Children, Youth and International Development MA

Program Overview

Overview

Working with and for young people in the developing world offers an exciting career full of challenges and rewards. Our Children, Youth and International Development MA is a varied course with a global perspective which will help equip you for roles in international development organisations, government ministries and global agencies.

You will acquire a breadth of knowledge that will enable you to critically evaluate research, policy and practice in the area of children, youth and development. You will also discover the differing disciplinary perspectives on childhood and youth by studying modules from related disciplines.

As you journey through the course, you also will acquire the skills necessary to design and undertake your own research.

Opt for the 'Applied Learning' module and you will have the opportunity of a short placement (one or two days a week for ten weeks) with an organisation that works in the field of children, youth and international development.

Examples of the ‘Applied Learning’ placements previously undertaken include:

Additionally, an Erasmus agreement exists between the Brunel MA and the MPhil in Childhood Studies at the Norwegian Centre for Child Research (NOSEB) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim.

The agreement allows two students from the MA to spend their second term (January to May) at the Trondheim centre. Erasmus students do not pay tuition fees at NOSEB and are entitled to a grant (€375/month) to cover any additional costs.

A 30 month part-time option of the course is also available.

If you wish to be considered for the part-time 30 month version, please make your application for the 24 month part-time route and then contact the Admissions team to request the change to the 30 month duration.

You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.

Program Outline

Course content

You will study three core modules relating to children, youth and international development, including the rights and participation of young people, and how to conduct research with children and youth.

Later in the course, optional modules offer the opportunity to appreciate how children and youth-related issues are addressed from alternative disciplinary perspectives including anthropology and sociology.

Through the placement module you have the opportunity to conduct a sustained project with an external organisation which often provides ideas and knowledge towards your dissertation project.

Optional modules are indicative and available subject to numbers.

This course can be studied 1 year full-time or 2 or 2.5 years part-time, starting in September.

Year 1

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Read more about the structure of postgraduate degrees at Brunel

Careers and your future

Students from the programme have progressed to a variety of careers in different types of organisations, primarily in international development NGOs such as AbleChildAfrica, ADRA, and Anti-Slavery International, and in government ministries and agencies like the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development, Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the British Council.

Assessment and feedback

A variety of forms of assessment are employed on the course which are intended to be formative as well as summative. These include essays, reports, student-led seminars, research proposals and presentations.

Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.

Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.