Additional Subjects - Please Help

Kav1892

Im confused about my options and would really appreciate some help as I should be starting my pgde next september and don't want to waste it if I cant teach...

Basically, I graduated from UCD with a BA (Major English/Minor Drama) this year. I want to teach in secondary schools - English primarily, but as far as I know it'll be the only subject I'll be qualified to teach?

Is there options (fulltime/parttime) for me to do a course/additional degree after I do my pgde to increase the number of subjects I can teach?

For example, Id love to teach history. Is there any way I can be qualified to do this?

Any information appreciated, thanks.

roe_cat

There's a hdip in Maynooth for teaching religion - apart from that you have to do 60 undergraduate credits (ECTS) or 1/3 of a degree (with modules spread over 3 years/levels) in any subject in order to teach it. This can be done by taking modules as an occasional student, so you don't get a degree out of it - just a transcript showing that you've done those modules.

You could do history with DCU Oscail by distance but really English and History is about the worst combination you could have jobs wise- unless you're really set on history it really would be worth looking into a different subject (and I say that as someone doing a PGDE with history as a subject)

Kav1892

Thanks, that's really helpful....

So if Im just doing the credits, would there be a parttime/evening option? And would it have to be over three years?

Oh that's helpful....just a subject I find interesting....what would you recommend as an alternative? I also really find Geography interesting...

roe_cat

Depends on the college - I know UCD's phasing out its evening degree so it's pretty hard to find courses around dublin. Online courses might be the best option if you're working at the same time.

As for subjects - from what I can see on the UCD PGDE English, History, Geography all have a lot of people doing them. Languages and sciences/maths are probably a better option for future jobs. (But languages require you to spend time in that country in order to be recognised by the Teaching Council) There's talk of a new junior cert syllabus - both history and geography could be becoming optional, which might further reduce job options.

Having said that - there will still be jobs - you're just up against more people. If it's what you want - go ahead with the subjects you're interested in- you'll enjoy it much more and probably do better. Just don't go into it blindly assuming you'll get a job.

Dionysus

Contact the UCD BA Part-Time Office here (Colin McMahon or Aiveen McPartlin, both of whom are very helpful).

The Evening BA in UCD is a disaster in the sense that the individual subject departments don't advertise the availability of their subject at evening time and everybody therefore loses. To take my own example, I rang the subject department in question and was told that my ability to enter 2nd year was restricted because 2nd year rotated and therefore only started every second year and there was no certainty it would even be on the year I wanted to do it because they mightn't have the numbers. It was 3 weeks before the year started that I was told they had the minimum required numbers to make the course financially viable. I was delighted because, aside from making a real difference to my career potential, it was something I really wanted to do out of interest.

However, UCD had not advertised the course to even those people who had first year in the subject from UCD, never mind generally. How long would it take a department to find lists of people who sat their subject for only first year, contact them, boost UCD's revenue and increase the career prospects of these people? I met people subsequently who would definitely have joined me in 2nd year had they known it was available in the evening time.

Whether the course ran or not depended upon whether enough people contacted the subject department in question to register their interest, and then officially applied through the Arts Programme Office. Basically, if you want to do an evening course contact the department, talk to the secretary and let her know you're interested. And contact her again to remind her of your interest so that at the next departmental meeting they can talk about running the evening course. You have to take the initiative because UCD doesn't advertise these courses.




As has been said, English and history is a terrible combination - it was by far the most popular combination when I did the PGDE and it seems above that nothing has changed. Irish or Maths would be much better additional subjects. (You know the PGDE is a money-making racket for university departments when you see them allowing so many people with the same subjects on the course, even though there is a large number of unemployed teachers of those subjects. Not to mention allowing ridiculous numbers on to the joke subject CSPE methodology module./rant over) At any rate, you'll need 54 ECTS credits in order to register with the Teaching Council for your subject. This usually involves doing 60 ECTS credits, but technically you only need the 54. 30 ECTS in each of the two years (technically, "stages") were available in the evening time when I started 2nd year.