Extra uitdaging

Periods 1 and 2 (first semester)

During the first semester you will focus primarily on gaining knowledge and skills you need to be able to teach in the lower forms (onderbouw). You will develop professional (teaching) competences during your internship at either an international or a bilingual school (tto).

In the first semester, classes at the university are one day a week on Mondays. During the rest of the week, you will be at your (internship) school to teach, observe and work on assignments. In January and/or February, the schedule will differ slightly, with some weeks having classes on Mondays as well as on Tuesdays.

Apart from the courses mentioned above, you will also start with Content and Language Integrated Learning (5 EC), a course you will finish at the end of the second semester.

Classes are all in English, except for lectures on Subject Teaching Methodology (Vakdidactiek). Moreover, certain documents or video lectures may be in Dutch. We provide English translations or subtitles as much as possible.

Periods 3 and 4 (second semester)

During the second semester, you will continue to develop yourself as a teacher as you move on to vocationally-oriented courses aimed at the upper forms (bovenbouw). You will also complete the course CLIL, which you started in the first semester. Moreover, the second semester includes an internship abroad (see ‘Internships and in-service students’ below).

In the second semester, classes at the university are one day a week on Tuesdays. During the rest of the week, you will be at your (internship) school to teach and work on assignments. While you are abroad, the schedule will differ.

Classes are all in English, except for lectures of Subject Teaching Methodology (Vakdidactiek). Moreover, certain documents or video lectures may be in Dutch. We provide English translations or subtitles as much as possible. Some classes might be on Monday and Tuesday in January and/or February, because of the internship abroad.

Internship programme

First semester: as a pre-service student, you will be placed at a bilingual or international school in the Netherlands by our Internship Office. You will be required to teach your subject in English. If you are placed at a bilingual (tto) school you may also teach a number of lessons in Dutch.

Second semester: for pre-service students, the internship abroad is mandatory and will take place between March and June. You will go abroad for 12-14 weeks, usually in pairs or trios. You will be placed either in a bilingual, mainstream or international school abroad. You will be asked to teach and assume responsibility for a number of classes at one of our partner schools, though the ultimate responsibility for your classes will rest with your school supervisor. Currently, internships are being offered in South Africa, Norway, Poland, Sint Maarten, Saba and Latvia.

Students may apply for Erasmus+ grants to cover some of the costs of going abroad. Other grants might also be available and the International Office might be able to assist you.

In-service programme

Students who are already teaching can choose to do the in-service variant. This means that instead of doing an internship provided to you by our Internship Office, you continue to work at your own school while doing U-TEAch.

To enter the U-TEAch as an in-service student, you need to have a suitable job at a bilingual or international school in the Netherlands. Specifically, you need to be teaching a minimum of five and an absolute maximum of 12 periods (50 minutes) per week (max. 0,5 fte). Please note that in the second semester, you will be required to teach at least 60 periods (50 minutes) in the upper forms. For further requirements, including mandatory supervision, please see the U-TEAch job requirements (PDF) or contact the Internship Office via stagebureau.gst@uu.nl.

As an in-service student, the internship abroad is not mandatory for you. However, you do have the possibility to go abroad for a short period of time if your job allows it.

Please note that selection to the Honours track U-TEAch and the application procedure for the master’s programme will be at the same time. This is done for practical reasons: 1) it will give us enough time to look for an internship; 2) candidates do not have to be selected for the regular track first, in which they might have no interest; 3) applicants who do not meet the minimum Dutch language requirement for the regular track can still participate in the U-TEAch Honours track.

The application procedure is as follows:
Step 1: the Admissions Committee of the master’s programme evaluates your eligibility to that programme. Candidates who will meet this requirement before the start of the programme and have indicated in Osiris Online Application that they apply for U-TEAch, will proceed to step 2.

Step 2: The U-TEAch Selection Committee will evaluate your application file on the selection criteria listed above. If the Committee determines that your application has enough potential, you will proceed to step 3.

Step 3: Candidates will be invited for a selection interview. In this interview you will be asked to prepare a two-minute elevator pitch as to why you particularly want to do this programme. The Committee determines if you meet the selection criteria based on your application file and your interview. If the number of qualified candidates exceeds the number of available places, the Committee will only select the most eligible candidates. For this, all candidates will be ranked based criteria 4 to 7 (all have the same weight).

The number of (expected) available internships varies every year but is usually around 20. The Selection Committee also strives for an equal distribution of candidates over the disciplines (alpha, beta, gamma). The highest-ranking candidates per discipline will be selected to the programme, as long as there is an internship available for the given school subject.

You can expect the decision by e-mail in May.

Not selected for U-TEAch?
If you are not selected for the U-TEAch honours track, you will proceed for the regular teaching track unless you have explicitly indicated otherwise in Osiris Online Application at the time of your application. You will receive notice of your non-selection from the Selection Committee. You will receive a separate message about your admission to the master’s programme.