Secondary BEd post-degree professional program (PDPP)

The Secondary PDP program is an intensive 30 unit program designed to take place over 16 months. 

For a complete list of the required courses, visit the program calendar entry

Certification process

Upon completion of this program, you will receive a Bachelor of Education degree (BEd) and will be eligible to apply for a BC teaching certificate. 

Eligibility for admission requires:

• a bachelor's degree from an accredited university that is recognized by the University of Victoria
• the course, grade, and degree requirements be completed by April 30 for program entry in September of the same year.

Note: 3.0 units are equivalent to two half-year courses at most BC post-secondary institutions.

Consult an adviser in the Education Advising Office if you have any questions.

We've prepared a pre-admission worksheet for each of the teachable subject areas available at UVic. Click on the applicable PDF link below for more information on your chosen subject (s).

Notes:

• You may be able to apply with one teachable subject area but your job prospects may be improved if you have more than one area of specialization.
• You must combine computer science, Spanish, and theatre with a second approved teachable subject. Tip! These teaching areas may not be combined with one another.

• • art  (updated Sept 2023)
  • biology (updated Sept 2023)
    
  • chemistry (updated Sept 2023)
    
  • computer science (updated Sept 2023)
  • English (updated Sept 2023)
    
  • French (updated Sept 2023)
    
  • general science (updated Sept 2023)
  • mathematics (updated Sept 2023)
  • music (updated Sept 2023 - for those without a UVic BMus)
  • music (updated Sept 2023 - for those with a UVic BMus)
  • physical and health education (updated Sept 2023)
    
  • physics (updated Sept 2023)
    
  • social studies (updated Sept 2023)
    
  • Spanish (updated Sept 2023)
  • theatre (updated Sept 2023)
    

Questions? Contact Education Advising at adve@uvic.ca or 250-721-7877

As part of the program admission requirements, you’ll need a minimum of 75 hours of practical experience working with children or youth from Kindergarten - Grade 12 in educative ways.  

• these experiences must be in face to face settings, interacting with groups (i.e. 3 or more) of children or youth.
• can be in either one or two settings, but at least 50 of the 75 hours must be from a single, continuous experience. 
• experiences listed must be within the past four years.
• experience in international settings is valuable, but we also require at least 50 of the 75 hours of experience be in domestic settings.

You must have completed these hours prior to your program application deadline. Hours that occur after the program application deadline will not be considered. In the event of a GPA tie with other applicants, we will use experience to determine the successful candidate.

Types of experiences

What qualifies as experience with respect to your application? These can be either paid or volunteer experiences, or a combination of both.

Typical experiences for applicants include:

• coaching team sports
• working as a camp counsellor, summer program leader, or after school program leader
• group tutoring or teaching (e.g. teaching music classes, specialty extra-curricular activities, etc.)
• working with faith-based groups or other youth groups
• volunteering in a school classroom 
• working as an Educational Assistant in a school district or independent school
• cultural work in Indigenous communities
• cultural, social justice, and inclusion themed work with youth

What does not qualify as experience with respect to your application?

• one on one tutoring
• peer tutoring as a high school student
• teaching or being a TA at the college or university level
• parenting, babysitting or caregiving

You will need to submit the following forms when applying:  

• Summary of Experience (must be on the template provided below)
• Confidential Reference form (x2) (must be on the template provided below)

For information and downloadable forms regarding these requirements, see Step 2: Experience requirement under the How to apply section

Questions?

Contact the Teacher Education Office

For September 2024 Entry, admission is based primarily on GPA and the quota for the teaching area(s) as long as experience requirements are met.

Selection critieria for future intakes is currently under review and will be updated once it is finalized. Please check back. 

Before applying:  See the admission requirements above for this full-time program

• Ensure you will have all course and grade requirements listed above under ‘Admission requirements', along with examples of approved courses. These must be completed by April 30 for entry in September of the same year.
• Ensure you will have met all the experience requirements listed above under 'Admission requirements'. These must be completed before the application deadline, January 2.

For applicants who have completed all or part of a teacher education program, please consult with Education Advising before submitting your application to determine if you are eligible to apply to the program. In this case, please email adve@uvic.ca at least one month before the program’s application deadline.

Start your application

(apply for undergraduate level studies)

Please confirm your January-April 2024 course registration(s) before applying, and include this information in the in-progress courses of the application.

When filling out your application:

(only applicable to continuing or returning UVic students)

• under 'Institution information' and specifically 'Acknowlegement of post-secondary institutions', be sure to list every college and university where you’ve registered.  This includes exchange studies, studies transferred to another institution, Advanced Placement (AP), and International Baccalaureate (IB) studies, if applicable. The IB declaration appears under “high schools attended.” The AP declaration appears as “College of Advanced Placement.”

• under the 'In-progress courses' section of the application, accurately include the January-April 2024 course information, as well as the Fall 2023 courses.
  
  
• Under 'Supporting documents' be sure to upload your Summary of Experience in the required format at the time you submit your application. If you instead decide to apply early and then subsequently upload these items separately (by January 2), you must allow for a delay of 2-3 weeks before your uploaded documents will be attached to your application and viewable on your application checklist.
  
  
• When applying to the Secondary PDPP, you must specify the 1 or 2 teachable subject area(s) you wish to be considered for; review the options and their requirements here

Late applications (i.e. those received after January 2) will be considered only if space remains in the quota after all on-time, eligible applicants have been admitted. 

Application questions? Contact us

Contact Undergraduate Admissions: 

• If your last name starts with A-L contact adms1@uvic.ca
• If your last name starts with M-Z contact adms6@uvic.ca

Experience forms

Please ensure you have referred to the experience requirements listed above under Admission Requirements. There are specific criteria you will be asked to provide evidence for in the forms below. Failure to do so will result in applicants being ineligible for admission.

Summary of Experience  

You will need to list the organization(s) where you acquired your experience, describe your duties and significant learning from these experiences. Please ensure your two references are directly linked to the experiences you list in your summary of experience. One must be a supervisor. 

You must use the format provided in these application instructions or your application will be considered incomplete and ineligible.

• Summary of experience (sample)
• Summary of experience (template)

Confidential Reference forms (two)

The confidential reference forms must be from the two people who you have identified in the Summary of Experience. Ensure that those you ask to be referees can speak to your experience working with children and youth. One must be a supervisor. 

Referees must use the form provided; reference letters are not acceptable. References must meet the described criteria or your application will be considered incomplete and ineligible.

Both references must recommend or highly recommend your application and results of references are not released to applicants.

Reference reports are due at the same time as your application, so it is beneficial for you to ask potential referees well in advance of the deadline. Late references will not be considered. Instructions to your referee are included with the reference form. You may wish to review them. It is your responsibility to follow up with referees to ensure they have submitted the Confidential reference form. 

References cannot be:

• relatives or other family members (including in-laws, step family, etc.)
• a classroom teacher whose only relationship to you is as your teacher,
• friends or family friends,
• co-workers,
• someone you taught or tutored,
• someone you have supervised,
• somebody who is also applying to a UVic teacher education program.

Each referee to email directly to educapp@uvic.ca by January 2

• Confidential reference form

Note: Applicants may also be invited to meet with the Teacher Education Office during their experience review. Only applicants who are conditionally admitted will have their experience reviewed. Please do not assume that you have satisfied this experience requirement based on applying or being wait-listed for program admission in a previous year.

Please remember that official transcripts are those sent directly from the issuing institution to UVic. Transcripts in languages other than English or French must be submitted together with notarized English translations.

Check with the issuing institution about how and when to place your transcript order to meet our transcript deadlines. Processing and mail delivery times will vary. Order as early as possible. Your application will be considered ‘late’ if any transcripts are received after the published deadlines.

It's important to remember to submit an official transcript from every* college and university that you’ve attended, including withdrawals, incomplete, failed, repeated studies and attendance as an exchange student. We cannot review your application if any transcripts are missing.

* This includes College of Advanced Placement (AP) and/or International Baccalaureate (IB) and/or Exchange

Please note:

• UVic students do not need to order UVic transcripts, as we have access to those records.

Transcript Deadlines

Deadline for official transcripts showing grades for courses attempted to December 2023: January 31 

Deadline for official transcripts showing in-progress course registration in the January to April 2024 term: January 31

Deadline for official transcripts showing grades for courses attempted January to April 2024: May 31

At least one of your transcripts must indicate “degree granted/awarded.” based on coursework to April 30. If your degree won’t be awarded until May/June 2024, an additional transcript showing proof of degree must be submitted by June 30 (if applicable).

You must not be registered in a graduate program, or any other program, while you are completing this degree program.

If you’re currently registered in a graduate program, provide a letter from your university’s graduate records or registrar’s office stating that your graduate program requirements will be completed by August 30, 2024, or that you’ll be taking a leave of absence from that program for the duration of this program (September 2024 to December 2025).

Submit this to your Admissions Clerk (if your last name starts with A-L use adms1@uvic.ca; if your last name starts with M-Z use adms6@uvic.ca).

Due: February 28 for entry in September of the same year

Core French:

All prospective candidates, both native and non-native speakers, must demonstrate French language proficiency within the last two years by obtaining both an oral and reading score of at least 305 on the Test de français international (TFI) or achieving a DELF B1 score of at least 74% on all sections.

UVic’s French Department offers DELF testing. Please visit their DELF information page for more information about test times and to book an exam.

Please arrange for your official DELF or TFI certificate indicating your test score to be mailed to the following address:

Education Advising at MacLaurin
Faculty of Education
University of Victoria
PO Box 1700 STN CSC
Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2

Due: May 31 for entry in September of the same year

Spanish:

All prospective candidates, both native and non-native speakers, must successfully pass a Spanish language competency examination (oral and written) normally held in April. This will be facilitated through the Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies at UVic after you have applied.

Due: May 31 for entry in September of the same year

The Faculty of Education is committed to increasing the number of First Nations, Métis and Inuit teachers and has reserved 5% of the positions in teacher education programs for applicants who meet the Faculty of Education’s admission requirements.

If you have Indigenous ancestry, and would like to be considered for this quota, please email the supplementary form to iedlpa@uvic.ca

Note: If you need help with the form or have questions, please call (250) 721-7824 

Checklist 

☐ Step 1: Submit your online application along with the Summary of Experience and Reflection on Experience (step 2)

Deadline: January 2 

☐ Step 2: Submit the following four supporting documents for the experience requirement as follows:

• Upload your Summary of Experience (see required format) when you submit your application.  
• Ask two referees to email Reference Forms (using the required form) directly to educapp@uvic.ca 

Deadline: January 2 

Indigenous applicants may submit a supplementary form for Indigenous applicants by January 2 

☐ Step 3: Order official transcripts in time for them to arrive by the following deadlines: 

By January 31, we require transcript(s) that show: 

• grades for all courses attempted to December 31, 2023
• in-progress course registrations January 1 to April 30, 2024, if applicable 

By May 31, we require transcript(s) that show: 

• grades for all courses attempted January 1 to April 30, 2024. Order the transcript(s) as soon as second-term grades are available.

At least one of your transcripts must indicate “degree granted/awarded” based on coursework to April 30. If your degree won’t be awarded until May/June 2024, an additional transcript showing proof of degree must be submitted by June 30.

☐ Step 4: Submit a graduate student status letter, if applicable, by February 28

☐ Step 5: if applicable, submit official proof of French and/or Spanish language proficiency: only applicable to those applying for the Secondary PDP program with a Core French and/or Spanish teaching area. Submit by May 31

To check your status and application checklist log into My UVic Application. Use the checklist to see that all transcripts and other required items, including the two references, have been received.

 Notes:

• If you are attending the same institution (other than UVic) in the January to April 2024 term as you are in the Fall 2023 term, you’ll see at least two entries for that institution on the checklist: one with a January 31 deadline and another with a May 31 deadline.
• It can take two to three weeks from the time an item is received at UVic for it to be recorded on the checklist.
• The date a transcript is received at UVic determines whether it is considered on time or late, not the date that UVic staff upload it to your checklist.

Application status updates:

Education Advising will email you at least once by mid-June:

Please be aware that Admission offers are time sensitive. If you will not have email access for more than one week, contact Education Advising.

If you are accepted into one of the Teacher Education programs, you will receive an email from Education Advising outlining the next steps.

You will also receive specific information about which timetable courses to register in, based on which program cohort you are assigned. 

Please wait to receive this email from Education Advising with your specific timetable information before registering for your courses.

Some students recieve an email from UVic with your registration date and time before you receive your timetable information, and that's ok! We will email you as soon as we can, as we finalize program offers