Take your career in education to the next level. You could become a fully qualified teacher in just three years.
If you’re currently working as a teacher’s aide, School Learning Support Officer (SLSO), Aboriginal Education Officer (AEO), or other school support personnel in a primary or secondary school, you already make a difference in young people’s lives every day.
At Charles Sturt University, we have a two-step dedicated pathway that allows you to become fully qualified to teach in either primary or secondary school. With relevant TAFE qualifications or other university studies, you can receive credit and fast-track your journey to becoming a teacher.
Study online – full-time or part-time. Continue working as a Teacher's aide. Choose the primary or secondary learning area you want to teach. Receive credit for previous qualifications. Complete in as little as two years full-time study.
Enrol in the Bachelor of Educational Studies
Study online – full-time or part-time. Get experience by doing work placements. Specialise in the same learning area as your bachelor’s degree and you’ll receive credit for the undergraduate subjects you successfully completed. Complete your master’s in as little as one year of full-time study working as a fully qualified teacher.
Once you've enrolled in your master's and met your state’s accreditation or registration requirements, you can apply for provisional accreditation from your state’s accrediting body, and teach in schools while you finish your study.
Enrol in the Master of Teaching (Primary) or Master of Teaching (Secondary)
It depends on your previous qualifications. If you already have a bachelor’s degree (in any area), you’ll be able to start studying our two-year Master of Teaching* – with a focus on either primary or secondary. Or, if you’ve partially completed any other bachelor’s degree or vocational qualification, you can use the Bachelor of Educational Studies as a pathway to either of the above-mentioned courses.
The bachelor’s can be completed in three years of full-time study. But good news! If you’re eligible, you can get 64 credit points toward the course. This is equivalent to eight subjects, or one year of full-time study – meaning you can finish the course in just two years (full-time).
After graduation, you can then complete a one-year Master of Teaching* – and that wraps up your training!
*This course is completely online except for some on-campus intensive subjects and professional experience placement requirements.
A full-time study load is eight subjects per year of study, which you’ll complete over two or three sessions. The course can also be undertaken part-time, which is four or six subjects a year over two or three sessions.
No! But if you do become employed as a teacher’s aide during your studies or have previous experience, you could be eligible for a reduction in professional experience placement days.
That depends on your previous qualifications.
The 64-point (eight subjects) credit package is awarded for completing:
Plus, any previous university credit can be assessed for further credit.
You may have seen a news article about Charles Sturt collaborating with schools in the Dubbo region in New South Wales to retrain teacher’s aides to become qualified educators. While we support this initiative, we want to make it clear that anyone can take part in the Teachers Aide Pathway, no matter where they are in Australia.
We currently have more than 1,000 support staff studying with us from all over the country! When you study the pathway, you’ll do your professional experience placements at a school close to you – depending on availability in your preferred classroom. Our Workplace Learning Team will organise this with you.
Please note, if you have experience as a teacher’s aide, you must complete at least one of your placements outside the school where you worked.
You can complete all your studies online, except for the professional experience placement requirements and any subjects with compulsory intensive schools.
There are very few intensive schools for subjects in either of the Primary or Secondary degree pathways. But whether or not you’ll need to attend is based on the subjects you choose and the Key Learning Area/Teaching Area you are specialising in. You must attend an intensive school if it’s required by your subjects (exemptions apply for eligible students).
Each subject is different. For example, some science subjects, like Chemical Fundamentals (CHM108), might require you to complete an intensive school, which takes four days.
But, you could complete your studies in Primary Science without needing to do an intensive school – it all depends on the subjects you choose. If you specialise in English, Mathematics, PDHPE, Creative Arts or HSIE, you can study completely online.
Remember: you’re always welcome to attend any campus in person. Our campus facilities are available to use, even if you study online.
You’ll receive personalised support from our pathway support team. From choosing the right subjects for your teaching goals, to helping you balance work, life and study – we’ve got your back. There’s also our First Nations Student Success team, which provides Indigenous Australian students with a range of services through First Nations Student Connect, to ensure you are supported throughout your journey.
If you haven’t studied in a while, you’re feeling a bit anxious, or you're just keen to get started, make sure you check out Study Link, which offers short online courses to prepare you for success in your degree.
At Charles Sturt we also provide students with academic skills support, counselling, scholarship support, work placement liaisons and much more. That’s why we award more than $5 million in student scholarships and grants to students like you every year! So take a look at the scholarships that are available and get some extra support while you study at Charles Sturt.
