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Youth Work and Community Development MA/PG Dip

Created for graduates and practitioners, this professionally validated programme in Youth Work and Community Development allows you to work as a registered youth practitioner in the UK.

Overview
Structure and assessment
Facilities and features
Opportunities and careers
more about your DMU
Contact us

Overview

This programme is recognised by the JNC.

Designed for graduates or existing practitioners, this course helps you to gain extensive knowledge of working with young people and community groups alongside providing professional qualifications to practise as a youth and community development worker in the UK.

Professionally validated by the National Youth Agency and the Endorsement and Quality Standards Board for Community Development Learning, this course will help you master skills to support young people and communities and handle the complexities of social justice. Our programme is ideal if you’d like to pursue a career in areas such as education, sexual health, housing and homelessness, and mental health.

Benefit from inter-professional learning, with the course attracting professionals from a variety of settings including youth work, parenting education, children’s centres, sexual health, drug abuse, housing and homelessness, youth offending, mental health, community development and domestic violence.

On this programme you’ll explore the theory and practice of a range of topics including community development, anti-oppressive practice, and health and social research methods. You’ll also develop your practical and professional skills by putting theory in to practice with dedicated work placement modules and a range of specialist option modules which have been specifically designed for staff in local authorities, the NHS, voluntary, third sector and non-governmental organisations, ensuring your learning is relevant to current practice.

Key features

Professional validation by the National Youth Agency and recognition by the Joint Negotiating Committee ensures the content you study is continually relevant to industry and the current developments and challenges within the sector.
Our programme is the only youth work and community development postgraduate distance learning programme in England to have dual professional recognition.

By choosing this course, you have the opportunity to study part-time or full-time alongside your work commitments, mainly through distance learning.

Achieve planned change and enhance your employment opportunities with modules specifically designed for staff in local authorities, the NHS (non-clinical roles), voluntary, third sector and non-governmental organisations; ensuring your learning is relevant to current practice.
You can benefit from our expert teaching, with more than 55 years’ professional training to draw upon as well as first-hand experience of the field. Our teaching is informed by our diverse team of skilled tutors, with many of our academics actively engaged in professional practice, research and consultancy.
Graduates from this course have gone on to pursue a wide range of careers in youth work and health and community development in the statutory and voluntary sectors.

“The course has given me a much better understanding of the historical and theoretical background to my profession. The alternative placement was a huge step forward in my professional development. My placement tutor was extremely helpful and pushed me in areas I would have otherwise overlooked.”

Oliver Thorp, Youth Work, Health and Community Development MA

Scholarships:
At DMU, we are committed to helping our graduates enhance their careers and personal development through further study.

DMU Sports Scholarship
Find out more about the DMU Sports Scholarships worth up to £6,000.

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Youth and Community Development Studies

Youth Work, Health and Community Development PQ

UK/EU
International

Key facts for UK/EU students

Institution code: D26

Duration:Two years part-time via distance learning
One year full-time (via distance learning)

Attendance: Two teaching block weeks on campus each year in early September and late January are compulsory. There is a seven hour teaching commitment each day of the block weeks. Some optional modules are launched over weekends. The dissertation launch day is also compulsory.

Start date: September 2021 for full-time and part-time, offers the professional qualification and practice hours.

Location of study: Distance learning, with occasional attendance at De Montfort University

Fees and funding: For 2020/21 full-time and part-time tuition fees will be £6,930.

Find out more about postgraduate course fees and available funding.

Find out more about the Vice-Chancellor's Sports Scholarships worth up to £6,000.

Find out more about additional costs and optional extras associated with this course.

Please visit dmu.ac.uk/international for more information or call us on +44 (0)116 2 50 60 70.

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How to apply

Not available to international students

Entry criteria

You need to demonstrate that you can work at master’s level which can be achieved through having a first degree, normally 2:2 or above, or by having a range of academic and work experience
Applications from individuals with no formal academic qualifications but extensive practical experience will be considered on an individual basis
You may be required to undertake pre-registration modules before starting or completing an agreed portfolio of learning in the form of a 2,000 - 2,500 word pre-course assignment, determined at application or interview stage
You must be engaged in at least 12 hours of appropriate work, paid or unpaid, per week

You should also normally have:

A commitment to anti-oppressive practice
Relevant and significant youth and community development work experience
Proven ability to reflect on practice, critically examine concepts of informal education and justice, awareness of social welfare needs in a youth and community development context
You will need to attend an interview – telephone interviews can be arranged if needed

You must complete a declaration form and enhanced Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) check (formally CRB) and criminal record certificate (from your home country), before starting the course, which need to be cleared in accordance with DMU’s admission policy.

English language requirements:

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.5 or equivalent when you start the course is essential. English language tuition, delivered by our British Council accredited Centre for English Language Learning (CELL), is available both before and during the course.

Please visit dmu.ac.uk/international for more information.

Structure and assessment

Course modules

This course consists of five core modules, one core field placement module, and one option module. Opportunities exist to exit with a PG Dip, gaining the professional qualification at this stage, or complete the dissertation for a full MA.

Core modules include:

Theory and Practice of Youth Work - introduces key concepts in youth and community development work: political (policy), sociological, philosophical, historical and psychological (core for Youth Work and Community Development course only)
Theory and Practice of Community Development - focuses on community development and introduces key concepts in relation to practice, policy and the national occupation standards
Anti-oppressive Practice - analyses concepts of oppression, discrimination and inequality and develops effective anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory practice
Health and Social Research Methods - introduces strategies and methods of social science research commonly used in social and healthcare settings
Field Practice - is practice - based (150 hours) and provides you with the opportunity to further develop your experience and understanding of the role of the informal educator at JNC professional range in an adult and community work setting different to your usual workplace, where you will undertake 500 hours mainly with young people
Management of Services and People - increases self-confidence and performance as a manager of people and projects within a youth work and community development environment

Plus choose one module from a range of specialist modules, depending on your specific career interests:

Mental Health
Contemporary Social Issues
Global Issues in Youth and Community Development
Managing Race and Diversity
The Negotiated Module - allows you to formulate, present and implement an individual proposal in an area of professional relevance and interest

Please contact us for option module descriptions and further information.

Dissertation - students wishing to achieve a master's will choose a youth and community development related topic identified in discussion with academic staff

Teaching and assessment

All core modules and most optional modules are launched during one of two block teaching weeks held each year (usually in October and January). Attendance at launch days is compulsory. These are supported by a wide variety of written material, individual and organisational tasks.

You are required to engage in a number of online seminars in each module, and you are required to identify a supervisor who will primarily support your field practice, but may also provide a dialogue partner to discuss wider issues arising from the course. You will complete a minimum of 600 hours of field practice, of which 450 hours will be based in your own workplace, paid or voluntary, and 150 hours must be outside of your employing agency.

Through flexible distance learning, you will engage in a supportive learning community.

Assessment is usually by written assignment of 4,000 words per 15-credit module. Field practice assessment requires written evidence, assignments and reports of competence from the supervisor.

Teaching contact hours

This course is taught via distance learning. Compulsory attendance, when there are direct contact hours with staff, is for two block teaching weeks per year when teaching is timetabled for seven hours each day, and when the dissertation is launched.

Following each block week tutors teach via module guides and their integral activities, directed reading, e-seminars or on line action learning sets. Typically this means there is weekly tutor contact via written interventions in the seminars and oral interventions in the sets which are normally for student groups of between six and sixteen students. Personal tutorials and dissertation supervision are either conducted by telephone, or face to face for students studying full time and based in or near Leicester.

Contact hours per week depend on the teaching method used, whether students are studying full or part time and which modules they are studying. The majority of the learning is via personal study – typically six to eight hours studying and revising in your own time each week for part time students (more for full time students), including substantial guided study using module guides, directed readings, online activities, etc. Each student is assigned a practice tutor who will monitor their practice development and meet via telephone or skype at least four times with the student and supervisor over the duration of their assessed practice.

Academic expertise

The department is home to the National Youth Work Collection and has one of the largest teams in the UK. In the past six years, the authors in the division have published nine books and a range of papers. Staff work with a range of organisations that work with young people and communities including charities, voluntary and statutory agencies at local, national and international levels.

Thematic areas of interest include:

A specialist expertise and interest in global youth and community development work (resulting in numerous conferences and publications by Dr Momodou Sallah, a leading expert in this area, who has also been recently awarded The Times Higher Education Most Innovative Teacher of the Year
Work with black young people (again, resulting in key conferences and texts by Dr Carlton Howson and Dr Momodou Sallah)
Youth participation and citizenship
Anti-oppressive practice (Dr Jagdish Chouhan)
Hospital and other health-related youth work (Dr Scott Yates)
The context, management and operation of children and young people’s services (Mary Tyler)

Facilities and features

Placements

Health and Life Sciences facilities

Substantial investment has developed our teaching and learning facilities to help you expand your practical experience and theoretical knowledge beyond the classroom.

The 19th century Hawthorn Building has facilities designed to replicate current practice in health and life sciences, including contemporary analytical chemistry and formulation laboratories, audiology booths and nursing and midwifery clinical skills suites.

Purpose-built clinical skills areas allow you to practice in a safe environment. You will receive guidance and support from staff to ensure that you develop a precise and accurate practical ability in the clinical skills suites.

Library services

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available.

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose.

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including Blackboard, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub.

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

Learning zones

Our Learning Zones and The Greenhouse also provide space for group or individual work and study.

There are 1,600 study places across all library locations, more than 700 computer stations, laptops to borrow, free wi-fi and desktop power outlets.

You can also book rooms with plasma screens, laptops and DVD facilities for group work and presentations, secure an individual study room with adjustable lighting or make use of our assistive technology.

Opportunities and careers

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Placements

Students are required to complete 600 hours of assessed practice whilst working with a supervisor approved by the University. For most students 450 of these hours are completed in their usual place of work (paid or otherwise) ideally over a period of approximately seven months, followed by a 150 hours Alternative Practice.

The 150 hours are completed in a contrasting work setting over a period of approximately six months, Full time students will be offered help to identify a suitable placement for both practices if required, and help is available for part time students to identify an alternative practice although most students prefer to find somewhere suitable themselves.

All placements and supervisors need to be approved by the University and help is available to identify a suitable supervisor if required. It is always important for the University to ensure that students will be able to undertake work in their placements that enables them to provide suitable evidence of their competence in the Practice Standards.

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Graduate careers

Graduates go into a wide range of senior posts in youth work and community development work and in other related health and educational services in both the public and voluntary sector, all over the world.

An MA is a recommended qualification for workers who want to hold senior positions.

DMU Open Evenings

The perfect way to find out more about DMU is to attend one of our postgraduate open events.

Here, you can speak with course academics and current students, discuss fees, learn about your career prospects and tour the campus.

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Order a prospectus

Our prospectus will give you a clearer idea of what it's like to live and study at DMU and a snapshot of the courses we offer.

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How to apply

We welcome applications from students with a wide range of qualifications and experience.

Find out more

More about your DMU

50% off selected PG courses

Research at DMU

PG Events

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50% off selected PG courses

If you’ve completed an undergraduate degree at DMU, then you can benefit from a tuition fee discount of up to 50 per cent on our postgraduate courses. The discount is available on selected full-time, part-time and distance learning postgraduate courses running across multiple start dates.

The discount, based on academic achievement and merit, applies automatically to all DMU UK and EU students who are graduating this year or have graduated within the past two years and achieved a 2:1 (or equivalent) or above. Learn more here.

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Research

The Institute for Research in Criminology, Community, Education and Social Justiceis dedicated to the production of social science research in the fields of criminology, community and social justice. It is primarily based in the School of Applied Social Sciences and its members carry out research on policing, probation, prisons, education and schools, youth work and social work. One of the institute’s central goals is the development of excellent practice-based research, which is informed and underpinned by contemporary social science theory and innovative approaches to methodology.

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Events

The best way to find out more about DMU is to attend one of our postgraduate events. You can also check out our postgraduate live stream schedule for programme-specific talks to find out how our courses can enhance your knowledge and benefit your career path.

These events are a chance to learn more about our extensive careers and employability support, as well as fees and funding opportunities such as scholarships. They're also an opportunity to speak with current students and academics to really get a feel for studying your course. You can also take a tour of our beautiful campus and facilities from the comfort of home via our Virtual Open Day.