Are you ready to bring your passion for physics into the classroom and be an inspiration for the physicists of tomorrow? Can you communicate complex ideas clearly and help students learn to explore and understand the world around them? If you become a physics teacher you can enjoy a varied, exciting and challenging career where you spark new discoveries every day and really make a difference.
The IOP is awarding 175 scholarships worth £31,000 with professional development support to talented individuals who are passionate about physics and have the potential to become inspirational teachers.
Scholarships are for those starting teacher training in England in September 2025.
You can also sign up to join our community of physics teaching for further updates.
The IOP Scholarship includes:
- support to develop your physics teaching skills including online continuing professional development (CPD) workshops;
- subject specific mentor available for group and 1:1 sessions;
- funding of £31,000 (tax free);
- the benefits of IOP membership for your training year; and
- access to a community of fellow scholars.
Apply now
Scholarship applications are now open and the application deadline for this round is 23.59 on Monday 11 November 2024.
The number of scholarships is limited. We will close the application process when we have reached capacity, so we advise you to complete your scholarship application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
Webinars
Why apply?
As an IOP Scholar you have access to a package of support and benefits which will help you make the most of your studies and thrive in your career as a motivational physics teacher.
Benefits of being an IOP Scholar
Our scholars feed back that they find our benefits invaluable during their training year.
As an IOP Scholar you’ll:
Have access to physics teaching workshops
Throughout the year you’ll be invited to online workshops and face-to-face events where you can develop additional teaching skills. You will learn from experienced physics teachers and network with your peers.
Benefit from subject-specialist mentoring
You will have access to a network of local trainee physics teachers and take part in small, regional group mentoring sessions. You may also benefit from 1:1 sessions with your specialist mentor.
Have support to teach in low socioeconomic areas
A core part of the IOP’s mission is to give all pupils access to specialist physics teachers. Pupils in low socioeconomic areas tend to have limited access to specialist teaching, so we are encouraging IOP scholars to consider a role in such areas.
We welcome applications that reflect the breadth of diversity in England. We particularly encourage applications from women, Black, Asian and minority ethnic people, disabled people, LGBT+ individuals and people from disadvantaged backgrounds, as they are currently underrepresented in the physics community.
Be part of an exclusive, like-minded community
There will be opportunities during your training year to get involved with the scholar community, interact and network with your fellow scholars, share ideas and draw on support.
Enjoy free IOP membership for your training year
All scholars are welcomed into the IOP community and awarded the benefits that IOP members enjoy. This includes full access to our in-house magazine Physics World, invitations to local branch online meetings and free journal downloads.
Value the prestige of being an IOP Scholar
Putting ‘IOP Scholar’ on your CV is an impressive achievement and a great attraction for any future employer. It shows you have gone the extra mile in your journey to becoming a teacher.
“Being an IOP Scholar allows me to have a full year free membership with the IOP. Being able to take part in conferences and talks allows me to stay up to date with what is going on in the physics world, which is still of interest to me as much as becoming a good teacher is.” – María, IOP Scholar
Following your scholarship year and as you become an early career teacher, we will continue to be in contact with emails about CPD events for early career teachers and featuring relevant resources.
Back to top
Video: Why Teach Physics?
A short film from our recent scholar masterclass, held at the National Space Centre in Leicester. You will learn more about the scholarship programme and what it has to offer during your training year as well as hear about why teaching physics is a fantastic career choice.
Are you eligible?
If you have the academic and personal qualities with the ability to communicate clearly and inspire others, enabling you to excel as a physics teacher, we encourage you to apply for a scholarship.
However, it is crucial that you read the following eligibility criteria carefully before you apply for a scholarship. If in doubt, please contact us on 020 7470 4959 or [email protected] before you submit your application, and our team will be happy to assist with your query.
In summary, to apply for a scholarship you need:
Essential
- an excellent academic record featuring a UK physics or related honours degree that can be a first or 2:1 at undergraduate level OR a master’s OR a PhD (proven or predicted). In exceptional circumstances, applicants with a 2:2 and significant relevant experience will be considered. **
Desirable
- a physics A-level or equivalent (grade C or above).
The above qualifications are needed by September 2025, to secure your training place for the 2025-26 academic year in England on either;
- an eligible university-led, school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) course; or
- a school-led (fee-based, non-salaried) physics or physics with maths initial teacher training (ITT) course.
The training place must have been allocated in accordance with the ITT allocations methodology for the 2025-26 academic year and must be delivered by an institution accredited by the Department for Education (DfE) as an ITT provider. Additionally, eligible courses lead upon completion, to a recommendation on behalf of the trainee, for the award of qualified teacher status (QTS).
** For degrees awarded in countries outside the UK, you will need to upload a statement of comparability from UK ENIC.
“Knowing that physics teachers are in short supply I started studying physics 18 months ago, realised I enjoyed the subject even more as a mature student and developed the confidence to apply for teacher training.” – Mark, IOP Scholar
Back to top
How to apply
To be successful in becoming an IOP Scholar means excelling at two levels:
- submitting an application that demonstrates your passion for physics and a commitment to teaching; and
- demonstrating your outstanding subject knowledge.
Before you apply, we advise making a start on your teacher training application. We recommend you use the DfE’s Find webpage to explore possible courses and then apply via the DfE’s Apply for Teacher Training service.
You should also register with the DfE’s Get into Teaching free support and advice service.
If you are applying from outside the UK, we strongly urge you to apply for a scholarship once you are in receipt of a formal offer from an ITT provider.
You do not need to pay an agent or any other third party to access a bursary or scholarship. Any agency or person offering to help you access a bursary may be fraudulent.
If you think you’re eligible for the scholarship, here’s what you will need for your application:
Have your academic qualifications to hand
You will need to list these in your application and provide copies of certificates and transcripts. If you have an overseas degree, please obtain a statement of comparability as you will be required to upload this as part of your application. You will not be able to submit your application without uploading your statement of comparability.
You should include undergraduate and postgraduate degrees together with your school leaving qualifications in the statement. Please see the Get into Teaching website for more details and help with the cost of the statement. Further advice and guidance can be obtained through the free DfE helpline on 0800 389 2500.
Provide contact details for a suitable referee
As part of your application, you’ll be asked to provide the contact details of a suitable referee. If you have graduated in the past three years, this should be an academic referee (e.g. a course tutor). Otherwise, the referee must be a suitable professional individual. Please note we can only take academic references from university or higher education contacts, not high school.
If you have any teaching experience including working as a teaching assistant in a UK secondary school, an ideal referee would be the headteacher or senior leader from the school who could comment on your experience.
You will be asked to take a short online subject knowledge test as part of the application so make sure your subject knowledge is strong.
You can use our IOPSpark resources to help familiarise yourself with the topics covered in the school curriculum. BBC Bitesize can also provide you with some help.
“The whole process of applying was a great induction into thinking about physics as it should be taught, whether needing to formalise my thought process about getting into education, or how to construct experiments to show complicated concepts using household objects and interacting with the other applicants and staff and getting excited about the whole journey.” – David, IOP Scholar
Apply now
Scholarship applications are now open and the application deadline for this round is 23.59 on Monday 11 November 2024.
The number of scholarships is limited. We will close the application process when we have reached capacity, so we advise you to complete your scholarship application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
Make your application stand out
We are looking for two main things in your application: evidence of your outstanding subject knowledge and evidence that you are passionate about physics and committed to a career in teaching.
1. Don’t rush your application
Give yourself sufficient time to fill in your application form. We read your application form eagerly to find out as much as possible about you. It is essential you answer the questions well, providing all the information requested and within the word limits. Spelling and grammar are also important to help your application. You can save and return to the application, so it doesn’t have to be completed in a single session.
2. Tell us why you want to teach physics and what experience you have
Use the application form to tell us exactly why you want to teach physics and what relevant skills you have. Whether it was down to an inspirational physics teacher at school or a lifelong interest in physics education, we want to know exactly what’s motivating you to start a career in the classroom.
In the personal statements section of the application, you will be asked to complete two short statements covering your motivations, skills and attributes together with details of relevant experience. Two further questions will ask you about how you would deal with certain challenges in the classroom.
A final question will ask how you would approach teaching a physics topic.
3. School experience
Some time spent in a secondary school can help to enhance your scholarship application. You can arrange this through the Get School Experience webpages. You’ll have the opportunity to tell us about your school experience and other relevant experience in your application.
“Teaching physics allows me to engage with pupils and help them solve problems, this gives me a great sense of achievement and pride.” – John, IOP Scholar
Back to top
Subject Knowledge Enhancement courses
If you have a degree in a different subject such as engineering, maths, chemistry or biology, these courses may be ideal for you.
Physics Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) courses are available. If you feel you may need to take an SKE course, we recommend getting your teacher training application in early. Your training provider will determine if an SKE course is needed and will make you an offer conditional on its completion.
We suggest waiting until close to the end of the SKE course before submitting your IOP scholarship application, as this will give you the best opportunity to demonstrate your strengthened subject knowledge. Please keep in touch with us through [email protected] to let us know if you are or will be undertaking an SKE course and that you intend to apply for a scholarship.
What happens after I apply?
If your online application is shortlisted, it will be reviewed by a panel of IOP staff including experienced physics teachers. You will also be asked to complete a further online subject knowledge test based on school-level physics up to and including A-level. Successfully passing this test, the receipt of a suitable reference and gaining a recommendation from the shortlisting panel will lead to a scholarship offer.
The IOP reserves the right to request candidates attend an online interview should the panel deem this necessary.
Back to top
Your questions answered
We advise you to apply once you are in receipt of a formal offer of a place on an initial teacher training (ITT) course.
The criteria for funding of scholarships matches the criteria set by the Department for Education (DfE) for all training bursary funding.
Applicants with a degree from outside the UK should contact Get into Teaching, who can advise on comparability of qualifications and can arrange for a statement of comparability once you have applied for a teacher training place. You can also speak to your chosen training provider for further advice.
You will need to upload a copy of your statement of comparability from the European Network of Information Centres (ENIC) along with copies of your degree certificates as part of your application.
Non-UK trainees should read Train to teach in England as a non-UK citizen. It is strongly advised that non-UK trainees secure an offer of a teacher training place before they apply for a scholarship as the training provider will confirm eligibility for funding.
Teacher training providers and the Get into Teaching service can both help and advise on matters of funding eligibility.
Applicants with a degree from outside the UK should contact Get into Teaching who can advise on comparability of qualifications and can arrange for a statement of comparability once you have applied for a teacher training place. You can also speak to your chosen training provider for further advice.
If you have an overseas degree, you will need to upload a copy of your statement of comparability from the European Network of Information Centres (ENIC) along with copies of your degree certificates as part of your application.
No, however, you are very unlikely to be given a place on a course unless your degree contains sufficient physics content (examples include engineering, sports science or astronomy).
If you are applying with a non-physics degree such as engineering, you will be asked to upload a transcript from your degree in order for us to assess the depth and breadth of physics studied at degree level.
Not at all, your experiences since graduating could be very valuable to becoming a teacher. Make sure you highlight your relevant transferable skills on your application. Think about how your life experiences and your career history to date can benefit students’ perception of how physics makes the world around them work. What could you bring into a classroom to help them make that ‘light bulb’ connection moment?
Yes you can, providing your predicted grade is a 2.1 or above.
No. If you are awarded a scholarship it will be instead of the government training bursary, it’s only one or the other.
Yes. The scholarship support you receive will be the same, but your payments will be pro-rated over the duration of your course.
No. You are only eligible for a scholarship if you are intending to enrol on an unsalaried training course.
No. IOP Scholarships can only be awarded to those training in England with the intention to teach in England. Please follow the links for more information if you will be training outside of England to teach in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
No. We cannot defer applications.
No. You must secure a place on a secondary teacher training course that leads to QTS.
No. You must secure a place on a secondary teacher training course that leads to QTS.
The number of scholarships is limited. We will close the application process when we have reached capacity, so we advise you to complete your teacher training and scholarship applications as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
We aim to respond to all applicants via email within four to eight weeks after the deadline has closed for the scholarship round in which you applied.
We recommend candidates to the Department for Education (DfE), which is responsible for funding the award.
If you’re enrolled on a non-salaried postgraduate course and meet the eligibility criteria, you will begin receiving payments automatically from your chosen teacher training provider when you begin your course. Get into Teaching has further details on how you will be paid.
You should receive your scholarship award in 10 equal instalments throughout your course.
No, if you complete an application and are not successful you cannot reapply in the current application year, however you are welcome to apply in any following year.
You will remain responsible for paying any course fees. You should check the payment schedule with your course provider before accepting a place on a course.
Contact us
If you need any further information or would like an informal chat, please email us at [email protected] or call +44 (0)20 7470 4959.
You can also join our community of physics teaching to receive our community emails, gaining you access to a range of resources, further updates and more.
Please read our full privacy notice.
Back to top
