Community Studies and Housing BA (Hons)

Program Overview

The Community Studies and Housing BA (Hons) is a versatile program designed to equip individuals with the knowledge and skills to make a meaningful impact on communities and address housing challenges. Through a blend of theory and hands-on experience, including work placements, students gain a deep understanding of housing policy, community engagement, and social research, preparing them for diverse careers in the housing sector, community development, and related fields.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This flexible, work-based learning program prepares students to meet the demands of a rapidly changing community and housing landscape. It equips students with the knowledge, skills, and practical experience to make a difference in communities and shape change. The degree is suitable for those already working in housing and seeking to develop their roles, as well as anyone interested in a career in community work.

Objectives:

• To provide students with a comprehensive understanding of housing policy and practice.
• To develop students' skills in community engagement, social research, and project management.
• To prepare students for a range of careers in the housing sector, community development, and related fields.

Outline:

Structure:

• The program is delivered through a combination of one-day, face-to-face sessions and one-day online learning.
• Students can choose to complete the program over three years or four years, with the four-year option including a year placement in industry.

Course Schedule:

• The program is structured around a series of modules, covering a range of topics related to community studies and housing.
• Students will study core topics such as the history and development of housing policy and practice, current housing policy, and work and welfare in the 21st century.
• They can also choose from a range of elective modules, such as urban ethnography, international housing, gentrification and class distinction, and rural and urban communities.

Individual Modules:

• Introduction to Community Studies: This module introduces key debates, concepts, and theories in the field of community studies and explores how to apply these to real-world situations to bring about positive social change.
• Social Change with Communities: The UN Sustainable Development Goals: This module focuses on identifying and designing areas for social action in response to global challenges, using the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a framework.
• Community Studies and Housing: Work-Based Learning and Career Development: This module provides students with the opportunity to engage with a variety of sectors in community studies and housing, promoting people's health, happiness, and well-being.
• Community Studies and Housing: Work Based Learning and Career Planning: This module focuses on the planning, design, and reinvention of public spaces within communities.
• Community Studies in Action: This module encourages students to understand and analyze practices that foster equal relationships between institutions and communities.
• Work and Welfare in the 21st Century: This module explores the relationship between work, welfare, and daily life, including areas of health and social care, education, housing, and pensions.
• Community Studies and Housing: Work Based Learning and Graduate Employability: This module provides students with advanced knowledge of working in community-based or housing settings and helps them take a more active role within these settings.
• Housing Policy and Practice: This module examines different approaches to housing policy from various political, ideological, and needs-based perspectives.
• International Built Environments: This module explores the nature of international built environments and how they shape the well-being and welfare of communities in different places.
• Ways of Walking: This module introduces ethnographic mapping, allowing students to make social and spatial practices visual and tangible.
• Introduction to Research and Social Enquiry: This module explores debates and theories in social research, identifying quantitative and qualitative data research methods.
• Research Methods 1: Collecting Data: This module focuses on collecting data using various research methods.
• Research Methods 2: Exploring Data: This module focuses on interpreting and analyzing data collected through different research methods.
• Capstone Project – Community Studies and Housing Degree: This module allows students to present a workable project drawing from their work experience and produce a piece of research in a specific area of community studies and housing.

Assessment:

• The program uses a variety of assessment methods to enable students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.
• Assessment methods include:
• Written assignments: essays, reports, and in-depth research work on broader topics.
• Oral presentations: demonstrating verbal and presentational skills in communicating information to others.
• Poster presentations: demonstrating visual communication skills.
• Group work: allowing students to demonstrate group research skills while also submitting individual assessed work.

Teaching:

• The program is taught by an industry-active academic team with wide research experience and a track record of engaging with communities.
• The program incorporates immersive work placements, real-world research projects, and unique "life lab" workshops.

Careers:

• Upon completion of the program, graduates are well-prepared to enter or develop their careers in the housing sector or work in a range of community-focused roles.
• Potential career paths include:
• Housing management
• Housing strategy regeneration development and asset management
• Homelessness services and supported housing
• Social enterprise companies
• Community development
• Tenancy sustainability and support
• Customer care
• Finance
• HR
• IT
• Graduates may also choose to progress to a Master's or degree by research in a social sciences-related subject.

Other:

• The program is designed in collaboration with Luton Borough Council Housing department and is mapped to the Council's employment specifications, preparing students for a successful career in community and housing-related fields.
• The program features partnerships with local social housing providers, providing students with experience in the housing and community sector through placements and engagement with community-based projects.
• The program's flexible course structure and hybrid approach, including online teaching and virtual placements, allow students to experience the benefits of a university education that fits around their lives.
• The program offers a Professional Practice Year option, allowing students to gain practical experience and build their CV through a year placement in industry.
• The program also offers a Foundation Year option for students who require additional support to up-skill or who did not meet the entry requirements for the undergraduate program.

The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2024/25 is £9,250 per year. See www.gov.uk/student-finance International The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2024/25 is £15,500 per year.