This degree combines an honours degree with a professional qualification in youth work, training you to become a fully qualified youth worker with a nationally recognised professional qualification.
As a professional Community and Youth worker you will make a real difference to the lives of young people aged between 13 and 19. You’ll promote their personal and social development, and empower them to make positive decisions for themselves and for their communities.
Why us?
- Our Social Work courses (which include BA (Hons) Community and Youth Work Studies) are in the top 25% in the UK for Organisation and management, according to the National Student Survey 2018
- This course has over 90% Overall Satisfaction according to the National Student Survey 2018
- Accredited by the National Youth Agency
- ‘World-leading’ research in Social Work, according to the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF)
- Our Social Work courses were ranked 1st overall in the UK in the 2018 UK Engagement Survey
- 93.4% of our graduates are in employment, further study or training within six months of graduating, according to DLHE 2016/17 (based on full-time, first degree, home leavers)
- Opportunity to study abroad as part of the course
- Innovative cross-faculty learning opportunities
- Our Social Work courses were ranked 2nd in the UK for Assessment and Feedback, and 2nd in the UK for Retention and Progression in the 2018 UK Engagement Survey
Course structure
Community and Youth Work is a vocation, and it’s important to learn from real work-based experience as well as from academic study. For this reason, work placements are an integral part of the degree. By the time you graduate you will have spent at least 888 hours in professional practice.
If you’re already working you can take a placement at your workplace, as long as the work is relevant and there are adequate supervision arrangements in place. You’ll also need to complete at least one placement in setting which is not your workplace, to ensure that you get the maximum benefit from your placement experience.
In the second year you’ll have the opportunity to complete one of your work placements in Germany.
Our teaching style is true to the collaborative, empowering and reflective nature of Community and Youth Work. You will be assessed through essays, group work, presentations, reports and reflective pieces; assessment methods are clearly linked to the skills needed in practice. Throughout your degree you will have one to one support from a designated lecturer who will support your progress from Fresher’s week to Graduation.
Employment
Qualified Community and Youth Workers remain in high demand. With a varied repertoire of value-based and practice-related skills Community and Youth Workers find employment throughout local authorities and the voluntary, charity and social enterprise sectors. We are proud that our graduates work in a wide variety of roles including traditional Community and Youth Work, Mental Health, Prisons, Schools, Housing Agency, Children’s Rights and many more.
As a qualified professional, you’ll be eligible for the higher levels of salary scales set by the Joint Negotiating Committee for Youth and Community Workers.
Centre for Applied Social Sciences
The University of Sunderland’s Centre for Applied Social Studies (CASS) regularly hosts visiting speakers, and it can be an excellent way to learn from the real-life experience of people who already have a strong track record in social policy.
CASS is the centre for applied social science research at the University, and you may find opportunities to collaborate with the academic team – particularly on areas relating to children, young people and families.
800 hours of placements
Community and youth work is a vocation, and it’s important to learn from real-work based experience as well as from academic study. For this reason, work placements are an integral part of the degree. By the time you graduate you will have spent at least 800 hours in professional practice. As well as exposing you to a range of experiences and helping you understand the realities of community and youth work, placements are also an excellent way of establishing professional contacts for your career.
