University Website: http://www.educ.cam.ac.uk
The Cambridge University Course
The Education Tripos is a three year combined honours course leading to a Bachelor of Arts Degree. The course has been designed to appeal to students may be thinking of a wide range of careers in areas related to education (e.g. community arts, community drama, educational publishing, careers advice, etc), as well as to students who have already decided that they would like a career in teaching. The aim of the degree therefore is to offer students an opportunity to sustain their interest in, for example, science, social science, languages, English and/or drama, and to combine it with a rigorous analysis of educational research, debates, policy and practice.
The attractiveness of the course is in its diversity and flexibility. Students have the opportunity to study the disciplines of Education (philosophy, psychology, sociology and the history of education), to develop an understanding of global and national concerns about education, to engage with fundamental questions about the aims and values of education and its relationship to society, and the ability of education to promote social justice, address environmental and global concerns and economic development.
At Jesus, we encourage students to identify their own interests and to select papers which reflect present and future aspirations. Students are expected to develop strong, independent analytic skills in education papers and in their chosen subject. We have found that students appreciate the breadth and depth of study on this course, which even though demanding, has allowed them to continue with a broad or mixed range of subjects which they had enjoyed at AS and A-level as well as offering them opportunities to engage with a range of new humanities and social scientific disciplines, perhaps for the first time. They flourish in an environment where they can develop high level skills in analytical writing, research methods, evaluations of practice, critical engagements with policy and even, dramatic productions, creative art and music.
The Degree Structure
The degree is divided into two parts. Part 1 has covers two years. The first year is called Prelim to Part 1 which is a one year programme involving four examination papers (two education and two subject papers).
The second year is called the Part 1 which also involves a one year programme including 5 examination papers (two education papers, two subject papers and one further paper which can either an education paper or a subject paper).
The third year of the degree is the Part Two which is taken as a set of four papers (one of which has to be an education paper, whilst three others can be any combination of education or subject papers). There is also one research-based dissertation.
Subject Specialisms
The Education Tripos is unusual for Cambridge University since it allows students to combine the academic study of education with another academic subject chosen from Biological Sciences, Classics, English, English with Drama, Geography, History, Modern Languages, Music, Physical Sciences (primarily Chemistry and Physics), and Religious Studies. In the first year of the degree, students will study two papers in their chosen subject. In the second year (Part 1), they will be examined in at least two subject papers and in Part 1 (their third year), students are able to choose up to two papers in their subject. Many of these papers are selected from the range of papers offered in the appropriate University Faculty (e.g. English Faculty) and students on the Education Tripos may be taught alongside students in taking degrees in these specialist subjects. The various specialist subjects allow differing degrees of choice of Part One and Part Two papers.
The list of papers which Education Tripos students are able to choose can be found on the Faculty of Education website http://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/
Education Papers
The Education papers are taught by the Faculty of Education with a focus on the four disciplines (philosophy, psychology, sociology and history of education). There are also opportunities to take multi-disciplinary papers which focus on key issues such as education from a global perspective.
In the first year, students study two education papers. ED1 introduces the foundation disciplines of education whilst ED2 introduces students to issues of language, literacy and community. In the second year, all students study a half paper on each of the four disciplines of education and they can also choose another education paper (ED3) on Education, Modernity and Globalisation.
In the final year (Part Two), all students will study Research and Investigation in Education which leads to an 8,000-10,000 dissertation on a topic of their choosing and two other education papers. It is possible to choose to study a further two education papers from those on offer in Advanced Topics in Education or as Special Subjects in Education (or up to two subject papers). The more specialised advanced papers in the education disciplines are wide-ranging, and those confirmed for 2010/11 include Children and Literature, Contemporary Themes in Science and Mathematics Education, and Education, Diversity and Human Rights.
Career Opportunities
The degree prepares graduates to enter a wide range of careers relating to education, including administration in both local and national government; arts and museum education; educational journalism; educational activities within the community (including drama and music); educational careers within the media and politics. The emphasis throughout the course on understanding contemporary issues in society means that the Education Tripos can lead to careers in a range of other areas such as human resources and other forms of management.
The undergraduate course also provides an excellent opportunity for the study of important issues for those intending to teach. On successful completion of the degree course, these students will normally proceed to the PGCE offered by the Faculty which allows students to achieve Qualified Teacher Status for primary or secondary teaching.