Overview
Working with and for young people in the Global South offers an exciting career full of challenges and rewards. Our Children, Youth and International Development MA is a varied course with a global perspective which will help equip you for roles in international development organisations, government ministries and global agencies.
You will acquire a breadth of knowledge that will enable you to critically evaluate research, policy and practice in the area of children, youth and development. You will also discover the differing disciplinary perspectives on childhood and youth by studying modules from related disciplines.
As you journey through the course, you also will acquire the skills necessary to design and undertake your own research.
Opt for the 'Applied Learning' module and you will have the opportunity of a short placement (two days a week for ten weeks) with an organisation that works in the field of children, youth and international development.
Examples of the ‘Applied Learning’ placements previously undertaken include:
- Action Aid – on a campaign targeting exploitation in the garment industry
- Anti-Slavery International – on a project to eradicate caste-based bonded labour
- Basti RAM – planned lessons for a Global Citizenship project
- BookAid International – helped build up an evidence base for Book Aid’s international programmes
- Commonwealth Secretariat – on the CS’s Youth Programme in Uganda
- International Refugee Trust – development of the online classroom about refugees
- National Deaf Children's Society – developed international exchanges for deaf young people
- Oxfam – mobilised UK school children to get involved in Oxfam campaigns
- Project Hope – several placements including designing a survey on youth experiences, and developing leaflets to help South African adults to identify signs of childhood mental illness
- The Mouth That Roars – helped children in London and Saudi Arabia to create videos through which they communicated their everyday lives to each other
Additionally, an exchange agreement exists between the Brunel MA and the MPhil in Childhood Studies at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim.
The agreement allows two students from the MA to spend their second term (January to May) at the NTNU.
A 30 month part-time option of the course is also available. If you wish to be considered for the part-time 30 month version, please make your application for the 24 month part-time route and then contact the Admissions team to request the change to the 30 month duration.
You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.
Course content
You will study three core modules relating to children, youth and international development, including how to conduct research with children and youth.
Later in the course, optional modules offer the opportunity to specialise in a chosen field or undertake a placement
Through the placement module you have the opportunity to conduct a sustained project with an external organisation which often provides ideas and knowledge towards your dissertation project.
Optional modules are indicative and available subject to numbers.
Compulsory
- SA56xB - Ethnographic Research
To introduce students to the methods employed by anthropologists when undertaking ethnographic research and to prepare students for the field research on which their dissertations will be based.
- SA5638 - Global Development: Critical Perspectives
To acquire a theoretical and historical overview of the changing relationship between the critical social sciences and global development, to understand the multiple ways in which social science research can enhance our understanding of contemporary policies and practices in global development and to critically evaluate, from a social science perspective, various theoretical approaches to global development.
- SA5623 - Understanding Childhood and YouthThis module will introduce you to the study of childhood and youth as they are constructed and practiced in different social, cultural and economic settings. The first section focuses on children, looking first at how ideas of childhood are constructed by adults, the second section is devoted to young people.
- SA5629 - Ethnographic Dissertation
To bring perspectives derived from the taught modules to bear upon an issue of research interest to the student in the domain of the programme title: i.e. the dissertation should reflect a specifically ethnographic approach to research and analysis. Primary research data are to be derived primarily from participant observer study in a field site chosen by the student, supplemented by other research methods such as interviews, ethnographic tasks etc. The object of the dissertation is twofold: (i) to analyse an issue or problem that arises out of the data gathered during fieldwork; and (ii) to show how this analysis is warranted by the field data and how it relates to relevant literature in (and to other research in) this area.
Optional
- SA5614 - Applied Learning for Children, Youth and International DevelopmentExamine the relevance and responsibility of your academic studies in children, youth and international development to community, voluntary action as you consider how you might utilise your subject knowledge and transferrable skills when you graduate.
- SA5xxD - Culture, Education and Learning
To provide students with a broad appreciation of the key issues in cross-cultural perspectives on education and learning, an understanding, ethnographically and theoretically, of how culture shapes and informs the educational and learning process and how, in turn, education and learning impact upon social and cultural practices and an understanding of the relevance of cross-cultural studies of education and learning for different theoretical approaches within the social and human sciences in general and professional practice in particular.
- SA5624 - War and Humanitarian AssistanceIn this subject you will analyse the social and economic consequences of contemporary warfare and the rebuilding war-torn societies from an anthropological perspective and by doing so, understand the different ways anthropological research can enhance the understanding of contemporary warfare.
This course can be studied undefined undefined, starting in undefined.
Please note that all modules are subject to change.
Read more about the structure of postgraduate degrees at Brunel
Careers and your future
Students from the programme have progressed to a variety of careers in different types of organisations, primarily in international development NGOs such as AbleChildAfrica, ADRA, Anti-Slavery International, Save the Children and in UNICEF, and in government ministries and agencies like the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development, Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the British Council and the Commonwealth.
UK entry requirements
A UK 2.2 Honours degree or equivalent internationally recognised qualification in Social Science, Education Studies, Childhood Studies, Youth Work, International Relations, Development Studies, Psychology, Sociology, Law, Geography, Anthropology, Media Studies, Cultural Studies, Social Work, Nursing or Business Studies..
Other disciplines and qualifications with relevant experience in international development work or work with children or young people will be considered on an individual basis and an interview may be required.
EU and International entry requirements
If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.
English language requirements
- IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
- Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
- BrunELT: 63% (min 58% in all areas)
- TOEFL: 90 (min 20 in all)
You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.
Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.
Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.
Fees and funding
2026/27 entry
UK
£12,125 full-time
£6,060 part-time
International
£20,400 full-time
£10,200 part-time
N.B. UK and EU applicants: the 30 month part-time course will not be eligible for a Postgraduate Loan. If you wish to be considered for the part-time 30 month version, please make your application for the 24 month part-time route and then contact the Admissions team to request the change to the 30 month duration.
More information on any additional course-related costs.
Fees quoted are per year and are subject to an annual increase.
See our fees and funding page for full details of postgraduate scholarships available to Brunel applicants.
Scholarships and bursaries
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
A variety of forms of assessment are employed on the course which are intended to be formative as well as summative. These include essays, reports, student-led seminars, research proposals and presentations.
Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.