BA (Hons) Community Development and Youth Studies

• 96 UCAS points. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points.
• Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3. You should also have five GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent) in English and Mathematics.
• You’ll need to provide evidence that you’ve completed at least 100 hours work experience, either working with young people, or in a youth work or community practice setting.
• You'll be required to attend an interview as part of the application process.
• If you lack the required formal qualifications, but have many years’ experience of working with young people and adults in the community, we encourage you to apply. You'll be expected to attend a face-to-face interview and undertake a written assessment.
• If you don’t meet the above entry requirements, and would benefit from preparatory study, you may wish to consider our BA (Hons) Community Development and Youth Studies with Foundation degree.
• This course involves working unsupervised with young people and/or vulnerable adults and you must gain an Enhanced Disclosure certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) before starting your studies. Charges are payable to cover the cost of the DBS Enhanced Disclosure application and annual registration with the online Update Service.
• If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
• Please note that this course is subject to the University of Bolton's Fitness to Practise procedure.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

Community development work seeks to actively engage communities in making sense of the issues which affect their lives, setting goals for improvement and responding to problems and needs through empowerment and active participation.

The community development and youth work sector is currently undergoing significant change. Traditional sources of employment in the public sector and the voluntary, faith and community sector are changing, and are therefore having to adapt their services towards a broader set of activities. This shift is requiring employees with flexible, transversal and adaptive knowledge, skills and attitudes.

Enabling students to gain a range of skills that can be applied in a range of contexts is a central principle of this degree. Research suggests that future employment in the field will be non-routine, creative and people-centric. This degree is designed to support this broad curriculum and organisations that employ graduates have been involved in the overall course design.

During this course, you’ll have the opportunity to develop a wide range of transferable skills that will support your employment in a number of positions and sectors. These skills include presentation skills, oral and written communication skills, the ability to work independently and to deal with difficult and challenging situations, advocacy and empathy skills, team work and the ability to understand and work with people from all backgrounds.

Many jobs in youth work require Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC)-recognised qualifications, so if you are interested in a career specifically in youth work, we encourage you to apply for our parallel course. The dual accredited BA (Hons) Community Development and Youth Work (Endorsed Route) is recognised by the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) and endorsed by the Endorsement Standards Board for Community Development (ESB) and National Youth Agency (NYA).

What can I do with this qualification?

Community Development and Youth Studies graduates can choose to work in a range of settings which can include schools and colleges, youth and community centres, charities, youth training schemes, housing associations, outdoor centres, youth offending teams, churches, community-based groups and residential settings such as care homes. Roles are often project-based, on fixed-term contracts and tackle issues such as social cohesion, homelessness, substance misuse, sexual health education and crime prevention.

Community development and youth work is challenging, as well as frustrating. You need to be prepared to cope with certain conflict and setbacks. Results are often long term rather than immediate, so patience and perseverance are essential.

Graduates may move on to postgraduate study; for example, a research-based Master’s degree or a PhD in education or community/youth studies. MA courses for qualified youth and community workers are also available. Other graduates take vocational courses; for example, the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), which qualifies you to work as a teacher, or a Master’s in Social Work.

Alternative career options

Graduates can also use the qualification to enter a range of other careers, and for some of these roles, both relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. Some of these careers include:

• Social work
• The Arts
• Mentoring
• Teaching and education
• Health promotion
• Behaviour management
• Learning support
• Work with refugee and asylum seekers
• Advice work
• Community education
• Family support
• Probation
• Careers advice
• Prison service
• Outdoor education/activities
• Residential care
• Volunteer co-ordination
• Youth offending

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2021-2022 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for ‘Home’ fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for ‘Home’ fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance eligibility 2021-2022 policy on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student’s course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

For 2021-2022 entry, the maximum government approved undergraduate tuition fee for UK students is £9,250 per year. The University is able to charge this fee subject to an approved Access and Participation Plan for 2021-2022 and its current rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Bursaries

Click here for more information about the scholarships and bursaries available to University of Bolton students.

We offer a carefully balanced mix of lectures, tutorials, seminars, discussions, role play, case studies, group work and field trips throughout your studies. Self-directed study is also important.

During fieldwork placement practice, you’ll be supported by a suitably qualified supervisor as you develop key competencies set out in the National Occupational Standards in Community Development and also in Youth Work.

We have established relationships with many voluntary and statutory agencies in the Bolton area and the wider North West region, helping to ensure you can find practice placements of interest. For example, students have been placed in settings such as, alternative education providers, youth training agencies, faith-based youth clubs, LGBT groups, women and girls groups, sexual health, mental health and disability groups, refugee and asylum seeker providers, community allotment projects, housing providers, theatre and arts groups, drugs and alcohol teams, and participation and inclusion teams.

Assessment is via coursework, including methods such as portfolios, essays, reports, case study analysis and oral presentations. You can also benefit from the input of guest speakers throughout the degree.

This programme has a parallel course with which it shares the majority of modules. Our BA (Hons) Community Development and Youth Work (Endorsed Route) programme attracts dual accreditation from two nationally-recognised professional bodies. Recognised by the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) and endorsed by the Endorsement Standards Board for Community Development (ESB) and National Youth Agency (NYA), this parallel course requires you to spend an increased length of time on fieldwork practice (a total of 800 hours).

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

• Group Work and Informal Education
• Introduction to Social Justice, Power, People and Policy
• Working with Individuals and Groups in Community
• Youth Work, Policy and Practice
• Ethics, Values and Reflective Practice
• Placement 1 - Exploring Practice in a Youth and Community Setting
• Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice
• Professional and Academic Research Methods
• Enabling Healthy Communities
• Contemporary Issues in Youth Work
• Community Development, Policy and Practice
• Placement 2 - Understanding Practice in a Youth and Community Setting
• Dissertation
• Global Youth Work and Sustainable Communities
• Management Governance and Organisational Development
• Housing and Homelessness
• Transitions

Assessment methods

Learning activities

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.