Youth and Community Work (Advanced Practice) – MSc

Why study this course?

Take your career to the next level with this Youth and Community Work (Advanced Practice) degree.

Designed for graduates who already hold Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) recognition, this master’s degree is perfect if you’re already working in or looking to return to the industry.

More about this course

Go one step further with this Youth and Community Work (Advanced Practice) degree.

You’ll build on your existing knowledge of the National Youth Agency (NYA) Standards of Proficiency and Community Development National Occupational Standards in a stimulating and supportive environment.

Collaboration is highly important on this course, therefore it’s important for you to share personal experiences and reflections with your classmates. Sharing these will help to broaden your perspective on various issues and build sound knowledge on effective management approaches.

Our academics will encourage you to critically engage with the tensions and challenges of current practice, both in the UK and overseas, allowing you to build a sophisticated knowledge of effective management approaches. You’ll also explore developments in the field, learn about mental health and wellbeing in young people, develop strategies to reduce violent crime, learn how to pitch for funding in times of austerity, as well as examine techniques to support staff dealing with front-line interventions.

We want you to be in charge of the direction of your study, which is why you have the flexibility to choose whether you deepen your understanding of topics directly relevant to youth and community work, or develop a specialism outside of these, such as digital communications, journalism and film-making. These skills have the potential to be transformative within the youth and community sector.

Accreditation of Prior Learning

Any university-level qualifications or relevant experience you gain prior to starting university could count towards your course.

Modular structure

The modules listed below are for the academic year 2022/23 and represent the course modules at this time. Modules and module details (including, but not limited to, location and time) are subject to change over time.

Year 1 modules include:

Community, Continuity and Change (core, 20 credits)

Designing Youth and Community Research (core, 20 credits)

Public Service Design and Innovation (core, 20 credits)

Trauma, Mental Health and Well-being (core, 20 credits)

Youth and Community Dissertation (core, 60 credits)

Commissioning Youth and Community Services (option, 20 credits)

Community Activism (option, 20 credits)

Digital Journalism (option, 20 credits)

Digital Storytelling (option, 20 credits)

Digital Video Production (option, 20 credits)

Games and Gamification (option, 20 credits)

Managing Teams (option, 20 credits)

Public Management and Public Finance (option, 20 credits)

Where this course can take you

This course is designed to prepare you for career progression within the youth and community work sector. Once you successfully complete the course, you should feel confident to progress into higher-level management positions or roles that require a greater level of expertise.

Graduates of this course now work for various organisations, including local authority social services departments, mental health trusts, drugs and alcohol services, children’s centres, social prescribing and in A&E with young victims of knife crime, among others.

If you demonstrate research potential on this course, you may also be encouraged to undertake doctoral studies.