If you wish to undertake a piece of research or professional study at a higher level, you may consider The Fellowship of The College of Teachers (FCOT).

The Fellowship of The College is offered in four distinctive modes: Fellowship by dissertation; Fellowship by published works; Fellowship by professional papers and Fellowship by professional record. This qualification is assessed at a level equivalent to master's Degrees, postgraduate certificates and postgraduate diplomas.

A candidate working at this level will have highly developed and complex levels of knowledge which enable the development of in-depth and original responses to complicated and unpredictable problems and situations.

Learning at this level involves the demonstration of high level specialist professional knowledge and is appropriate for senior professionals and managers.

The submission by a dissertation of 25,000 words should be a research-based submission which is assembled as a master quantitative or qualitative research-based dissertation.

The published work route must represent either a substantial innovative contribution to education or substantial evidence of educational research of a nature which would have been eligible for the award of the FCoT if it had been presented as a dissertation.

Professional papers are deemed to be substantial working documents, such as those produced by headteachers, other managers in schools and colleges, LEA officers and governors. These papers should have a significant role in guiding and shaping policy in an educational setting.

The object of the Fellowship by professional record is to recognise professional development in the day-to-day professional task of teaching. This mode is approached with the same academic rigour as a master’s degree but must be grounded in professional practice.

The College of Teachers' qualifications are independently valid and stand alongside the National Qualification Framework (NQF) and Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ).