s degree and get qualified teacher status (QTS).

You need QTS to teach in maintained primary, secondary and special schools in England (schools funded by local authorities).

As part of selecting your bachelor’s degree course, you’ll need to decide if you want to train to teach at a primary or secondary level. Explore:

Full-time bachelor’s degree courses that include QTS typically cost £9,535 per year and can take up to 4 years but you can get funding for your training.

Qualifications vary depending on the course. For example, you could get QTS with a:

  • Bachelor of Arts (BA)
  • Bachelor of Education (BEd)
  • Bachelor of Science (BSc)

Find out more about the qualifications you need to be a teacher in England

Non-UK citizens: bachelor's degree courses

If you're a non-UK citizen who wants to study in England, you can visit the UK Council for International Student Affairs for information about studying at an English university.

Bursaries for undergraduate degrees

You may be eligible for a bursary of £9,000 if you do a secondary maths or physics course that leads to qualified teacher status (QTS).

You may also be eligible if you do an opt-in QTS course in secondary computing, languages, mathematics or physics. This is where you start a standard undergraduate degree but then opt-in to initial teacher training to get QTS.

The amount you receive depends on the year that you start your QTS course. You do not get a bursary in every year of an undergraduate course. Depending on the type of course you do, you may get the bursary in your final year or final 2 years.

Undergraduate bursary if you’re former military personnel

You may be eligible for a £40,000 tax-free undergraduate bursary for veterans if you’re:

  • training to teach secondary biology, chemistry, computing, languages, maths, or physics
  • doing an undergraduate degree leading to QTS in England

Find out more about how to get support training to teach if you’re a veteran.

Find your undergraduate degree course

Take a look at the different teacher training courses available.

Find undergraduate courses on the UCAS website

Teacher degree apprenticeships (TDAs)

If you do not have a degree you may be eligible to apply for a TDA. This new course will allow you work in a school and earn a salary while getting a bachelor’s degree and QTS. So you will not have to pay tuition fees.

Find out more about teacher degree apprenticeships (TDAs)

Non-UK citizens: teacher degree apprenticeships

You can normally only do a teacher degree apprenticeship (TDA) if you've been a resident in the UK for the last 3 years or more. There are some exceptions to this. For example, if you've applied to the Afghan or Ukraine resettlement schemes. Speak to providers for more information.

Other routes into teaching

You do not need a degree and QTS to teach in further education or to teach in early years. So if you want to become a teacher but are not able to get a degree, you can explore these options.

Find out more about getting into teaching

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