Course description
The degree course is designed for reflection on on-going practice in community and youth work with a high level of application to practice. The course includes significant elements of team work as well as shared and practical application of learning. The course offers options for full or part-time study.
The course will take three years full-time. The part time version is four and a half years or. those requiring more flexibility may elect to undertake a slower six year route.
Students who have successfully completed the Diploma in Community and Youth Work within the last five years may be eligible to enrol on the final year of the degree course.
Module details
Students will take a number of compulsory units and two optional units at each level to make up 360 credits.
What flexibility is there?
Different routes are available - both part-time and full-time.
Core units are scheduled to suit part-time students with attention to attendance requirements.
A high level of independent study.
A wide range of relevant and interesting settings for work practice projects and placements.
Optional units in specific areas of community and youth work issues and practice as well as from other programmes in the School of Education.
Course content for year 1
Level One compulsory course units are:
Enabling Community Participation aims to enable students to reflect on the range of different organisational structure in community and youth work and their relationship to their historical, cultural and theoretical context in order to determine the role of a community and youth worker and the relevance of the particular setting to certain target groups, needs and policies. (20 credits)
T he Role of a Community and Youth Worker in the Development of Young People promotes critical analysis of the developmental and social contextual issues associated with young epopel in order to develop a reflective understanding of various community and youth work activities, approaches and strategies that may serve to address them. (20 credits)
Values and Practice in Community and Youth Work aims to consolidate students' understanding of the values and principles of community and youth work and to introduce the core texts and theories as well as their relationship to practice within an anti-oppressive approach. (20 credits)
Using Research to Identify Community Needs is a work-based unit that aims to provide an introduction to research within a context of community and youth work and to support students in carrying out a community audit or profile. (20 credits)
Course content for year 2
Level Two compulsory course units are:
Analysing Community and Youth Work with Groups aims to assist students in their development of critical and reflective approaches in their work with groups. (20 credits)
Management and Organisational Issues in Community and Youth Work enables students to carry out management tasks and responsibilities with an understanding of relevant concepts, theories and strategies to address issues arising. (20 credits)
Reflection on Current Youth Work Practice is a work-based unit that provides supporting structures for developing skills in developing, monitoring and evaluating professional good practice. (20 credits)
Research and Community and Youth Work aims to assist students in their development of critical and reflective approaches in relation to research and community and youth work with an in-depth understanding of their application within their practice. (20 credits)
Course content for year 3
Level Three compulsory course units are:
Managing a Community Project is a work-based unit that aims to enable students to carry out management tasks and responsibilities within a community and youth work context as critically reflective practitioners with an understanding of relevant concepts, theories and strategies to address issues arising. (20 credits)
Ethical and Global Research in Informal Education aims to ensure that participants can apply their understanding of professional ethics and global issues to planning a relevant action research project. (20 credits)
A Dissertation in Applied Community and Youth Work Studies aims to enable students to develop confidence and knowledge in a relevant topic through supported independent research and to encourage the development of the profession through dissemination of findings. (40 credits)
Career opportunities
The degree is already a pre-requisite for many managerial, training and development posts in community work, youth work and community development, including local authority departments (e.g. Youth, Community, Education and Leisure Services) as well as charitable and voluntary sector organisations (NGO's), Children and Family Services, Youth Offending Teams, Connexions, Housing Associations, Health Services. From 2010, the professional qualification will only be awarded to individuals with an undergraduate degree; so as time goes on, community and youth workers will be expected to have a degree.
What our students say
According to current and past students, the benefits of our courses include flexibility and relevance to practice, an anti-oppressive approach to practice, an excellent grounding in research methods, the opportunity to develop networks of support and contacts with other community and youth workers from diverse backgrounds and organisational settings. The new course is designed to build on the strengths of our previous courses and will develop your skills in relation to research, management and policy development.
Course fees: Current fees are £3,072 per level or £9228 for the full course. Full-time students would pay this fee per year for three years. Part-time students would pay £2048 for 80 credits a year or £1536 for 60 credits a year. Fees are subject to annual changes.
