In Education Studies, carefully structured work placement forms an integral component of this course and we make sure that you have plenty of time in schools or, if you prefer, other educational settings. Currently you can choose from placements in primary or secondary schools as well as colleges and a wide variety of other educational settings, such as outdoor pursuit centres, centres to re-engage disaffected young people, heritage sites and art galleries. This means that means that you have a superb opportunity to experience work in a range of educational settings and to build up a sound portfolio of professional and transferable skills, all of which will help you to make fully informed choices about your potential career path and have the potential to make you more attractive to an employer. The Education Studies element of the course aims to provide you with an excellent understanding of education - in its widest sense - and is designed for those who are interested in a career in primary or secondary teaching, for those who are interested in other education-related opportunities, or for those who simply want to keep their options open. All topics within Education Studies are studied in the immediate context of today's educational systems, both in the UK and beyond, and you will critically debate education policy and practice to get beneath the skin of the ever-changing face of modern education. Theology & Ethics You will study the course of western philosophy, cover backgrounds to the world's major religions, explore the world of Ethics and will take you on a journey to uncover the history of religions, bringing it right up to date with some of the new religions and cults in Britain. Placements will be available throughout the degree, with our range of partners including charities, schools and third sector groups. You will look into exciting topics such as Religion and Sexuality, Religion and Science, Holocaust Education and Green Theology and how they impact the world. You will pursue specialist modules on cutting edge subjects such Atheism, Women and faiths, Religion and Terrorism and Media and Message. If you are thinking about a career in teaching these specialist modules are ideal for helping you develop skills as an RE teacher and prepare you for a PGCE course. However, we also expect students to be interested in a range of other careers such as those in the public sector, National Government Offices, international development and charities.

Many students go onto careers in teaching or educational support. Students with single honours, major or joint awards are well placed to apply for teacher training in secondary education while minor awards enrich applications for primary teaching and other learning support roles. Students often seek a route into teaching through the PGCE qualifications here at BG (see our Postgraduate Courses for more information). Education Studies is an excellent choice of course if you are thinking about a career in primary or secondary teaching, or would like to pursue other education-related, health or voluntary careers. This course does not limit you to any one career option and will allow you to develop and be able to apply a range of transferable intellectual, research, practical and professional skills applicable to a wide range of career choices. This is ideal if you want to study your subject within a strong vocational context, if you are considering studying additional qualifications or pursuing a career in educational research, or if you simply want to understand your own academic and professional development as lifelong learners and the lifelong learning of others. Undergraduate courses in Education at BG are rated extremely highly for graduate prospects, ranked third in England for the second year in a row according to both by the Times Good University Guide 2011 and the Complete University Guide 2011. The wide range of knowledge and skills you will learn from this course will make you an extremely desirable graduate. Many of our students will pursue careers directly related to the disciplines of Theology, Ethics and Religious Studies, in education and schools. However, graduates of our course are highly skilled individuals fully prepared to pursue a wide variety of careers in other fields, such as Community Work, Counselling, Policing, Librarianship, Social Work, work in the third sector, Politics, Museum Work, Education Officers attached to religious buildings or organisations and Media work. Specialised modules and the ability to choose individual routes through our programme will prepare you for whatever career might best suit your interests.