Youth and Community Work

Entry requirements

For more information, please visit our website.

Months of entry

September

Course content

At Cardiff Met, our professionally focused postgraduate degrees in Youth and Community Work are designed for passionate practitioners who want to take the next step in their careers. Whether you are already working with young people, families and communities, or you are a graduate holding a nationally recognised JNC endorsed qualification, our courses offer an effective route to professional recognition and leadership within the sector.

These postgraduate courses foster critical, reflexive, and theoretically grounded practice for effective work across diverse settings, including community and school contexts, youth justice, healthcare, drug and alcohol services, youth arts, homelessness, exploitation, and digital environments.

• MA in Youth and Community Work (qualifying route) - This offers a valuable dual pathway: you’ll graduate with a full academic master’s degree and a professionally endorsed Postgraduate Diploma in Youth and Community Work. This makes the programme ideal for graduates who are already working (or moving into work) with young people, families and communities and want to gain a recognised professional qualification alongside advanced academic study.

• Postgraduate Diploma in Youth and Community Work (JNC professional endorsement and exit award from the MA in Youth and Community Work) - The Postgraduate Diploma is an exit point from the full MA in Youth and Community Work for students who only wish to secure their professional qualification in youth and community work. As with the full MA it is particularly suited to graduates who have found themselves working in youth and community work and who wish to gain a professional qualification in the field. The postgraduate diploma element of the MA programme requires students to undertake two separate professionally supervised placements in the field of youth and community work, and it is possible to study the programme on either a part-time or a full-time basis, attending the university to undertake the taught modules and guided practice tutorials.

• MA in Advanced Youth and Community Practice - This is designed for professionals who are ready to deepen their impact and take the next step in their career. It is particularly suited to graduates in youth and community work who already hold a JNC‑endorsed professional qualification, as well as practitioners from related disciplines who want to engage with youth and community work at an advanced, strategic level as part of their continuing professional development. This course responds directly to the realities of contemporary practice. You’ll develop the critical knowledge, confidence and leadership skills needed to navigate the complex challenges – and emerging opportunities – facing work with young people and communities today. With a strong focus on reflective, values‑driven practice, the programme supports progression into senior, managerial and developmental roles across the sector.

• Postgraduate Certificate in Leadership and Management of Youth Work (exit award from MA in Advanced Youth and Community Practice) - The Postgraduate Certificate is an exit point from the MA in Advanced Youth and Community Practice that entails successful completion of the two mandatory modules and a choice of one optional module.

Information for international students

For full details about how to apply and English Language qualifications please visit the International pages on our website.

Fees and funding

For more information on postgraduate funding, please visit our website.