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University College Cork

Voluntary & Community Sector Management

Course Outline

The Masters in Voluntary and Community Sector Management provides education, training and skills in managing/coordinating voluntary and community organisations. As such, the course will contribute to the ongoing professional development of workers already in the community and voluntary sector as well as opening the door to wider opportunities in the sector for those seeking employment there. There are more than 25,000 voluntary sector organisations in Ireland. These range from large charitable bodies like Simon, Barnardos and Concern to small residents' associations, or from broad campaigning bodies like Amnesty International to small single-issue groups in a local housing estate trying to get youth facilities in the area.

These organisations may provide vital services in care, welfare, health, education, housing, poverty alleviation, social inclusion and the promotion of rights. They may also enhance democracy and participation in society through empowerment and capacity-building, lobbying, and campaigning.

The MSocSc in Voluntary and Community Sector Management is a part-time postgraduate degree taught over two years.

Students attend the University one day per week.

Entry requirements

have at least a second class honours in an approved primary degree

normally have a minimum of two years recent and relevant work experience (e.g. practitioners/managers in youth work, play work, community work, community education, the community and small voluntary sectors, community renewal and enterprise, faith community workers, community health workers, equality workers, and environment workers)

have to satisfy a selection committee.

Applications will be considered from those without a primary degree provided that you have a vocational/professional qualification in a relevant subject area as may be deemed suitable by the Head of School and you have held, for a minimum of two years, a position of responsibility of relevance to the course. Final acceptance is subject to approval by the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, and the College of Business and Law, UCC.

The Additional/Supplementary Statement Questions must also be completed during the online application process.

If you are applying with Qualifications obtained outside Ireland and you wish to verify if you meet the minimum academic and English language requirements for this programme please click here to view the grades comparison table by country and for details of recognised English language tests.

Non-EU Candidates

Non-EU candidates are expected to have educational qualifications of a standard equivalent to Irish university primary degree level. In addition, where such candidates are non-native speakers of the English language they must satisfy the university of their competency in the English language. To verify if you meet the minimum academic requirements for this programme please visit our qualification comparison pages.

Duration

2 years Part-time. The part-time option will be taught during weekday working hours over 2 years.

You attend the university one day per week (Wednesdays 10am-5pm) for two 12-week terms per year (September to December and January to March) over two years. In addition to this, one module is taught online in Year 1 and students will be required to set aside time outside class to complete that. Assessments including the 12,000-word participatory research project are completed in your own time.

Further enquiries

Dr. Olaniyi Kolawole
olaniyi.kolawole@ucc.ie
Tel. 021 4902228
https://www.ucc.ie/en/appsoc/courses/pg/cke75/

Subjects taught

Modules (90 credits):

Year 1
Students take 40 credits as follows:

AC6601 Financial Management in the Third Sector (5 credits)
SS6600 Principles, Values and Practice in the voluntary Sector (5 credits)
GV6112 The Third Sector and the State (5 credits)
SS6602 Applied Social Research in the Third Sector (5 credits)
LW6103 Legal Aspects of State Regulation (5 credits)
SS6606 Social Policy in the Voluntary Sector (5 credits)

Plus ONE of the following online modules

Either

FE3824 People Management in Member-Based Organisations (10 credits)
Or
FE 6712 Leadership & Change Management in Co-operative & Social Enterprise, (10 credits)

Year 2

Students take 50 credits as follows

MG6100 Leadership, Organisational Devt./Change for the Third Sector (5 credits)
FE6601 Co-operatives and the Third Sector (5 credits)
EC6301 The Third Sector Economy (5 credits)
IS6012 Application of IT to the Third Sector (5 credits)
FE6602 Social Enterprises and Local Development (5 credits)
SS6605 Research Project (25 credits)

All modules are assessed via continuous assessment. There are NO end of year exams for the Programme

Details of the programme content and modules are in the Postgraduate College Calendar

**All Applicants please note: modules listed in the course outline above are indicative of the current set of modules for this course, but these are subject to change from year to year. Please check the college calendar for the full academic content of any given course for the current year.

In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools and departments.