Guidance on completing your PGCAP application

As you complete each section of the application form, make sure you click the "Save" button on the bottom of the page. This enables you to leave a partially completed application and come back to it later, without losing anything you've entered.

At this point in time, we are not allowing external participants on the programme.

Personal details

  • If your "Country of birth" or "Nationality" are Scottish, you will be asked to fill in some Widening Participation information. The university is required to collect this information for mandatory reporting.

Contact details

  • hopefully self-explanatory.

Education details:

  • We do not require a comprehensive list of every degree/qualification you hold (contrary to the default guidance in the application form). For PGCAP registration we just need the details of the highest degree that you hold, and the details of any education-related degrees that you hold (such as a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, PGCE).
  • You will need to upload a transcript for the degrees that you list.
  • If you are currently enrolled on a PhD at St Andrews:
    • Fill in the "Current and most recent" details and the first row of "Qualification(s)" with information about your PhD.
    • Also add the details of the next highest degree that you hold. Select either the "Add another qualification for this institution" (if your previous degree was also at St Andrews)or the "Add a qualification from a different college or university" button. For example, if you have both an MLitt and a BA, we only need information on the MLitt.
    • If you happen to hold an education-related degree (eg PGCE), add information on that as well. Use the "Add a qualification from a different college or university" button.
  • If you are a staff member at St Andrews:
    • Please give the details for the highest degree that you hold by filling in the "Current and most recent" fields and the first row of "Qualifications(s)". For example, if you have a PhD, and MSc and a BSc (Hons), you only need to list the PhD.
    • If you happen to hold an education-related degree (eg PGCE), add information on that as well. Use the "Add a qualification from a different college or university" button.
  • Ignore the “English language qualifications” section. You do not need to upload any English language certificates. The fact that you are already a staff member or PGR student at St Andrews means you have already demonstrated this.
  • Upload a copy of your most recent CV. Ignore the “Covering letter” section; you do not need to upload one.

Personal statement:

In this section, please upload a statement that includes all the following information. Your application cannot be processed if your personal statement is missing any of this information.

  1. Specify whether you wish to enrol on just one module (and which one) or the whole PGCAP.
  2. Explain your reasons for want9ing to enrol on the PGCAP (if you plan to do the whole degree).
  3. Outline the nature and quality of the teaching you will be doing in the semester you join the PGCAP. Note what modules you will be teaching on, the contact hours involved, and when the contact hours occur, ie what weeks of semester. This is to ensure that you will have sufficient opportunity to achieve all the module intended learning outcomes.
  4. Confirm that you will be able attend all the live classes for your first module (see Initial core modules and Electives sections).

Referees:

We are not looking for a typical academic job reference. Rather, we just require a statement from your Head of School or Director of Teaching for staff (primary PGR supervisor for PGR applicants) which confirms all the following points:

  1. You have their permission to enrol on the PGCAP.
  2. You will be teaching in the semesters in which you plan to do the core modules. (With the titles and module codes of the modules on which you will be teaching.)

An email with this information is sufficient, and you can upload this as part of your application. (For question “Do you have a reference to upload?”, select “Yes” and then the “Upload” button.)

We recommend that you obtain this statement before applying and upload it as part of your application, to avoid delays in processing your application.

Requesting recognition of prior learning

If you have passed modules elsewhere related to teaching/education, you may be able to claim recognition of prior accredited learning (RPL).  This will depend on several factors, such as how long ago the modules were taken, the credit-weighting of the modules, and how closely the content aligns with our core modules. RPL can contribute to a maximum of 30-credits (50%) of the PGCAP.

Modules must have been passed within the past five years to be eligible for RPL. We will need to see a module handbook or similar documentation to determine whether the content, intended learning outcomes and assessments align with our modules. If you have done a 10-credit module elsewhere, it may still be possible to get recognition of prior learning by submitting some additional evidence. Please email teachingdev@st-andrews.ac.uk to discuss your circumstances.  

If you are granted RPL, the total number of semesters you will have to complete the programme will be reduced by one semester for each module for which you receive RPL. For example, if granted RPL for one PGCAP module, you would have a maximum of seven semesters to complete the programme rather than eight. If granted RPL for two modules, you would have a maximum of six semesters to complete the remaining two PGCAP modules.