Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Bursary

Students on certain PGCE programmes may be eligible to receive a tax-free Initial Teacher Training (ITT) bursary, paid across the course of the programme.

Information on Initial Teacher Training (ITT) bursaries, including details of which PGCE programmes are eligible and the rates paid, may be found on the government's Get Into Teaching website.

To be eligible to receive an ITT bursary a student must:

• be eligible for UK student support (except those on PGCE Modern Languages or PGCE Physics)
• be able to prove their highest relevant qualification
• be fully enrolled and in attendance on an eligible PGCE programme
• not currently hold QTS (Qualified Teacher Status)

At Goldsmiths

The ITT bursary application process begins on arrival at Goldsmiths, but there are some steps an applicant may take to speed up the process prior to arrival:

• Those who wish to receive the ITT bursary must apply to Student Finance England (SFE) for a loan (except for students on PGCE Modern Languages or PGCE Physics). The department uses the SFE letter of confirmation –  received at the end of the student-loan application process - to prove 'eligibility for student support’. Most students apply to the SFE for a loan to cover tuition fee costs, so this is not usually an additional task. Students not wishing to receive a loan but wanting to apply for an ITT bursary should apply to the SFE for a loan of £0 to prove their status. The application process can take several months, so we would advise applying to the SFE as soon as possible. Information on the student loan application process may be found on the government's student finance website
• The full-time bursary is paid in ten instalments across a PGCE programme – beginning, at the earliest, in October - so it is not designed to cover fees
• Students holding overseas qualifications will be judged against the overseas equivalency table provided by the funding body (the DfE). If the precise grade equivalency is unclear to Goldsmiths staff, students may be asked to apply for a NARIC Statement of Comparability, at the student’s cost

Salaried School-Direct students are not eligible to apply for ITT bursaries.

If you would like to discuss the process please email skell003 (@gold.ac.uk), Monday to Thursday.

Other Bursaries

Note that there are a number of other non-ITT Goldsmiths-run bursaries for PGCE students. Contact scholarships (@gold.ac.uk) with queries regarding these bursaries.