Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCertHE)

The Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCertHE) is a practice-based programme and is aimed at early career academics, including assistant professors, LSE fellows, assistant professorial lecturers and other colleagues who have substantive responsibilities for student learning.  

The LSE PGCertHE is accredited by the UK Higher Education Academy (HEA), which is part of AdvanceHE, and offers national and international recognition for the award. 

The programme combines scholarly and practical approaches to disciplinary teaching, learning and assessment. It is also a valuable addition to an academic CV, as it demonstrates extensive professional development as an academic teacher. 

AIMS

The PGCertHE aims to

  • enable participants to enhance skills, insight and understanding of teaching and learning in higher education within their disciplinary contexts,
  • combine personal experience with educational theory and the practice of others,
  • encourage participants to question, evaluate, challenge and experiment with their ways of working and the practice of others, and
  • stimulate critical engagement with educational research.

Subjects and mode of delivery

The programme is delivered via on-campus workshops and asynchronous Moodle-based activities in which participants share practice and experiences with colleagues across the School. 

Compulsory modules

All participants will study:

  • Module 1 - Teaching in our disciplines
  • Module 2 - Course design

Participants choose one further module from those listed below:

  • Module 3 - Student learning
  • Module 4 - Assessment and feedback
  • Module 6 - Independent enquiry into pedagogic practice
  • Module 7 - Creative pedagogies for the social sciences

The PGCertHE requires participants to prepare a portfolio which includes:

  • reflective pieces on the development of their teaching practice;
  • short written tasks on effective disciplinary teaching and student learning;
  • the development of a new or revised course design; 
  • two teaching observations.

To facilitate preparation of their portfolios, participants are expected to attend regular workshops that explore different aspects of teaching and learning linked directly to the programme assignments. Participants also have the opportunity to attend a range of other workshops offered as part of LSE's Atlas programme. Upon completion successful participants are eligible for HEA accreditation at Fellow level. 

Eligibility

The PGCertHE is a practice-based programme and is aimed at early career academics, including assistant professors, LSE fellows, assistant professorial lecturers and other colleagues who have substantive responsibilities for student learning. The PGCertHE is a requirement for newly appointed assistant professors unless they hold an equivalent qualification from another university. The programme needs to be completed before your interim review. Any exceptions from this requirement are usually negotiated at the time of appointment. If you are unsure as to whether you need to complete the programme, check your letter of appointment (under the heading 'Teaching'). 

Once you have enrolled on the programme it is possible to apply for accreditation of previous learning (APL). Details of how to complete this process, including the evidence you will need to provide, are available from the programme handbook. If you have over three years teaching experience before joining the School and/or have completed accredited relevant professional development you may be exempt from completing certain modules. 

If you would like details of how to apply for APL , please indicate this on the registration form.  

You are eligible to join the TC503 programme if you: 

  • can attend at least 20 hours of PGCertHE sessions. Please note: the completion of the  PoTHE programme (TC501) counts for 10 hours towards this total.
  • can be observed teaching at LSE and
  • have at least 20 hours of scheduled teaching during the year of enrolment (not including preparation time or office hours).  

 

Programme briefings and registration

Briefings

If you think that you might like to participate in the PGCertHE then we encourage you to come along to one of our programme briefings, which will be held on campus. The briefings this year were held on Wednesday 20 (2.30-3.30pm) and Friday 22 September (11.30-12.30pm). 

At the briefing you will meet the programme team and they will talk through the programme structure and requirements, and you will also have the opportunity to discuss any questions that you might have. 

Registration 

There are 2 steps to register on the PGCertHE: 

The deadline for submitting your registration form was 2 October 2023. 

  • Step 2: Confirming your registration and completing your opening year statement (OYS) 

Once we have received your registration form, we will get in touch with details of how to enrol on the Moodle site, download your reflective practice journal and complete your opening year statement. 

The deadline for the completion of the OYS was Monday 9 October 2023. 

If you have any queries please email either Dr Jenni Carr (j.carr4@lse.ac.uk) Programme Director or contact us on eden@lse.ac.uk.