Entry Requirements:

• An honours bachelor's degree (minimum 2.2, NFQ Level 8) that meets the Teaching Council's Curricular Subject Requirements for at least one Leaving Certificate subject
• Two references: either both academic (from third-level institutions) or one academic and one professional
• Relevant professional or voluntary experience (considered during shortlisting)

Important Information:

• Interviews are scheduled to take place in December 2024, February 2025, and April 2025
• Successful applicants receive offers shortly after interviews
• Garda Vetting is mandatory
• Final offers are subject to meeting all academic requirements

The School of Education values diversity and welcomes applications from all backgrounds, considering both academic achievements and life experiences in our selection process.

Applicants should be aware of specific entry criteria to the teaching profession which are set and regulated by the Department of Education and Skills in association with the Teaching Council of Ireland, and which must be satisfied independently of the School of Education's entry requirements.

Applicants are required to have a Level 8 degree which satisfies the Curricular Subject Requirements set and regulated by the Department of Education and Skills in association with the Teaching Council of Ireland. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ascertain whether their specific qualifications are in accordance with the Teaching Council requirements, satisfying the general and specific criteria for post primary registration purposes and including the requisite number of European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credits.

Therefore, as part of the application process, applicants are required to complete a Self Declaration Form (SDF) regarding their eligibility to teach specific curricular subjects, where they map their Level 8 credits to the Curricular Subject Requirements.

Teaching Council regulations stipulate that, in addition to holding a Level 8 degree which has an ECTS weighting of at least 180 credits on the NFQ (or equivalent), you must meet the requirements for at least one post primary curricular subject.

The Professional Master of Education (PME) is a two-year, full-time initial teacher education programme, accredited by the Teaching Council, that prepares future post-primary teachers through a combination of university studies and school placements.

Our programme combines foundation disciplines (Inclusive Education, Irish Educational History and Policy, Assessment and Examinations, Applied Psychology in Education, Digital Learning, Sociology of Education, Educational Philosophy and Theory), professional studies in a range of curricular subject areas, and block school placements in both years one and two of the programme. We also offer students electives in year two of the programme in a range of areas reflecting the School of Education’s expertise and current school system priorities.  

Specialisms are offered across nine subject areas. Applicants select one at the time of application as their Major subject and may choose another subject as a Minor.

Major subjects:

• Business Studies (including Accounting and Economics)
• English
• Geography
• History
• An Ghaeilge
• Mathematics (including Applied Mathematics)
• Modern Languages (including French, German, Italian, Spanish and other Curricular Languages)
• Music
• Science (including Biology, Chemistry and Physics)
• Computer Science (subject to approval by Graduate Studies Committee)
• Chinese (subject to approval by Graduate Studies Committee)

Minor Subjects:

• Business Studies (including Accounting and Economics)
• English
• Geography
• History
• An Ghaeilge
• Mathematics (including Applied Mathematics)
• Modern Languages (including French, German, Italian, Spanish and other Curricular Languages)
• Music
• Science (including Biology, Chemistry and Physics)
• Computer Science 
• Drama, Film and Theatre Studies
• Chinese (subject to approval by Graduate Studies Committee)

Year 1

During their first semester in Year 1, students are expected to attend lectures, tutorials and preparatory sessions in Trinity College. In the second semester, students will participate in a twelve-week block School Placement, prioritising Junior Cycle classes, with responsibility for planning, implementing, assessing and evaluating allocated classes. During their block School Placement, students will attend pedagogical support sessions in College on week day late afternoons (after school). These sessions are designed to maximise student learning and opportunities for reflection during School Placement and to facilitate the integration of theory with practice. Opportunities for collaborative reflective activity are supported by our e-learning platform.

When students return from School Placement, they will participate in placement review and evaluation activities, and complete a Research Methods programme in order to prepare them to write a detailed research proposal for their thesis in Year 2. The research proposal is designed to draw on the material included in students’ teaching and learning Portfolio which includes all Units of Learning, Lesson Plans, Observations, Reflections, Action Plans and Placement Feedback from the beginning of the programme.

Year 2

During their first semester of Year 2, students participate in a twelve-week Advanced School Placement module, in a different school to where they completed their first School Placement, covering both Junior and Senior Cycle classes. Student teachers must have full responsibility to plan, deliver and evaluate all aspects of the classes they teach and engage fully in the day-to-day life of a school. Student teachers will attend evening pedagogical support sessions in College every two weeks in their second year.

During their second semester, students will attend lectures, workshops and seminars in College, and undertake Advanced Pedagogical Studies and Research. This is designed to equip students with the relevant knowledge and skills to reflect on their periods of School Placement and academic studies in education and to complete a substantial research project (10,000 word minor thesis).

The Professional Master of Education aims to provide an inclusive, responsive programme for the preparation of individuals for a career in the teaching profession through the development of critical and analytical skills, skills and strategies for teaching, and an inclusive, reflective professional approach to teaching and learning.

We seek to develop our students’:

• critical knowledge and appreciation of the discipline of education and their subject area(s);
• understanding of the broad context of Irish education as part of society as a whole;
• appreciation and understanding of the complicated nature of the teacher’s role and of the function[s] of schools in society;
• critical knowledge of a wide range of inclusive teaching, learning and assessment methods;
• ability and willingness to act as responsive and reflective practitioners, adopting critical insights into practice as appropriate.

In keeping with the Teaching Council’s Céim: Standards for Initial Teacher Education (2020), our PME places heightened emphasis on seven core areas:

• Inclusive Education: This includes the fostering of appropriate learning environments, including digital ones, that support the development of student teachers’ ability to provide for the learning needs of all pupils by utilising, for example, a Universal Design for Learning framework.
• Global Citizenship Education: To include Education for Sustainable Development; Wellbeing (personal and community); Social Justice, Interculturalism. There should be demonstrable integration between Inclusive Education and Global Citizenship Education rooted in the principle of care for others.
• Professional Relationships and Working with Parents: To include working with parents, pupils, peers, external agencies and others; preparing for school placement; the school as a learning community; and legislation relevant to the school and classroom.
• Professional Identity and Agency: To include support for the development of the teacher as a self-reflective autonomous professional who demonstrates the four values outlined in the Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers, and the teacher as a lifelong learner (and Treoraí) in relation to the continuum of teacher education.
• Creativity and Reflective Practice: To include fostering a creative mindset among student teachers, teachers as reflective practitioners; teachers as innovators; teachers as researchers; teachers’ relationship with the school as a learning community and the development of Taisce to support the process of portfolio-based learning.
• Literacy and Numeracy: Programme design shall ensure that student teachers are afforded opportunities to enhance their own literacy and numeracy and are required to demonstrate an acceptable level of proficiency in literacy and numeracy. Students shall be required to demonstrate their competence in teaching and assessing literacy and numeracy appropriate to their curricular/subject area(s).
• Digital Skills: To include Digital Literacy; the use of digital technologies to support teaching, learning and assessment for all learners; the integration of digital skills across the programme including opportunities for student teachers to explore new and emerging technologies.

 Please refer to Céim: Standards for Initial Teacher Education (The Teaching Council, 2020).

Two key modules:

• Year 1: School Placement
• Year 2: Advanced School Placement

Requirements:

• Minimum 200 hours direct teaching across 24 weeks (40% of programme)
• Two different schools showing diverse settings (mixed/single gender, DEIS schools, language medium). Placement in year one and two must be in different school settings.
• All schools must be:

• Within 85km of Trinity College
• Department of Education recognised post-primary schools
• Sourced by students (see the Department of Education’s ‘Find a school’)

• To be permitted to begin School Placement, having completed Garda Vetting is essential. Forms must be sent to Academic Registry prior to commencing the programme. Further advice will be provided to successful applicants, along with deadlines, upon being offered a place on the programme.

Further details on Garda Vetting.

Garda Vetting declaration (PDF)

NVB 1 Vetting Invitation (PDF)

Information and Guidelines (PGNonEU) (PDF)

Professional Master of Education fees for the academic year 2024/2025 are as follows: