Director of Studies
Sub-Director of Studies
None
Generally applicants are welcomed with any combination of A-levels/IB or equivalent (excluding General Studies and Critical Thinking). It is useful (but not essential) for applicants to have additional AS and A-levels in one or more of the social sciences, eg Sociology, Psychology and History.
Admissions Assessment: None
Submitted Work: Applicants are required to submit two pieces of written work. This should be in essay format with a word limit of up to 1500 words. The work can be extracted from an EPQ.
Education is a smaller subject in St John’s, creating a close-knit group within a large and historic college. This makes it feel like the best of both worlds.
Our dedicated teaching Fellow in Education ensures that undergraduates here benefit from tailored guidance in every year of their studies.
Discussing Education with other St John’s students, who form a diverse community of academic interests and life experiences, challenges thinking and broadens perspective for our education undergraduates.
We have a fledgling student-run Dobson Education Society which holds discussions, workshops, debates and networking events during the year.
Our Education students can get involved in tutoring, supporting access programmes, and public engagement, meaningful opportunities to apply your learning in real-world educational contexts.
Watch the video to hear more about studying Education at St John's.
We select the brightest and most committed students, so excellent examination results matter. Performing very well in school/college in your penultimate and final years allows your teachers to confirm in your UCAS reference that you are one of their very best students.
Successful applicants stand out as not only an exceptional student in general, but as people who are likely to excel in Education studies.
You are unlikely to have studied Education as a school subject, but you can demonstrate your interest by making conceptual connections between Education and the subjects you have studied.
Many academic disciplines will have shaped your understanding of learning, knowledge, and society. To give just three examples: English Literature can help you explore how language, storytelling and texts influence knowledge and identity; Psychology provides insights into how people learn, including cognitive development, the impact of mental health and motivation in learning, affecting the impact of different teaching approaches on students; and History reveals how education systems evolve, shaping social mobility and reflecting wider societal values. By reflecting on these connections, you can show a strong intellectual foundation for studying Education at Cambridge.
Strong applicants will have explored their interest in Education through analytical wider reading outside their school or college curriculum. Think about relevant current debates in the media. Extension activities – museum or gallery visits, competing in debates, performance opportunities – can help make real-world connections about the power of Education, and your potential as a motivated and engaged thinker, collaborator and leader.
