Queen's University Belfast

Youth Justice

Designed for those who want to advance their understanding of youth issues, youth offending and social and criminal justice responses to young people, this programme focuses 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.

Given increased policy attention in the area of youth justice and strategies impacting on children and young people more generally, the programme reflects the concern to understand the needs and rights of children and young people and ground responses in evidence, best practice and international standards.

Youth Justice highlights

Career Development
•The programme is an excellent stepping stone for Doctoral research.

Student Experience
•This programme involves a blended learning approach offering a mixture of online and face-to-face course delivery.
•The programme has been designed to encourage students to consider the interface between social justice, criminal justice and children's rights. Students have 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.

Entry requirements

Graduate
Normally a 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University in a social science or related discipline.

Applicants with a 2.2 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University may be considered if they have at least two years of professional experience in a relevant context.

International Students
For information on international qualification equivalents, please check the specific information for your country.

English Language Requirements
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.

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.

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

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this degree programme, INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for admission to this degree.
•Academic English: 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.

Duration

1 year full time

Teaching Times
Morning / Afternoon / Evening/ Weekend and online flexible learning

Careers or further progression

Career Prospects
Introduction
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 help our students gain key leadership positions both nationally and internationally.

Employment after the Course
You will have gained the skills necessary to locate and evaluate policy, research and practice on youth justice related issues, and to undertake your own research in this area. This will position you for working in organisations that: advocate for the rights and needs of children in conflict with the law; that formulate policy; that undertake research.

You will also have a more holistic understanding of the lives of children in conflict with the law, placing you in a perfect position to work with and for these children, and for organisation that support them (e.g. NGOs/ voluntary organisations, statutory sector bodies, government departments).

You may follow in the footsteps of some of our recent graduates who work in young offenders centres in the Republic of Ireland, support young people transitioning from care in Scotland, mentor young people in conflict with the law in Northern Ireland or have extended their studies through doctoral study.

Employment Links
Civil service; criminal justice/ youth/ children's rights charities; government departments; research organisations.

Further enquiries

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

Email: s.mcalister@qub.ac.uk
Or
L.Lundy@qub.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)28 9097 5942

Subjects taught

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.

Core modules:
Childhood and Youth Research and Practice – 10 CATS
This is an introductory module brings together students and academic staff from a range of areas to showcase research, highlighting different issues and looking at a variety of projects using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The module will conclude with a workshop on research ethics and governance.

Foundations in Children's Rights – 20 CATS
This module will introduce students to international children's rights laws affecting children, with a particular focus on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It will locate children's rights within the broader framework of human rights law and introduce the core provisions of international children's rights, emphasising the research skills used to identify and understand major human rights treaties and secondary documentation. It will explain the fundamental principles of children's rights and their implementation and introduce theory and ongoing debates in the field, such as the limits of children's autonomy and the potential tensions between children's rights and parents' rights.

Introduction to Research Methods - 20 CATS
The aim of the module is to provide a general research overview and to contextualise the broad range of approaches and debates that are evident within contemporary educational research. The module aims to provide students with an understanding of the theory and an appreciation of the differing perspectives that underpin quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Students will be introduced to the ethical issues relating to educational research as well as a range of methodological approaches, within which the key theoretical and practical issues will be addressed.

Perspectives in Childhood and Youth – 10 CATS
This is an introductory module brings together students and academic staff from a range of areas to familiarise students with diverse disciplinary perspectives on children and young people. Indicative content includes: the sociology of childhood; youth studies; psychobiological approaches; children's rights; health approaches and interventions.

Youth and Social Justice – 20 CATS
This module introduces students to key concepts, theories and debates in youth studies. It provides an understanding of the ways in which major social science disciplines have conceptualised and studied young people, alongside some of the contemporary issues that affect their lives. The module explores the framing, conceptualisation and theorisation of youth across time, considering the academic and political interest in their lives. It examines the relationship between young people, social change and social policy and encourages students to apply theory to contemporary youth issues, and to critically consider institutional and policy responses.

Youth Justice: Theory, Law and Practice – 20 CATS
The module covers key areas in youth justice including theories on causes of offending. The emergence of a separate response over time to young people who come into conflict with the law is critically explored. Current system and practice orientations such as prevention and early intervention are explored, as are interventions for young people who are processed through the youth justice system. Here students will learn about different philosophies, orientations and legal frameworks towards youth justice in local and international contexts. Students will be encouraged to critically reflect upon the merits and demerits of the panoply of different approaches towards youth and justice from restoration to responsibilisation, towards risk orientation and welfarism.

Dissertation – 60 CATS (20,000 words max.)

Optional modules include:

Child Rights Based Research Methods – 20 CATS
Economic Impact of Childhood Interventions – 10 CATS
Improving Outcomes Using Evidence Based Practice – 10 CATS
Qualitative Data Analysis – 10 CATS
Qualitative Research in Childhood and Youth – 10 CATS
Quantitative Data Analysis – 10/20 CATS
Researching Conflict and Change in Northern Ireland - 10 CATS