About the course

Reasons to study

1. You could gain a professional qualification in Career Guidance, alongside your diploma.
2. Work placement opportunities: build the practical skills needed to successfully work with adults and young people.
3. Academic expertise: we have been teaching Career Guidance courses for over 40 years.

On this course, you'll have the opportunity to develop an understanding of critical reflection and how to employ independent learning strategies to enable you to evaluate and inform your professional practice. You'll also develop and deepen your knowledge and understanding of educational research.

This course is for those seeking a professional qualification in Career Guidance. You'll have the opportunity to take the Qualification in Career Development (QCD) - the nationally recognised professional qualification awarded by the Career Development Institute (CDI) - alongside the Master's qualification. You'll learn about policy, practice and theories underpinning career guidance, equality and diversity, partnership working and research-based practice.

Why Career Development and Employability?

• The course can lead to a wide variety of interesting and rewarding career prospects in the career guidance and development sector including higher and further education careers and employability services, secondary education and third sector organisations. You can find out more via the CDI.
• This course is available on a one year full-time or two years part-time basis. Successful completion of the course can result in the Career Development Institute approved career guidance professional qualification (the Qualification in Career Development or QCD).
• Students who do not wish to commit to the full MA may choose to study the Postgraduate Diploma (PG Dip) which also leads to the award of the QCD.
• Huddersfield has been teaching career guidance courses for over 40 years and has established a strong national reputation in the sector. You'll also have access to our extensive professional and academic network which feeds directly into course design and delivery and to excellent facilities and specialist equipment.

Course detail

Core Modules

Option Modules

Teaching and Assessment

Teaching excellence

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for this course are normally:

• A degree or an equivalent professional qualification. Suitably experienced applicants without a degree will be considered.

In addition you must also have:

• Relevant experience in a paid or voluntary basis.
• Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and health clearances.
• Complete a satisfactory interview.
• International applicants must be available for interview in person or via Skype.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.5 overall with no element lower than 6.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our Where are you from information pages.

Placements

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A significant amount of your learning also takes place whilst on placement where you’ll gain the practical skills to successfully work with adults and young people in the wide range of settings in which careers guidance is practiced. These include workplaces, the voluntary sector, higher and further education careers services, secondary education and the National Careers Service.

For those students undertaking the Qualification on Career Development the course involves a compulsory work placement consisting of a minimum of 30 days. Typically, students are able to experience a placement involving a guidance agency and also within an education organisation e.g. a school/academy, or within Further/Higher Education. The aim of the placement is that students should have a wide-ranging experience of information, advice and guidance provision and should be strongly involved in developing practical skills within the guidance sector.