BA (Hons) Community Development and Youth Work (endorsed route)

• 96 UCAS points. We accept a full range of qualifications that carry UCAS points, including A-levels, BTECs and T-levels. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points. For most courses, we are also able to consider non-tariffable qualifications.
• 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), including English and Mathematics.
• For this endorsed pathway, you'll need to provide evidence that you've completed at least 100 hours of 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.
• 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 and youth 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.

Community development and youth work is a dynamic sector that adapts to meet the current needs of people and communities. Traditional sources of employment in the public sector and the voluntary, faith and community sectors are developing their services towards a broader set of activities that support young people, families and communities with a wide range of issues and interests, in a wide variety of different environments. This shift requires employees with flexible, transversal and adaptive knowledge, skills and attitudes.

Enabling you to gain a range of skills that can be applied in multiple 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 supports 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, oral and written communication, the ability to work independently and deal with complex and challenging situations, advocacy and empathy, teamwork and the ability to understand and work with people from all backgrounds.

The dual professional accreditation offered by this course is becoming the industry standard and offers graduates a wider career path and greater value for money.

What can I do with this qualification?

Alternative career options

Graduates can also use the qualification to step into a range of other careers. You may need relevant experience and/or postgraduate study for some of these roles. Possible careers include:

• 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
• Social work
• Careers advice
• Prison service
• Outdoor education/activities
• Residential care
• Volunteer co-ordination
• Youth offending

The University of Bolton's BA (Hons) Community Development and Youth Work (endorsed route) is professionally recognised by the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) for Youth Work (as validated by the National Youth Agency (NYA)) and the Endorsement and Quality Standards Board for Community Development (ESB).

Successful achievement of the BA (Hons) Community Development and Youth Work (endorsed route) confers professionally qualified status for youth workers in England.

Home/EU Fees

No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.

International Fees

No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.

Bursaries

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

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2025-26 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 for EU students web page 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.

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 essential.

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, LGBTQ+ 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 which shares the same core modules. Our BA (Hons) Community Development and Youth Studies programme includes a reduced length of time spent on fieldwork practice, meaning the course does not attract the dual professional recognition. If you wish to transfer to the BA (Hons) Community Development and Youth Studies programme, you have until the end of semester one in your first year to make that choice.

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.

• Ethics, Values and Reflective Practice
• Youth Work, Policy and Practice
• People, Power and Social Change
• Group Work and Informal Education
• Placement 1: Exploring Practice in a Youth and/or Community Setting
• Community Development, Policy and Practice
• Diversity, Identity and Social Justice
• Enabling Healthy Communities
• Contemporary Issues in Youth Work
• Placement 2: Developing Professional Practice in a Youth and/or Community Setting
• Global Youth Work and Sustainable Communities
• Professional and Academic Research Methods
• Community Living: Housing and Homelessness
• Management, Governance and Organisational Development
• Placement 3: Managing a Youth and Community Project

Assessment methods

Learning Activities

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.