Career Development (top-up) MA
About this course
The Masters in Career Development is designed to allow holders of a Postgraduate Diploma in Career Guidance, Career Education or Career Development to top up their qualification to a full master’s degree by completing a dissertation or service evaluation.
Through undertaking a piece of primary research, this course will enhance your critical thinking skills and your employability. This is an ideal opportunity for those who are already employed in a career development or related role and seeking Continuing Professional Development opportunities (CPD) or for those who are wanting to increase their qualifications in preparation for career progression or career change.
You’ll benefit from a broad spectrum of contemporary thinking and debate within the field, and you’ll develop the skills to make a positive contribution to the sector and the profession.
Why study the MA Career Development (top-up) at NTU:
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Join a university that has a strong reputation in this field with 50 years of experience in the careers and employability sector. -
Top up your qualification to a full master’s degree.
What you’ll study
You'll top up your qualification to a full master’s degree by completing a dissertation or service evaluation.
Research Methods and Dissertation/Service Evaluation (60 credit points)
- This module equips you with the knowledge and skills required to undertake critical and ethical research in the field of career development professional practice.
- Emphasis is placed on practitioner-based research; a key feature being researcher reflexivity in relation to values and ethical issues.
- The dissertation provides you with an opportunity to make an original contribution to knowledge and understanding in career development professional practice.
- The service evaluation will enable you to reflect on real-world concerns of professional organisations.
We regularly review and update our course content based on student and employer feedback, ensuring that all of our courses remain current and relevant. This may result in changes to module content or module availability in future years.
Don’t just take our word for it, hear from our students themselves
How you're taught
Study and support
Our dedicated staff are professionally trained practitioners in the career guidance sector, and they provide a wealth of experience and support for our students. The team are actively engaged in research and other professional activities. Not only do they enrich the curriculum content with their findings, but they also feed directly into our approaches to teaching and assessment.
A blended learning approach is taken towards the delivery of the course, comprising of online seminars and teaching and learning activities and face-to-face workshop days at the University. A key feature of the blended learning experience is that – although you’ll be at a distance from the University’s campus – you’re able to learn from each other, as well as from the tutors, in a supportive environment. You’ll also be allocated a supervisor for your research project / service evaluation to help you develop your ideas and guide you through the process.
Face-to-face input will take place at three compulsory workshop days, and seminars, which will be timetabled at appropriate stages of learning.
A range of teaching and learning methods are used, which may include:
- workshops
- scheduled weekly online activities for you to access at a time that suits you
- online group seminars
- individual online tutorials
- interactive or group learning, for both face-to-face and online delivery
- practical application of critical thinking and research skills
- independent study
- individual online supervision.
In-sessional English language support
In-sessional English language support classes are available to all international (non-EU) students studying on degree courses at NTU. There is no extra charge for these classes.
How you're assessed
The course is assessed wholly via a dissertation, which includes a literature review and primary research project or service evaluation.
To support the development of your academic journey, you will complete a mini literature review and present your research ideas and plan. Although these activities do not contribute to your final grade, you will receive formative and supportive feedback to help you build your ideas and enhance your academic skills.
Careers and employability
It is widely recognised that a master’s degree enhances your employability and potential earnings.
You may already be in employment within the careers/employability sector while studying the top-up, and the range of jobs our students are employed in progress on to are varied and include the roles outlined in the CDI’s Career Professionals in the 21st Century – A Blueprint of Learning Outcomes for Professional Roles in the UK Career Development Sector.
Employability team
Our expert Employability team will work closely with you at every stage of your career planning, providing personal support and advice. You can benefit from this service at any time during your studies, and for up to three years after completing your course. Find out more about the service.
Campus and facilities
NTU offers a wide range of learning resources and facilities to all students. As a Social Sciences student, you’ll also have easy access to the fantastic facilities in the Chaucer and Taylor buildings. These include:
- lecture theatres and teaching classrooms
- open access PCs and secure wireless points
- study areas and social spaces
- Cafés and eateries, serving drinks, hot food and light snacks
- our School of Social Sciences reception, providing you with easy access to our helpful and friendly support staff
- the School’s media room with recording equipment, which is available for small focus groups undertaken at the University.
IT resources
Our IT resource rooms and PC clusters are distributed across our City Campus, with PCs providing access to Microsoft Office, email, web browsing, networked file storage and high-speed online printing services, with a free printing allowance for each student.
Resource rooms are available 24 hours a day.
Books and library resources
Our state-of-the-art Boots library will give you access to an extensive and diverse range of books and periodicals that focus on specialist areas within the built environment. The library's OneSearch system provides access to all our electronic resources, journals and books.
Within the library there is a liaison librarian who has specialist subject knowledge and can offer detailed help in finding and using print and electronic resources, and also with areas such as Harvard referencing and research skills.
Entry requirements
UK students
- Post Graduate Diploma in an area related to Career Guidance, Career Education or Career Development.
- All suitable applicants will be interviewed as part of the admissions process, via Teams for those applicants living in the UK or overseas. The interview process will explore reasons for wishing to study the top-up and the applicant’s ideas for research.
Additional requirements for UK students
There are no additional requirements for this course.
Other qualifications and experience
We welcome applications from students with non-standard qualifications and learning backgrounds and work experience. We consider credit transfer, vocational and professional qualifications, and any work or life experience you may have.
You can view our Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfer Policy which outlines the process and options available, such as recognising experiential learning and credit transfer.
Getting in touch
If you need more help or information, get in touch through our enquiry form.
International students
- Post Graduate Diploma in an area related to Career Guidance, Career Education or Career Development.
- All suitable applicants will be interviewed as part of the admissions process, via Teams for those applicants living in the UK or overseas. The interview process will explore reasons for wishing to study the top-up and the applicant’s ideas for research.
We accept equivalent qualifications from all over the world. Please check your international entry requirements by country.
English language requirements: See our English language requirements page for requirements for your subject and information on alternative tests and Pre-sessional English.
Additional requirements for international students
There are no additional requirements for this course.
English language requirements
View our English language requirements for all courses, including alternative English language tests and country qualifications accepted by the University.
If you need help achieving the language requirements, we offer a Pre-Sessional English for Academic Purposes course on our City campus which is an intensive preparation course for academic study at NTU.
Other qualifications and experience
We welcome applications from students with non-standard qualifications and learning backgrounds and work experience. We consider credit transfer, vocational and professional qualifications, and any work or life experience you may have.
You can view our Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfer Policy which outlines the process and options available, such as recognising experiential learning and credit transfer.
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Getting in touch
If you need advice about studying at NTU as an international student or how to apply, our international webpages are a great place to start. If you have any questions about your study options, your international qualifications, experience, grades or other results, please get in touch through our enquiry form. Our international teams are highly experienced in answering queries from students all over the world.
Policies
We strive to make our admissions procedures as fair and clear as possible. To find out more about how we make offers, visit our admissions policies page.
