Social Care Leadership & ManagementCeannaireacht ┐Bainistíocht Cúraim Shóisialta

This MA course commenced in September 2016.

It is a 90 ECTS credit programme, with an exit award of Postgraduate Diploma on completion of 60 ECTS credits.

This course is aimed at Social Care Workers who are currently in a leadership or management post or for those who wish to progress their careers.

Programme Vision

The vision for this course is to develop excellence in social care leadership and management. Students will be facilitated to develop their capacities in delivering social care services grounded in the highest ethical standards of care, continuing education and research.

Download our brochure: TU Dublin MA in Social Care Brochure

Applicants must normally hold a minimum 2.2 result from a relevant Level 8 Bachelor degree programme (eg, BA (Hons.) in Social Care). Applicants should have (a) formal management responsibilities as part of their work or have experience that has included dealing with issues and challenges that relate to management of the care environment and (b) should have at least three years' appropriate experience.

This course will equip graduates to compete for higher level roles in; leadership, management, social service inspections, and child protection management. Graduates will be academically skilled to engage actively with relevant statutory and non-statutory agencies such as; TUSLA, the Child and Family Agency, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, and the Ombudsman’s Office for Children. The TU Dublin Careers service offers advice to students and are contactable at 01 402 3351 during office hours or by email at www.dit.ie/careers.

Students on the MA in Social Care Leadership and Management will be managers, deputy managers, team leaders, or social care workers with experience in leadership roles working in a range of social care services. Consequently, this student cohort will automatically generate an industry networking forum within TU Dublin. This natural 'on campus' industry link will be developed further and supported by guest speakers from relevant organisations such as TUSLA, HSE, private providers, statutory and non-statutory social care services.

This MA will equip graduates to progress to PhD/Doctoral level studies.

The course will include the following core modules:

• Leadership and strategic management in social care
• Legal issues for social care managers
• Contemporary practice and ethical perspectives
• Integrated seminars, theory to practice
• Governance in the field of social care; Critical debates for social care managers
• Critical social policy
• Organisations: Culture, Change and Learning
• Research methods and Dissertation

Students will have the opportunity to avail of a range of elective modules from other MA courses in the School (run subject to viable group sizes). Examples include:

• Employment Law is crucial to the effective management of any multi-person organisation. Building on the Contracts and Torts modules, this module serves to equip the student with knowledge and understanding of the core principles, concepts and rules of Irish Employment Law, with particular reference to the statutory framework under which the employer-employee relationship is regulated and to the role of the manager as employer or employer’s agent.
  
  
• Interventions in child and adolescent mental health explores the conceptualization of interventions for infants, children, and adolescents with a variety of mental health problems, with a view to promoting critical awareness of the effectiveness of these interventions.
  
  
• Youth Offending and Youth Justice Perspectives focuses on the both the causes of juvenile offending and the social response to it in the light of what is known about the nature and circumstances of delinquent behaviour. Sentencing and placement options in Ireland and in other jurisdictions are critically appraised.
  
  
• Risk, Protection and Resilience of Children and Vulnerable Adults addresses pertinent safety issues in contemporary society. It examines the protection of children and vulnerable adults from different theoretical perspectives and from the individual, the family and the community perspectives.
  
  
• Victimology: theory and measurement provides students with a thorough grounding in theoretical and practical aspects of victimology and allows them develop critical evaluative skills in these areas. Particular attention will be paid to measurement issues pertaining to prevalence of crime.
  
  
• Perspectives on Ageing develops understandings of ageing and old age. It critically examines public policies towards older people in Irish society with a particular focus on well being and social integration.
  
  
• Equality, diversity and intercultural practice will address the change in Irish demographics that reflect significant diversity in minority culture groups and languages used in Ireland. Cultural identity, ethnicity, racism and sociolinguistics will be examined. Language in society will be critically analysed. Knowledge anthropology, ethnicity, and the acquisition of multilingual competencies will be examined.

1 half day per week over a 2 year period. Lectures are typically on a Tuesday afternoon (but some optional modules may be offered on other days).

Applications will open in February 2025.

Non-EU Students

Non-EU students, not resident in Ireland, are not eligible to apply for part time programmes that are delivered on-campus. Applications for part time courses that require on-campus attendance will not be processed and the application fee will not be refunded.