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Queen's University Belfast

Youth Justice

Aim
The Masters in Youth Justice has been designed for those who want to advance their understanding of youth issues, youth offending and social and criminal justice responses to young people. It is focused on developing critical analytical skills and enhancing the ability to assess policy and practice against international standards and benchmarks.

Targeted at practitioners, policy-makers and those interested in further academic study, it provides the opportunity to apply academic knowledge and critical analytical skills to practice and enhance understanding of young people's lives, the criminal justice system and the discourse of children's rights.

Why Queen's?

This programme involves a blended learning approach offering a mixture of online and face-to-face course delivery.
Students have the opportunity to select child and youth focused optional modules from a range of Schools, gaining an interdisciplinary perspective.
The programme is also an excellent stepping stone for Doctoral research.

Entry requirements

Entrance Requirements
Normally a 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University in a social science or related discipline. Applicants who do not meet the entry requirements should contact the Programme Co-ordinators for advice.

Please note: The closing date for applications to this programme is Tuesday 1st August 2017 at 4pm. Applications received after the closing date will be regarded as LATE and will be considered only if vacancies exist when all applications received by the closing date have been processed.

International Qualifications For information on international qualification equivalents please select Your Country from the list on our International Students website.

Additional Information for International Students
International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes. Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.5, with not less than 5.5 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required. *Taken within the last 2 years.

For more information on English Language requirements for EEA and non-EEA nationals see: qub.ac.uk/EnglishLanguageReqs

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this programme, our partner INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability to entry to this programme.

For additional information, please visit our website.
English for University Study - an intensive English language and study skills course for successful university study at degree level.
Pre-sessional English - a short intensive academic English course for students starting a degree programme at Queen's University Belfast and who need to improve their English
See Also The Into Graduate Diploma In Finance Which Combines Academic Study, Intensive English Language Teaching And Study Skills To Prepare You For Entry Into A University Masters Degree.

Duration

1 year full-time or 3 years part-time.

Teaching Times
Morning / Afternoon / Evening.
Weekend teaching and workshops outside normal teaching hours.

Careers or further progression

Possible career paths include work in youth and social justice related fields. Previous graduates have been successful in gaining jobs working for NGOs in the criminal justice and youth justice fields. The programme is also an excellent stepping stone for Doctoral research.

Queen's postgraduates reap exceptional benefits. Unique initiatives, such as Degree Plus and Researcher Plus bolster our commitment to employability, while innovative leadership and executive programmes alongside sterling integration with business experts helps our students gain key leadership positions both nationally and internationally.

Further enquiries

Dr Nicola Carr or Dr Siobhán McAlister
School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work
Tel: 9097 5117
Email: pgsoc@qub.ac.uk
WWW: http://www.qub.ac.uk/soc

Subjects taught

The course has been designed with a view towards encouraging students to consider the interface between social justice, criminal justice and children's rights. Given increased policy attention in the area of youth justice and strategies impacting on children and young people more generally, the course reflects the concern to understand the needs and rights of children and young people and ground responses in evidence, best practice and international standards. PG Diploma students must obtain 120 credits at M level. To be awarded a Masters degree, students must obtain a further 60 credits via the completion of a dissertation.

Core modules:
Approaches to Social Research 20 CATS (Assignment: Research Proposal)
Childhood and Youth Research and Practice 10 CATS (Assignment: Review of Research Protocol)
Children's Rights 20 CATS (Assignment: Essay)
Perspectives in Childhood and Youth 10 CATS (Assignment: Critical Review)
Youth and Social Justice 20 CATS (Assignment: Comment Piece and Essay)
Youth Justice: Theory, Law and Practice 20 CATS (Assignment: Comment Piece and Essay)

Plus dissertation (MSc only) 60 CATS (20,000 words max.)
Optional modules include:
Childhood Adversity 10 CATS
Children's Rights and Conceptions of Childhood 20 CATS
Children's Rights 20 CATS
Economic Impact of Childhood Interventions 10 CATS
Improving Outcomes 10 CATS
International Contexts of Childhood Adversity 10 CATS
Qualitative Data Analysis 10 CATS
Qualitative Research in Childhood and Youth 10 CATS
Quantitative Data Analysis 10/20 CATS

Indicative Number of Modules per Semester
Full time - 3 x 20 CATS (or a blend to the value of 60 CATS)

List of Indicative Programme Modules
Core modules:
Approaches to Social Research (Assignment: Research Proposal)
Childhood and Youth Research and Practice (Assignment: Review of Research Protocol)
Children's Rights (Assignment: Essay)
Perspectives in Childhood and Youth (Assignment: Critical Review)
Youth and Social Justice (Assignment: Comment Piece and Essay)
Youth Justice: Theory, Law and Practice (Assignment: Comment Piece and Essay)

Plus dissertation (MSc only) (20,000 words)
Plus options (as above)

Indicative Proportional Mix of Time in Classes, Tutorials/Seminars/Labs, and Private Study in a Teaching Semester

20 CATS modules generally involve 20 contact hours per semester, 10 CATS modules generally involve 10 contact hours per semester. Contact hours often include a blend of face-to-face lectures/ workshops and online sessions. Students can choose some optional modules that are all face-to-face, all online or a blend of both.

Assessment method

Modules will be assessed through a combination of written work plus dissertation.

Application date

Postgraduate Taught
In general, there are no closing dates for the majority of courses (those with closing dates will be highlighted in the Course Finder). However we advise you to apply as early as possible, particularly for those courses where there is a high demand for places. Early application is also important for international applicants to allow sufficient time to obtain a student entry visa.

Postgraduate Research
There is no standard closing date. You should however check both the Universitys website and refer to the relevant School/Institute webpage for information on deadline dates for postgraduate funding applications, as these will also determine when your application for admission should be submitted.