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“At the University of Bolton, we take great pride in providing a quality, supportive learning environment for our students.” Professor George E Holmes DL | President & Vice Chancellor
“...tutors are very supportive and you’re not just a student ID number, at this university you are an individual with a name.” Ellisse Vernon | BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing
Are you an ambitious graduate seeking to take your professional understanding of the youth and community sector to a higher level? Our Master’s in Community Development and Youth Studies offers you the opportunity to develop greater professional insight and expertise, along with essential career-enhancing knowledge of leadership, management and research.
Key information
Award:
MA
Mode of Study:
Full-time
Duration:
12 months
Location:
University of Bolton
Start date:
25/09/2023
Course Details
The growing social and economic challenges to young people and adults in communities mean the need for highly trained, passionate and creative professionals in the areas of youth and community work have never been greater. The University of Bolton’s MA in Community Development and Youth Studies is designed to prepare future leaders for this sector, ready for a career changing lives by challenging discrimination and oppression through informal social inclusion.
This course aims to extend your already considerable professional skills and knowledge with specialist modules that deepen your understanding of areas such as equality and diversity, community learning, and global community development and sustainability. Our expert team will help you gain critical reflection, analysis and evaluation skills that support your ability to determine the impact of professional interventions on the community and young people.
Combining this knowledge with the principles and techniques of academic research and investigation will help develop your evidence-based practice and grow your skills in evaluating options and formulating creative solutions to complex problems. Studying leadership and management styles, theories and frameworks will support you to become more actively involved in the planning, delivery and transformation of services and interventions.
Overall, we aim to help you gain the professional and transferable skills to move forward in your career, empowering young people and adults in communities.
Highlights
Our students are drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds. Sharing the individual and unique educational insights and perspectives of your peers helps to enrich your learning experience.
We promote research and critical enquiry, helping you learn to make sound, evidence-based independent judgements.
Our excellent links with over 70 partners and external agencies mean we can offer a wide variety of perspectives and research opportunities; for instance, we work with youth and community centres, schools, alternative education projects, women's refuges and community projects, as well as housing, health, leisure and youth training schemes, resettlement projects, and detached, outreach and mentoring projects.
When you successfully complete this course, you’ll be awarded an MA in Community Development and Youth Studies from the University of Bolton.
Key Features
Face-to-face sessions and one-to-one support are offered by our team of highly experienced, enthusiastic and dedicated experts.
Staff and students from across our Faculty of Health and Wellbeing work closely together. By studying alongside people from related specialisms and sectors such as early years and health and social care, you can benefit from a wider range of knowledge and experience that supports cross-disciplinary thinking and inter-professional working.
Our academic team is actively involved in community and youth studies research, helping you to explore issues from a robust research-informed knowledge base.
Specialists in the field of community development and youth work will be invited to join us as guest speakers and lecturers, offering you first-hand live examples of current practice.
Our highly experienced team will support you in developing critical thinking and research evaluation skills and applying these during your independent master’s-level project.
By choosing to study with us, you'll have the chance to enjoy Bolton's many shops, bars, restaurants and leisure facilities. Manchester, one of the UK's most multicultural and lively cities, is less than 20 minutes away by train. Not forgetting, the North West of England is renowned for its beautiful countryside, coastline and heritage. This makes Bolton an ideal base from which to explore some of the best cultural and outdoor activities the UK offers.
Normally, you’ll have at least a lower second class (2.2) honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject.
We'll also consider applications where appropriate work experience can be demonstrated in lieu of, or in addition to, the published academic qualifications in line with the University’s Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) procedures.
You may be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
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.
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.
As a graduate of our MA in Community Development and Youth Studies, you’ll have the skills and knowledge needed to lead and manage complex work with young people, adults and community groups. The course is ideal if you’re already working in the sector and wish to extend your knowledge, move into a more senior role or plan to embark on a career working with people in communities.
Community development and youth work seek to actively engage communities to make sense of the issues that affect their lives, helping them to set goals for improvement and respond to problems and needs through empowerment and active participation. Qualified workers are in demand across a wide range of public settings.
What can I do with this qualification?
Graduates of the University of Bolton's MA in Community Development and Youth Studies can choose to work in management or senior-level positions in a wide range of settings. These can include schools and colleges, youth and community centres, local government, charities, faith groups, uniformed services, youth training schemes, housing associations, outdoor centres, substance and alcohol misuse support organisations, youth offending teams, LGBT groups, community-based groups, environmental groups, international and sustainability projects, as well as residential settings such as care homes.
Alternatively, you could pursue further training, such as the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), which would qualify you to work as a teacher.
Alternative career options
Graduates can also use the qualification as a stepping stone into a range of other careers. For some of these roles, relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. They include:
The Arts
Mentoring
Teaching and education
Journalism/writing
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
Course fees
Home students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Home fee of £7,920 for the academic year 2023/24.
Overseas students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Overseas fee of £13,550 for the academic year 2023/24.
Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2022-2023 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.
For details of how to apply for this course, please choose your status from the options below:
You may apply directly to the University using the University's online application form. Please select your chosen
start date from the list below:
You should have to hand:
Details of the educational establishments you attended and dates
Your certificates for the qualifications you are using to gain entry to the course –
you will need to enter the completion date and upload copies
Details of any employment history including name, address, dates and role
Personal statement – this can be either input into the relevant field or uploaded separately
Details including e-mail addresses of two referees, at least one of which should be
someone who can provide an academic reference
Please make sure any documents you wish to upload in support of your application are in pdf or jpeg format.
Personal statements may be word documents.
Please ensure your data is correct at each stage of the application before you proceed to the next page.
If you use the back button at any time during the application, you should check the validity of the data
you have already input.
If you experience difficulties during the application process, contact the Admissions Team on 01204 903394
or admissions@bolton.ac.uk
In order to determine your suitability for this course as an international student and also to confirm you meet any initial eligibility criteria, we need you to answer a few short questions.
Have you completed an English Language qualification prior to application or have a valid exemption as per the list below?
(The qualification/exemption must be uploaded with this application)
E.g. Applicants from Nigeria/Africa must upload their WAEC or NECO certificate before the application is
submitted for a prompt response and offer.
Acceptable English Language Tests – Undergraduate and Postgraduate
These tests must have been taken within 2 years of the start of the course
Test
Entry Requirements
IELTS Academic (taken within 2 years)
Undergraduate programmes 6.0 with no band below 5.5 Postgraduate programmes as per entry requirements
IELTS Indicator
Undergraduate programmes 6.0 with no band below 5.5 Postgraduate programmes as per entry requirements
PTE
Undergraduate and Postgraduate requiring IELTS6.0
Overall score of 50 with no less than 42 in each component
Postgraduate requiring IELTS 6.5
Overall score of 58 with no less than 50 in each component
Postgraduate requiring IELTS 7.0
Overall score of 65 with no less than 58 in each component
TOEFL iBT Including Special Home Edition
Undergraduate and Postgraduate requiring IELTS6.0
Overall score of 80 with the following component scores:
Reading – 18
Writing – 17
Listening – 17
Speaking - 20
Postgraduate requiring IELTS 6.5
Overall Score of 88 with the following component scores:
Reading – 20
Writing – 19
Listening – 19
Speaking 21
Postgraduate requiring IELTS 7.0
Overall Score of 100 with the following component scores:
Reading – 23
Writing – 24
Listening – 22
Speaking 22
Pearson Versant
Undergraduate and Postgraduate requiring IELTS6.0
Overall score of 55
Postgraduate requiring IELTS 6.5
Overall score of 60
Postgraduate requiring IELTS 7.0
Overall score of 65
Trinity College (Integrated Skills)
Undergraduate and Postgraduate requiring IELTS6.0
ISE II –Distinction in each component
Postgraduate requiring IELTS 6.5
ISE III – Pass in each component
Postgraduate requiring IELTS 7.0
ISE III – Merit in each component
Other qualifications we currently accept (which do not require an additional SELT)
GCSE in English Language (from a UK awarding body)
Undergraduate and Postgraduate requiring IELTS6.0
Grade C
Postgraduate requiring IELTS 6.5
Grade B
Irish Leaving Certificate Ordinary Level English
Undergraduate and Postgraduate requiring IELTS6.0
Grade C/C3 (20 points)
IGCSE English as a First language
(for syllabus 0500 Listening and Speaking must be separately endorsed on the certificate)
Undergraduate and Postgraduate requiring IELTS6.0
Grade C
Postgraduate requiring IELTS 6.5
Grade B
IGCSE English as a Second language
(for syllabus 0510 Speaking must be separately endorsed on the certificate)
Undergraduate and Postgraduate requiring IELTS6.0
Grade C
Postgraduate requiring IELTS 6.5
Grade B
Cambridge Advanced English
Undergraduate and Postgraduate requiring IELTS6.0
170 points with no component below 160
Postgraduate requiring IELTS 6.5
180 points with no component below 170
Postgraduate requiring IELTS 7.0
185 points with no component below 180
International Baccalaureate (IB)
Standard or Higher Level English Language (Syllabus A)
Undergraduate and Postgraduate requiring IELTS6.0
Grade 4
Postgraduate requiring IELTS 6.5
Grade 5
International Baccalaureate (IB)
Standard or Higher Level English Language (Syllabus B)
Undergraduate and Postgraduate requiring IELTS6.0
Grade 5
Postgraduate requiring IELTS 6.5
Grade 6
European Baccalaureate English Language
Undergraduate and Postgraduate requiring IELTS6.0
Grade 70%
Postgraduate requiring IELTS 6.5
Grade 80%
Acceptable European qualifications
English component must be obtained within the last 4 years
Country
Qualification
Austria
Reifeprufungszeugnis/Maturazeugnis at 2.0
Belgium
Diplome d'acces a l'enseignment superieur/Diplome van Hoger Secundair Onderwijs at 75%
Bulgaria
Diploma Za Sredno Obrazovanie at Grade 3
Croatia
Svjedodzba o Maturi at grade 4.0
Cyprus
Apolyterion at 15
Czech Republic
Maturitni Zkou'ce/Maturita at grade 2.0
Denmark
Studentereksamen/HF/HHX/HTX/IBB /Diplomingenior at grade 9
Estonia
Riigieksamitunnistus or Gümnaasiumilõputunnistus at 70%
Finland
Ylioppilastutkintotodistus or Studentexamensbetyg at grade 5
France
Baccalauréat (le bac) or the Option Internationale du Baccalauréat at grade 12.5
Germany
Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife or Abitur or a Fachgebundene Hochschulreife at grade 2 / gut
Greece
Apolyterion at grade 15
Hungary
Erettsegi at grade 4
Italy
Diploma di Esame di Stato at grade 8/80%
Latvia
Atestats Par Visparejo Videjo Izglitib at grade 8
Lithuania
Brandos Atestatas at grade 8
Malta
Matriculation Certificate at grade C
Moldova
Diploma de Bacalaureat or Atestat de Studii Medii de Cultura Generala at grade 9
Netherlands
Diploma Middelbaar Beroepsonderwijs (MBO) or Diploma Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs (VWO) at grade 8
Norway
Vitnemal-Videregaende Opplaering at grade 4
Poland
Swiadectwo Dojrzalosci / Matura at grade 70%
Portugal
Diploma de Ensino Secundario at grade 14
Romania
Diploma de Bacalaureat (English with all components at B2)
Slovakia
Vysvedcenie O Maturitnej at grade 2
Slovenia
Maturitetno Spricevalo at grade 4
Spain
Titulo de Bachillerato at grade 8
Sweden
Fullstandigt Slutbetyg Fran Gymnasiesk at grade C
Switzerland
Maturitatszeugnis or Maturite Federal at grade 5
Ukraine
Aтестат про повну загальну середню освіту at grade 10
Acceptable International Regional qualifications
Must be obtained no more than 4 years before the proposed start date of the course
Country
Qualification
Grade
Bahamas
General Certificate of Secondary Education
Grade C in English
Botswana
General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level
Grade C/4 in English
Brunei
Cambridge O Level
Grade C6 in English
Cameroon
GCE O level
Grade C in English
Hong Kong
HKCEE
Grade C in English (Syllabus B)
Hong Kong
HKDSE
Grade 4 in English
Kenya
Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education
Grade C in English
Malaysia
Malaysian 1119
Grade 6C in English - IELTS 6.0
Singapore
Singapore Cambridge O Level
Grade C6 in English
South Africa
South Africa National Senior Certificate
Grade 5 in English
Tanzania
Certificate of Secondary Education
Grade C in English
Uganda
Certificate of Education
Grade 6
Zambia
Zambia School Certificate
Grade 6 in English
Zimbabwe
General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level
Grade C in English
Caribbean Examination Council
General proficiency Grade III in English
Nigeria/Ghana
WAEC/NECO
Grade C6 in English
I confirm I hold one of the above English Language Qualifications/Exemptions before making an application. I will upload the evidence with this application.
Unfortunately we would be unable to sponsor under the Student Route Visa. If you do not require a visa to study in the UK please email us for further advice: intadmissions@bolton.ac.uk
Have you read and understood the course entry requirements and confirm that you fully meet the requirements?
(Please click on Entry Requirements tab above to ensure you comply with all the requirements for this course)
I understand that the university reserves the right to withdraw their offer at any stage once the quota for the course has been filled.
I understand that I will be required to pay specific fees before CAS issuance is considered by the university.
I must declare any agent or consultant at the start of my application and they must be on the list of approved agents.
(We also have Branch Offices in Africa,
South Asia, Middle East and
Central Asia who fully manage
applications in their respective regions.)
I am able to complete the course in the normal duration.
I am able to arrive on time for the published start date.
I confirm that I will be 18 years old or more on the start date of the course.
I understand that the following documents will be uploaded as part my application:
(a) Passport with at least 6 months validity before start of course.
(b) Personal statement (written by myself).
(c) CV if applicable.
(d) Previous qualifications.
(e) English language certificate or proof of exemption.
(f) Professional references if applicable.
(g) Bank Statements and TB Certificate if applicable at the CAS issuance stage.
I have read and understood all questions and answered them correctly and truthfully to the best of my ability and knowledge.
The University welcomes applications from international students from all over the world.
We try to make the application process as simple and as fast as possible for our international applicants.
How you apply is determined by your current location and what you are choosing to study:
Apply direct to the University. Links for the next available intakes of this course are shown below.
Please click the link which will direct you to the online application form. Please read the user
guidance before completing this.
Apply via one of our approved in-country referral partners. A list of our partners may be found on the
International pages of this website.
Apply via UCAS for courses starting in September only – visit
www.ucas.com.
Should you have any queries please contact the International Team on +44 (0) 1204 903110 or email
international@bolton.ac.uk
The Faculty of Health and Wellbeing works across a range of sectors offering professional and non-professional education and works to balance exposure to subject knowledge, theoretical perspectives and professional/practical skills. This master’s degree is part of a suite of programmes offering a cross-curriculum and multi-professional ethos in the areas of community development and youth work, early childhood studies and health and social care.
We use a wide variety of teaching and learning methods. You can expect lectures, presentations, seminar discussions, small group workshops, small group tutorials and one-to-one tutorials, and using virtual learning environments (VLE) and e-learning packages. You’ll also need to undertake a significant amount of personal study, including general background reading, preparing for seminar activities, working on assignments and revising for examinations.
Assessment methods are also varied, allowing you to develop and demonstrate your learning in a range of ways. For example, assessments may require you to complete essays, reports, presentations, seminar contributions and portfolios.
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.
Postgraduate Preparation for Research Design
Critical Reading and Writing Skills
Leadership and Innovation
Equality and Diversity for Human Services
Contemporary Issues, Policy and Practice
Dissertation
Global Community Development, Youth Work and Sustainability
Social Pedagogical Approaches to Community Based Learning and Development
Assessment methods
Level
Assesment method
Level one
Coursework 100%
Learning activities
Level
Learning activity
Level one
Guided independent study 76%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 24%
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.