Program Overview

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International Social Work & Community Development

BA (Hons)

Attendance

• Full-time
• Part-time

Campus

• Burnley Campus

Start

• September 2025

Duration

• 3 years

UCAS Code

• L505

Delivery

• In-person

Foundation year available

Explore the pressing global challenges currently faced by social and community professionals on our BA (Hons) International Social Work and Community Development degree.

The course covers major challenges facing our current world, including:

• Community development and practice
• Human trafficking and transnational crime
• Global migration and refugees
• Sustainable development
• Human rights and social change
• Community resilience
• Global pandemics
• Climate change

On our International Social Work and Community Development course you’ll have the opportunity to do a voluntary work placement. You'll also take part in other initiatives relevant to your study.

You’ll get to make a difference to the lives of people around you. This could be working in your own community, or pursuing a professional career in policy-making or public services. You could also do international development work.

This course is taught at our Burnley Campus. Because we keep our class sizes small, you’ll be part of a close-knit family of students, tutors and staff.

Please note that this degree will not qualify you to register as a social worker. If you wish to become a registered social worker, our BA (Hons) Social Work is a professional qualification recognised by Social Work England.

Many of the course modules include recognised accreditation with the Institute of Leadership and Management.

Why study with us

• Explore global perspectives and how these issues connect and impact on community practice.
• Engage in a community practice setting, where you’ll learn the skills needed to empower others to bring about positive change.
• You’ll develop and manage a social research project based on a topic that is meaningful and important to you.

What you'll do

• You'll learn through lectures, seminars and workshops, with an online option available. You'll also have a practice placement to enhance your knowledge and skills.
• You’ll be encouraged to develop a range of critical and analytical skills. This will help enhance your personal and professional development.
• Throughout your degree, you'll undertake various activities for assessment. You'll also conduct a dedicated community research project based on your interests.

Academic expertise

• Dr John Lockhart, Course Leader
• Dr Yasmeen Ali, Senior Lecturer
• Bob Walley, Lecturer

Modules

Year 1

• International Social Work and Culture
• Modern Slavery and Transnational Crime
• Social Injustice
• Doing Community Research
• Global Migration, Refugees and Asylum
• Community Development and Practice

Year 2

• Mentoring Methods in the Community
• Participatory Action Research
• International Social Work and Sustainable Development
• Community Project Development
• Sport for International Development
• International Humanitarian Aid and Community Resilience

Year 3

• Empowering and Engaging Marginalised Groups
• Communities Skilled for Change
• Leading a Community Research Project
• International Impact through Practice
• Human Rights, Communities and Social Change
• Leadership and Management of Communities

Entry requirements

• UCAS: 96-112 points at A2
• BTEC Extended Diploma: MMM-DMM
• BTEC Diploma: DD - DD
• Pass Access Course: 96 - 112 UCAS points
• International Baccalaureate Diploma: Pass including 96 - 112 points from Higher Level subjects
• T level: P (C+) - M
• IELTS: 6.0 with no component lower than 5.5
• GCSEs: 5 at grade C/4 including Maths and English or acceptable equivalent

This course involves working with vulnerable people, including children. To make sure we accept suitable students, you must get a clear enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check, previously called a CRB check.

Fees and funding

• UK: £9,535 per year (full-time), £1,587 per 20 credits (part-time)
• International: £17,325 per year (full-time)

Facilities

• The Library (Burnley Campus)
• Lecture theatres
• Social spaces
• Students' Union Building

Learning and assessment

• If you're studying full-time on-campus, you'll have around six to eight hours per week class contact time. You'll have an average of three taught modules per semester.
• If you want to study part-time, it’s normally between two to four hours per week class contact time. You’ll study one or two modules per semester, depending on your chosen programme of study. You can negotiate additional tutorial support through your tutor.
• You’ll be assessed in a number of ways including:
  • Essays
  • Seminar presentations
  • Reflective portfolios
  • Data analysis
  • Dissertation

Further information

• Key aspects of the programme include:
  • Professionalism: developing awareness in students of how to behave as a professional.
  • Values and ethics: understanding and applying values and ethics to practice.
  • Diversity: recognising diversity in all its forms and applying anti-oppressive principles in practice.
  • The advancement of human rights, social justice and economic wellbeing.
  • Applying knowledge: understanding how communities work, and how policy impacts communities. Applying theory to practice.
  • Critical reflection and analysis in respect to decision making. This includes critical approach to contexts, professional development and the people concerned.
  • Self-awareness, emotional intelligence and skills and knowledge for resilience within a challenging profession.
  • Skills to intervene and promote independence, provide support and prevent harm and abuse – both digitally and in person.
  • Working in organisations, including collaborative working between agencies/organisations and individuals/professionals.
  • Taking responsibility for professional learning and development of yourself and others through leadership.

Accreditations

• Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM)

Scholarships and bursaries

• Care Leaver Bursary
• Estranged student support
• Dependants Bursary
• Financial support package

Related courses

• Applied Community & Social Care Studies (with Foundation Year), BA (Hons)
• Applied Community & Social Care Studies, BA (Hons)
• Assistant Practitioner, FdSc - Higher Apprenticeship
• Children, Schools & Families (Graduate Practitioner) (Top-up), BA (Hons)
• Children, Schools & Families (Graduate Practitioner) (with Foundation Year), BA (Hons)
• Children, Schools & Families (Graduate Practitioner), BA (Hons)
• International Social Work & Community Development (with Foundation Year), BA (Hons)
• Youth Work & Community Practice (with Foundation Year), BA (Hons)
• Youth Work & Community Practice, BA (Hons)
• Youth Work & Community Practice, BA (Hons) - Degree Apprenticeship

Future careers in international social work

Our BA (Hons) International Social Work and Community Development is for those who wish to work in areas like social care, social policy, sociology, or politics. It prepares you for roles both in the UK and internationally.

The course prepares you to work in a range of professional settings, including:

• Voluntary sector organisations and charities
• Community-based roles
• Aid and development
• National and local policy-making
• International organisations
• NGOs (non-governmental organisations)

As well as this, the course will appeal to anyone interested in related disciplines. This includes social care, sociology, social policy, economics, health studies, history, or politics. It can also lead to postgraduate study and taking on a professional level role.

Some of our graduates have worked with international organisations like the Red Cross in Refugee Resettlement. Others have joined national campaigns to raise awareness of domestic abuse and drive change. Whatever your passion, this course gives you the skills to make a real difference in your community.