Faculty of Social Sciences:
MH117 Community and Youth Work (Part Time In-Service)

BA (Level 8 Honours degree)

Entrance requirements	2HC3 + 4OD3, English, Irish + a third language) or FETAC Level 5 (Full award with five distinctions) or Mature years (21 on 1st January 2010). Applications must be made to the CAO before February 1st Mature students must also apply directly to NUI Maynooth before February 1st. An application form is available on request from the Admissions Office or online All applicants must have relevant and verifiable experience and be currently employed in youth work and/or community work, and have the written agreement of their employer to facilitate participation in the programme. Eligible candidates will undertake a written test followed by an individual and group interview. Note: Any offer of a place on this programme is subject to a satisfactory background check by the Garda Vetting Unit
Duration	4 year BA
Points 2009	None, entrance test
FETAC link	Yes

 

Application Process

Further details on the selection process will be forwarded to all applicants when they are invited to the initial written test in March annually. Candidates shortlisted for interview must provide the following prior to interview: ‘Personal Statement’ outlining reasons for wanting to do the programme and details of any relevant experience Details of relevant work experience (paid/ unpaid).  Two references Offers may be made subject to matriculation for students taking examinations in 2010.

Course Outline

Students take the same modules as those listed for MH116 Community Work and Youth Work (Full Time) except that they are studied part time over a period of four years.

Community work is concerned with the development and empowerment of communities through facilitating the active participation of people in addressing issues that affect them collectively. It can be done in a variety of contexts: in neighbourhoods, with specific groups (e.g. women, Travellers) as well as with partnership groups, local authorities and state agencies. Community work in Ireland is presented with a number of opportunities and challenges by the rapidly changing social context of recent years, including work with new communities, migrant workers and refugees, and combating racism; as well as challenging the persistence of other social and economic inequalities.

 

Youth work is defined in Irish legislation as a  ‘planned programme of education designed for the purpose of aiding and enhancing the personal and social development of young persons through their voluntary participation’ and it is intended to be complementary to young people’s formal and vocational education and training. The Youth Work Act gives Vocational Education Committees (VECs) responsibility for ensuring and coordinating the provision of youth work at local level, while direct youth work provision continues to be carried out primarily by voluntary organisations. The BA in Community and Youth Work is a fully integrated programme of education and training in both community and youth work.

 

Course Structure

A range of topics related to Community and Youth Work are studied in all years. In Third Year a number of professional development options may be made available and students may also avail of modular options in related social science disciplines such as Anthropology and Sociology.

In-service students must be available for the equivalent of 1.5 days per week for tuition on-campus during semester as well as periods of study at summer schools (dates to be set out at the commencement of each year)

 Supervised fieldwork practice is an essential element of coursework at each level. For in-service students the existing place of employment will provide the basis for most such fieldwork practice. However, students will be required to undertake fieldwork in contrasting settings (this may involve travel within Ireland, and international fieldwork placements may also be considered provided that the student has the requisite experience and aptitude and that suitable supervised fieldwork opportunities are available). All students must undertake at least one period of fieldwork in community work and one in youth work.

 

The BA Community and Youth Work is taught within the Department of Applied Social Studies which also coordinates the BSocSc degree programme and teaches the BSocSc subject of Social Policy, meaning that the integrated teaching of relevant modules across the two programmes can be facilitated.

 

Career Options

 Graduates of the BA in Community and Youth Work will be equipped to take up professional employment in a range of community and youth work organisations and agencies: community development projects, local urban and rural development groups, community youth projects, neighbourhood youth projects and local youth services, as well as organisations concerned with particular groups (women, Travellers, new communities) or issues (unemployment, migrant rights, drugs, poverty). Community and youth work approaches are increasingly used in related areas (local economic development, youth justice, health promotion, participatory arts) and positions of leadership and management are increasingly open to graduates with relevant experience. A degree in Community and Youth Work can also be a good foundation for any job that requires social awareness, sound analytical skills and the ability to plan, organise and work closely with others.

 

Postgraduate Options

- MA (Applied Social Studies)

- MLitt

- PhD 

 

Department of Applied Social Studies

Tel: 01 708 3743 /3744 /4574 Fax: 01 708 4708 Email: appliedsocialstudies@nuim.ie http://cappss.nuim.ie

 

 

 

Last edited: Friday, 09-Oct-2009 14:30:07 IST

Admissions Office, NUI Maynooth, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland.
Tel: +353 1 7083822 | Fax: +353 1 7084614 | E-mail: admissions@nuim.ie