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Youth Work and Social Education with Foundation Year (ETS Endorsed) (Full-time) (BA Hons)

Carmarthen
4 Years Full-time
42 UCAS Points

The Youth Work and Social Education with Foundation Year (BA) degree is a perfect start for those looking to make a real difference in the lives of young people. This foundation year is designed to build your confidence and skills, preparing you for the rest of the degree, which is ETS endorsed and gives you a professional qualification in youth work. The course addresses the serious challenges young people face today, from trauma and adverse childhood experiences to issues like substance misuse and County Lines. You’ll explore these topics through a social science lens, building skills to support young people through complex situations in a positive way.

Youth work is often called the “best-kept secret” because of its powerful impact. Unlike many other professions, youth work focuses on building strong, positive relationships, with the goal of empowering young people to develop resilience and resourcefulness. The programme centres on this relationship-building as a way to create lasting change, and teaches students how to support youth through a range of issues. With a blend of theory, policy, and practice, students learn how these foundations intersect in the real world, ensuring they are equipped not only as knowledgeable academics but also as skilled practitioners who can work effectively with young people.

Students will be immersed in youth mentoring and advocacy, learning how to help young people reach their potential while addressing essential issues such as health and well-being and children’s rights. Through structured placements and fieldwork, they gain hands-on experience that is invaluable in the workplace, enhancing both their understanding of youth work and their employability in youth and community roles. This practical experience is vital preparation for future community work, where graduates will be able to contribute positively to social justice and community development in a range of environments, from schools and youth centres to social services.

This course offers comprehensive youth and community worker training, which is essential for a career supporting children, teenagers, and their communities. With its deep emphasis on education and social inclusion, the programme ensures that students graduate with a balanced understanding of the needs of young people from diverse backgrounds. They leave prepared for meaningful careers, whether in direct youth support roles or in broader community-focused positions. Many professions view the youth work degree as a highly desirable qualification because of the expertise it imparts and its unique focus on the challenges facing today’s youth.

Graduates are ready to work in dynamic roles that demand empathy, resilience, and a commitment to positive change. For anyone who wants to create an impact, this degree offers the tools to become an influential and compassionate youth worker, capable of leading in the field of youth work and social education.

Course details

Start date:
Ҵý modes:
  • On-campus
  • Full-time
Language:
  • English
  • Welsh
  • Bilingual
Institution code:
T80
UCAS code:
YWSF
Course length:
4 Years Full-time
Entry requirements:
42 UCAS Points

Undergraduate Fees
Home (Full-time): £9,535 per year
Overseas (Full-time): £15,525 per year

Why choose this course?

01
Gain a professionally endorsed qualification and an academic degree.
02
Explore practice with young people and their communities through engaging in youth work placement opportunities each year in wide-ranging young people and community settings.
03
Preparation for employment opportunities such as youth justice, health and well-being, community development, social enterprise and the police.

What you will learn

Our Youth Work and Social Education with Foundation Year (BA) is based on applied learning, combining classroom knowledge with real-world practice. We believe in supporting students to develop academic, professional, and personal skills that allow them to confidently address the challenges young people face today. This approach builds understanding, empathy, and practical skills essential for effective youth work.

In the foundation year, you’ll build essential academic and personal skills to help you thrive at university and beyond. You’ll be introduced to the basics of youth work practice and the role of a youth worker, learning how to approach your studies confidently while beginning to understand what it means to work with young people.

An introduction to Youth Work Practice

(60 Credits)

Academic Survival Skills

(30 Credits)

An introduction to University Life

(30 Credits)

Your second year develops a deeper understanding of adolescence and introduces core professional practice principles for working with young people. You’ll learn valuable skills in counselling, mindfulness, and advocacy and explore key issues around rights, empowerment, and participation to prepare you for youth work roles that support positive change.

Professional Practice: Principles and Contexts of Work with Young People

(20 credits)

Understanding Adolescence

(20 credits)

Counselling Skills, Mindfulness and Therapeutic Practice

(20 credits)

Young People and Society 1: Advocacy, Empowerment, Participation and Rights

(20 credits)

Youth Work Practice 1: preparing the workforce

(20 credits)

Academic Ҵý Skills for Students

(20 credits)

In the third year, you’ll study social research methods and strengthen your skills in leadership and management, all while expanding your practical experience through advanced youth work practice. You’ll also explore current issues such as mental health, well-being, and adverse childhood experiences, learning to support young people in a variety of complex situations.

Social Research for Professional Practice

(20 credits)

Supervision, Leadership and Management for Professionals

(20 credits)

No one is too small to make a difference: Working with young people to create a climate of change

(20 credits)

Young People and Society 2: Mental Health, Well-being and Adverse Childhood Experiences

(20 credits)

Youth Work Practice 2: Developing Practice

(40 credits)

Your final year focuses on advanced topics in youth work, including trauma, exploitation, and resilience. You’ll also undertake a dissertation, researching a youth work topic of your choice, which allows you to deepen your knowledge and gain expertise in an area that interests you. By the end of the course, you’ll be well-prepared for a rewarding career in youth and community work

Youth Work Practice 3: Leading and Managing

(20 credits)

Young People in Focus

(20 credits)

Young People and Society 3: Trauma, Exploitation and Toxic Childhood

(20 credits)

Young People's Well-being and Resilience

(20 credits)

Dissertation

(40 credits)

Course Disclaimer

  • The modules outlined above provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this course based on recent academic teaching. We continuously review our courses to ensure quality enhancement and to manage our resources. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand. Where your course includes optional modules, these are to provide an element of choice within the course. The availability of optional modules may vary from year to year and will be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved. This means the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed.

    You’ll typically complete 120 credits per year of study on a full-time course. For more information visit our Student Agreement.

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Staff

Our People

You will be taught and supported by a wide range of professional staff and teams here to help you get the university experience you are looking for. Our teaching staff were ranked 2nd in Wales for Teaching, Assessment and Feedback and Academic Support (NSS 2024) meaning that the support and feedback you get will help you learn and develop strong academic skills. Our students have placed us 1st in Wales for Learning Opportunities and Student Voice (NSS 2024) meaning that there are a wide range of opportunities available to enhance your studies and that students play an active role in shaping their learning experiences. Our commitment to your learning has seen our students place us as 1st in Wales and joint 3rd in the UK for student satisfaction (Times Higher Education, 2024, ‘Overall Positivity’ measure). Find out more about our academic staff who teach across our courses. 

Further information

  • 42 UCAS tariff points  

    • e.g. A-levels: D, BTEC: PP, IB: 26 

    The UCAS tariff score is applicable to you if you have recently studied a qualification that has a UCAS tariff equivalence. UCAS provides a  for you to work out what your qualification is worth within the UCAS tariff. &Բ;

    All applicants will be required to provide a satisfactory enhanced disclosure Child and Adult Workforce document from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

    Due to the professional endorsement of the degree programme, all applicants need to have at least 100 hours of recent and relevant Youth Work experience.

    Ұ䳧  

    GCSE grade A*-C (grade 9-4 in England) in English and Mathematics is also required. &Բ;

    Alternative entry routes  

    Once you successfully complete your Foundation Year studies, you will automatically advance onto the main degree. į&Բ;

    These are ideal routes if you are returning to study after a gap, or if you have not previously studied this subject, or if you did not achieve the grades you need for a place on this degree. į&Բ;

    Admissions Advice and Support  

    We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, such as your background, experiences and individual circumstances. This is known as ‘Contextual Admissions’. For specific advice and support you can contact our enquiries team for more information about entry requirements. &Բ;

    English language requirements  

    If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.0, with not less than 5.5 in each of the sub-tests. We also accept other English language tests. &Բ;

    Visit the International Applications section of our website to find out more about our English Language Requirements and pre-sessional English Language Courses. 

    Visa and funding requirements  

    If you are not from the UK and you do not already have residency here, you may need to apply for a visa. &Բ;

    For courses of more than six months’ duration you will require a Student visa. &Բ;

    International students who require a Student visa should apply for our full-time courses as these qualify for Student visa sponsorship. į&Բ;

    For full information read our visa application and guides. įį&Բ;

    Please note students receiving US Federal Aid are only able to apply for in-person, on-campus programmes which will have no elements of online study. 

  • Assessments are designed to reflect the requirements of the field and develop wide-ranging employability skills in students.  There are no exams.

  • Some modules in this course are available to study through the medium of Welsh either fully or partially. In all cases students will be able to submit written assessments through the medium of Welsh.  

    If you choose to study your course either fully or partially through the medium of Welsh, you may be eligible to apply for scholarships and bursaries to support you with your studies. 

    We are continuously reviewing our Welsh medium provision, the precise availability of modules will vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand. Where your course offers modules available through the medium of Welsh this may vary from year to year, and will be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved. This means the availability of specific Welsh medium modules cannot be guaranteed.  

    Extracurricular Welsh Opportunities 

    There are many ways to engage with Welsh culture and life at UWTSD, including joining clubs and societies for Welsh speakers and becoming a member of our vibrant Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol branch. &Բ;

    Opportunities to Learn Welsh 

    We also provide a variety of opportunities to learn and develop your Welsh language skills. į&Բ;

  • Mandatory: 
    None.

    Necessarily incurred: 
    Travel costs to and from placements (one placement at each level of study).

    Optional:
    Students who decide to take the opportunity to study abroad for one semester at Level 5 will incur additional costs associated with this;
    Potential residential activity at Level 6 may incur additional costs.

  • You may be eligible for funding to help support your study. To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit our Scholarships and Bursaries section.

  • There is also an opportunity for students to study abroad as part of their studies in the second year, in Finland or British Columbia.

  • Due to their aspirations when applying for a place on the degree programme, many of our graduates find employment directly in the youth work field, in both the voluntary and maintained sectors.  However, the youth work qualification is known for its transferability to wider associated fields, thus demonstrating how the skills that the graduates have developed while studying on the degree programme can be transferred into many settings, and skills that are welcomed within multidisciplinary teams.

    Here are some specific examples of graduate destinations:

    • Face to face youth work in a range of contexts including in schools, corporate parenting teams, post-16 work, Local Authority youth homeless projects
    • Education Welfare Officer
    • Work with organisations focussing on issues including substance misuse, projects which support homeless young people and others that focus on adoption, looked after young people, and young adult carers
    • Community education
    • Youth justice
    • Local Health Board
    • Students Union President
    • PGL Activity Instructor and Group Leader
    • Young People’s Peer Mentor for a national mental health charity
    • Emotional Health Worker for a Local Authority Youth Service
    • CAMHS Support Worker
    • Family Support for young people with disabilities
    • Post-16 Youth Worker for a Local Authority Youth Service
    • Youth Worker with the Corporate Parenting Team at Local Authority Youth Service
    • Unit Co-ordinator with a Childcare Team at a Local Authority
    • Corporate Manager at a Local Authority Youth Service
    • Senior Youth Officers at a Local Authority Youth Service

    Many graduates decide to engage in further study. Recent graduates’ MA programmes include:

    • Children and Young People: Health and Wellbeing (MA), UWTSD
    • Children and Young People: Children’s Rights (MA), UWTSD
    • Women and Child Abuse (MA), London Metropolitan University
    • Criminology and Criminal Justice (MA), Swansea University
    • Social Enterprise (MSc), Stirling University

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