What is an Education degree?
An Education degree studies how people learn, how education systems are structured, and the theories, policies and practices behind teaching and learning, though the exact focus depends heavily on which specific course you choose.
There are genuinely two different types of degree that both get called "Education." One is an academic, theory-focused degree (often called Education Studies) that examines education as a subject of study, without training you to teach directly. The other is a teacher training degree (a BEd, or a BA/BSc with QTS, Qualified Teacher Status, embedded) that combines academic study with supervised classroom placements, and does qualify you to teach. These are genuinely different qualifications with different outcomes, not just different names for the same thing.
Does an Education degree make you a qualified teacher?
Not automatically, it depends entirely on which specific type of Education degree you study. A standard Education Studies degree does not include QTS and does not qualify you to teach in UK state-maintained schools on its own.
Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) is the professional licence required to teach in most state-maintained schools in England and Wales. You can gain QTS in a few ways: through an undergraduate degree with QTS embedded (a BEd, or a BA/BSc that explicitly includes QTS, applied for and studied as one combined programme from the outset), or, more commonly, through a postgraduate route after completing any undergraduate degree, most often a PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education), a one-year course combining academic study with school placements. Most, but not all, PGCE courses include QTS as part of the qualification, so it's worth confirming this specifically with any course you're considering, since a PGCE and QTS aren't automatically the same thing. If you study a standard Education Studies degree without QTS, you can still go on to gain QTS afterward via a PGCE or another postgraduate teacher training route, it just isn't included in the undergraduate degree itself.
What do you actually study on an Education degree?
What you study depends significantly on whether you're on an academic Education Studies pathway or a QTS-embedded teacher training pathway, though there's real overlap in the foundational content.
Common areas of study include:
- Child and Adolescent Development, covering how learning and development change across different ages
- Educational Psychology and Pedagogy, covering theories of how people learn and how teaching can be structured effectively
- Education Policy and Systems, covering how education is governed, funded and structured
- Inclusion and Special Educational Needs (SEN), covering how education can be adapted for diverse learners
- Research Methods, covering how educational research is designed and evaluated
- Supervised Teaching Placements (QTS routes only), covering practical classroom experience assessed against national Teachers' Standards
What skills does an Education degree develop?
An Education degree builds strong communication, analytical and pastoral skills, alongside genuine understanding of child development and learning, valuable well beyond a teaching career specifically.
Skills you can expect to build include understanding of child and adolescent development, communication and the ability to explain complex ideas clearly, research and critical analysis of educational policy and practice, and, for QTS routes specifically, practical classroom management and lesson planning skills assessed directly against professional standards.
Specialisations and how Education compares to related subjects
Within teacher training specifically, you'll typically specialise by age phase (Early Years, Primary, or Secondary, often with a specific subject specialism at secondary level) from the point of application, since these are different, focused training routes rather than optional modules chosen later.
If you're still deciding whether Education itself is the right subject, here's how it compares to some commonly considered alternatives:
| Compare to | Choose it instead if... | Key difference |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | You're more interested in the science of human behaviour broadly, not education specifically | Psychology covers human behaviour and mental processes broadly; Education focuses specifically on learning, teaching and education systems |
| Social Work | You want to support children and families through a social care route rather than a classroom | Social Work leads to a separate, distinct professional qualification and registration, focused on safeguarding and family support rather than teaching |
| A subject-specific degree plus PGCE (e.g. English, Maths, History) | You already know you want to teach a specific subject, particularly at secondary level | Many secondary teachers study their specialist subject first, then convert to teaching via a PGCE afterward, rather than studying Education as an undergraduate degree |
Psychology
- Choose it instead if...
- You're more interested in the science of human behaviour broadly, not education specifically
- Key difference
- Psychology covers human behaviour and mental processes broadly; Education focuses specifically on learning, teaching and education systems
Social Work
- Choose it instead if...
- You want to support children and families through a social care route rather than a classroom
- Key difference
- Social Work leads to a separate, distinct professional qualification and registration, focused on safeguarding and family support rather than teaching
A subject-specific degree plus PGCE (e.g. English, Maths, History)
- Choose it instead if...
- You already know you want to teach a specific subject, particularly at secondary level
- Key difference
- Many secondary teachers study their specialist subject first, then convert to teaching via a PGCE afterward, rather than studying Education as an undergraduate degree
What entry requirements do you need for Education?
Entry requirements vary by university and by route, but GCSE Maths and English (and Science for primary-focused QTS routes) are commonly required, particularly for teacher training pathways.
QTS-embedded routes typically also require a successful interview and, in some cases, a demonstration of subject knowledge relevant to the age group or subject you intend to teach. Education Studies routes without QTS are generally less restrictive on specific entry requirements. Always check individual university requirements directly, since they vary considerably between institutions and routes.
What careers can an Education degree lead to?
An Education Studies degree (without QTS) can lead into teaching via further postgraduate training, but also opens a genuinely broad range of careers in and around education that don't require QTS at all. A QTS-embedded degree leads directly toward classroom teaching.
Careers requiring QTS include primary and secondary classroom teacher roles in state-maintained schools.
Careers where an Education degree is valuable but QTS isn't required include teaching assistant, educational consultant, curriculum development, education policy roles, work in charities and educational non-profits, corporate learning and development, and roles in publishing educational materials.
What do Education graduates actually do after graduating?
Outcomes vary significantly depending on whether QTS was included in the degree. Graduates of QTS-embedded routes typically move directly into teaching posts, while Education Studies graduates without QTS follow a broader range of paths, some toward teaching via further training, many into education-adjacent or entirely different careers.
How much do Education graduates, and teachers, earn?
Newly qualified teachers (NQTs) in England and Wales are paid according to national pay scales set by the government, rather than varying freely between individual schools, though academies have some flexibility to pay above the minimum.
Pay progresses through defined pay points as you gain experience, with additional allowances available for specific responsibilities (such as leading a subject department) or for teaching in London and the South East. Rather than relying on a single figure, check the current national teachers' pay scale directly, since it's reviewed and updated regularly.
Is an Education degree worth it?
For students who know they want to teach, a QTS-embedded route is a direct, efficient path into the profession. For students who are unsure, an Education Studies degree keeps options broader, but it's worth understanding upfront that it doesn't include QTS.
Its biggest advantage, on the QTS-embedded route specifically, is directness, one degree, one clear professional outcome. Education Studies without QTS trades that directness for breadth, useful if you're not yet certain teaching is the right path, but it does mean an additional year of postgraduate training (typically a PGCE) is needed afterward if you do decide to teach.
How can you strengthen your application?
Whichever route you're considering, genuine classroom or educational experience makes a real difference to both your application and your own confidence that this is the right path.
Worth prioritising: arranging school experience or volunteering in an educational setting before applying, genuinely valuable both for your application and for confirming teaching is right for you; researching whether you want to teach a specific subject at secondary level (in which case, a subject-specific degree plus PGCE is often the stronger route) versus a broader primary or Education Studies path; and being clear in your application about which outcome you're actually seeking, since QTS-embedded and non-QTS routes are genuinely different products, not just different course titles.
Not sure whether Education, or another course entirely, actually fits your grades and interests? Try StudyDecidr's free course matching tool to get a curated shortlist based on your predicted grades and career ambitions. (International and postgraduate course matching is coming soon.)
Curious what studying different subjects is actually like day to day? Read real Student Experiences from current students, in their own words.
Sources and methodology
Dated and regulatory information: QTS, PGCE and teacher pay scale details reflect the current framework at the time of writing, based on Department for Education guidance. These are reviewed and occasionally updated, so verify current requirements directly with the Department for Education (Get Into Teaching, education.gov.uk) before making decisions based on this guide.
General claims (typical course structure, skills developed) reflect common patterns across UK Education degrees rather than a single official source, and individual courses vary, so always check specific university course pages directly.