The Police Degree
Apprenticeship (PCDA)

The PCDA is one of four entry routes for new police constables in England and Wales. The College of Policing lists them as the police constable degree apprenticeship (PCDA), the degree holder entry programme (DHEP), the professional policing degree holder route and the police constable entry programme (PCEP). Since 1 April 2024, when Home Office Circular 002/2024 introduced the PCEP and closed the old IPLDP programme, every new constable joins through one of them.

On the PCDA you are not a student who later becomes an officer. You are employed and attested as a police constable from your first day, paid a salary, and your learning is split between operational work and off-the-job study delivered by your force with a university that has taught degree awarding powers. The College's entry-route guidance describes it as:

• a three-year programme;
• funded primarily through the apprenticeship levy;
• delivered by a police force in collaboration with a higher education provider;
• a chance to specialise in one of the core areas of policing;
• leading to a degree in professional policing practice.

Formally it is a level 6 integrated degree apprenticeship. The apprenticeship standard is ST0304, "police constable (integrated degree)", now at version 1.2, which Skills England lists with a typical duration of 36 months. The government's apprenticeship training service shows a maximum of £27,000 of government funding for the training and assessment costs. That money goes to the training provider; it is not something you pay.

Two layers decide whether you can apply. The national layer is regulation 10 of the Police Regulations 2003 and the Home Office list of qualifications made under it (Annex BA). The local layer is your force, which the College of Policing says has the flexibility to add its own requirements. This table is the national layer.

The qualification rule is wider than "two A levels". Annex BA lets the chief officer accept training or work experience they consider equivalent to level 3, and specifically lists service as a special constable, as a PCSO, or in police force employment that prepares you for the job, for a period the chief officer sets. The national joining the police website says relevant experience is considered case by case and tells applicants to ask the force. If you do not have level 3 qualifications, ask the force in writing what experience it accepts before you start an application.

Everything else in the selection process is the same as for any other route: the national sift, the online assessment process, the force interview, the job-related fitness test, the medical and vetting. Our eligibility reality check walks through the national criteria, and the vetting guides explain how debt, cautions and residency are handled.

All routes start with a period of off-the-job learning and then become mostly practical and on the job, according to the College of Policing. The College's 2026 guide gives these milestones for new constables; the PCDA then runs into a third year in which you specialise.

Study time. The College's entry-route page says the PCDA carries "a minimum level of off-the-job/protected learning time for the duration of the programme", set by the apprenticeship rules. How it is timetabled (study days, blocks, campus or force training centre) is decided by each force and its university. Older guides quote "20% off-the-job"; the national rules have changed since, so we have not used a percentage.

Research project. In England you complete an evidence-based research project before the end-point assessment gateway. The College says good projects can be shared across forces through its academic support network.

Probation. Annex C to the Police Regulations sets a three-year probation for full-time PCDA constables, longer pro rata for part-time officers, and the chief officer can extend it. During probation, regulation 13 lets the force dispense with a constable who is not likely to become an efficient or well-conducted officer, so the academic and operational standards both matter.

Our free recruitment timeline planner shows how long the selection stages before day one usually take, so you can plan your notice period.

The three paid routes give you the same job, the same core training and the same pay. The differences are the qualification you need, how long the programme lasts and what you hold at the end.

There is a fourth route for people who paid for a pre-join professional policing degree at university; they apply through a professional policing degree holder route. See our pre-join degree guide, the PCEP guide and the DHEP guide for each in depth.

1. Check the force runs the PCDA and when it is open. You apply to the force, not to a university or a national scheme. Use the force's careers site or the national list above.
2. Confirm your level 3 or equivalent. If you are relying on experience, ask the force what it accepts before applying.
3. Complete the national application form through the force, honestly and fully. Vetting checks what you declare, and omissions cause more problems than most disclosures.
4. Pass the national sift: a situational judgement test and a behavioural styles questionnaire. See our national sift guide.
5. Pass the online assessment process: a competency-based interview, a written exercise and a briefing exercise. The free OAC readiness check shows where to focus.
6. Pass the force interview. Practise with the free mock interview and our PCDA interview guide.
7. Pre-employment checks: the job-related fitness test, medical, eyesight, drugs test and vetting. The fitness pass predictor and vetting stage checker are free.
8. Offer and start date. You are appointed and attested as a constable at the start of the programme, and the three years begin.

If you are already a special constable, PCSO or member of police staff, ask specifically whether your service counts as equivalent to level 3 for the PCDA, and for how long you need to have served. Annex BA leaves that period to the chief officer.