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Music Education (PGDE)

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

UCAS Code: WX45 | Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (Scotland)

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

UCAS Code: WX45 | Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (Scotland)

Entry requirements

GCSE/National 4/National 5

In addition, applicants must have the following qualifications in place before the course start date: A national qualification in Maths at SCQF Level 5 (National 5) or equivalent at grade C or above

Scottish Higher

A-C

In addition, applicants must have the following qualifications in place before the course start date: A national qualification in English at SCQF Level 6 (Higher) or equivalent

UCAS Tariff

21-33

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About this course

Course option

1year

Full-time | 2026

Subject

Music education and teaching

The Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (Music) is a vocational, one-year professional programme for graduates who aspire to teach classroom music in schools. On this programme, you will engage with intensive studies in education (professional studies) and 90 days of school placement. There are also opportunities to develop your music skills through complimentary placement studies in areas that will support your work in the classroom.

Following graduation, you will qualify for provisional registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS). All eligible graduates are guaranteed a probationary year of classroom music teaching in a Scottish secondary school. GTCS standards are recognised and highly regarded in the UK and internationally.

**Curriculum Review**
We are currently in the review cycle for our postgraduate programmes starting in 2025, these courses are currently designated 'subject to validation'. This is standard practice during curriculum review periods. The outcome of this process, may mean there are some changes to how your programme is delivered.

Modules

Please see our website for more information about this course

Assessment methods

Please see our website for more information about this course.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,535
for the whole course
England
£9,535
for the whole course
EU
£28,919
for the whole course
International
£28,919
for the whole course
Northern Ireland
£9,535
for the whole course
Republic of Ireland
£9,535
for the whole course
Scotland
£1,820
for the whole course
Wales
£9,535
for the whole course

Extra funding

Within the School of Music, the majority of scholarship awards are made following our audition period and offer of a place at the RCS. Scholarships are made based on ability and potential with some for financial need. Many School of Music scholarships are made for the duration of the programme. There is no separate scholarship application for the School of Music as everyone is automatically considered.

You can find out about the funding and scholarships available for studying at RCS by visiting our dedicated page: https://www.rcs.ac.uk/apply/finance/feesandfunding/

The Uni

Course location:

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Department:

School of Music

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What students say

We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

85%
Music education and teaching

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Music

Teaching and learning

69%
Staff make the subject interesting
82%
Staff are good at explaining things
74%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
75%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

75%
Library resources
84%
IT resources
85%
Course specific equipment and facilities
31%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

68%
UK students
32%
International students
51%
Male students
49%
Female students
81%
2:1 or above
4%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
A
A

After graduation

The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Music

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£20,500
low
Average annual salary
93%
med
Employed or in further education
80%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

77%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
8%
Other administrative occupations
4%
Science, engineering and production technicians

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Music

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£16k

£16k

£19k

£19k

£21k

£21k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here