Master of Arts in Community Action and Development

Course Title

MQF Level

Duration and Credits

6 Semesters

90 ECTS

Mode of Study

Part-time Evening

Information for International applicants

Applicants must be in possession of:

Refer to the list of country-specific qualifications

A Bachelor degree from this University or from any other higher education institution recognized by Senate, in an area of study deemed relevant by the Board with at least Second Class Honours or Category II, together with a minimum of 2 years' experience working in a community setting.

All applicants shall be required to demonstrate that they have the necessary aptitude and disposition to follow the Course with profit. Professional aptitude and disposition shall be measured by means of a personal interview conducted by an interviewing board appointed for the purpose.

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You can submit your application online. The deadlines for submission of applications vary according to the intake and courses. We encourage all international applicants to submit their applications as soon as possible. This is especially important if you require a visa to travel and eventually stay in Malta.

You can compare your national qualifications to the local requirements by visiting our qualifications comparability webpage. Access more information about our admission process and English language requirements.

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Our dedicated team at the student recruitment office is here to support you every step of the way. From the moment you start your application to the moment when you receive your decision letter, we're here to assist you. If you have any questions or need further information, don't hesitate to reach out to us. You can contact us at info@um.edu.mt, and our team will be more than happy to help.

After you receive an offer from us, our International Office will assist you with visas, accommodation and other related issues.

The MA in Community Action and Development delves into the intellectualizing of issues such as community education, empowerment and emancipation, citizenship, inclusion and exclusion, social movements, social capital, globalization, sustainable development and education for sustainable development. The programme of study also targets problematisation and deconstruction of prejudiced and stereotypical cultural notions and attitudes and social problems. It advocates a rethinking of citizenship: By drawing on emancipatory schools of thought, the programme of study challenges assumptions that citizenship 'just happens'. It also fosters critical engagement with social change and its academic study.

The course is designed around five distinct yet interrelated knowledge dimensions:

Community studies, sociology, politics and governance;
Community pedagogy and educational intervention;
Community activism and participation;
Community psychology;
Professional practice.

The course targets the understanding of these knowledge dimensions and related critical intellectual development within a framework of globalization, balanced by sustainable development.

Community Development is an interdisciplinary academic paradigm with a long tradition. The MA in Community Action and Development delves into the intellectualizing of issues such as community education, empowerment and emancipation, citizenship, inclusion and exclusion, social movements, social capital, globalization, sustainable development and education for sustainable development. The programme of study also targets problematisation and deconstruction of prejudiced and stereotypical cultural notions and attitudes and social problems. It advocates a rethinking of citizenship: By drawing on emancipatory schools of thought, the programme of study challenges assumptions that citizenship 'just happens'. It also fosters critical engagement with social change and its academic study.

Methodologically, the programme of study engages with ‘concerns within the community' by means of formal, informal and non-formal pedagogies. Moreover, on the basis of consultation meetings with relevant stakeholders, the programme of study is hybridized into the varied interests of potential students. Thus, the richness and calibre of this Masters' degree lies in its ability to bring together diverse scholarly and professional practice components into one organic whole to develop community practice that caters for the local, global, European and globalised social contexts.

This programme of study addresses the increasing need and demand of contemporary communities (in Malta and overseas) to be resourced in a decentralised manner (including virtual/online tools and spaces), with human resources who have the required human capital and level of professional practice, and who are specifically based in respective communities on a long-term basis.

The programme of study is designed around five distinct yet interrelated knowledge dimensions:

Community studies, sociology, politics and governance;
Community pedagogy and educational intervention;
Community activism and participation;
Community psychology;
Professional practice.

The programme of study targets the understanding of these knowledge dimensions and related critical intellectual development within a framework of globalization that is balanced by sustainable development.


Semester 1

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

SWB5001	Advanced Research Methods	5 ECTS
SWP5027	Areas of Social Policy	5 ECTS
YTH5035	Understanding Communities: Cultures, Contexts and the Socio-Psychological Perspective	5 ECTS


Semester 2

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

YTH5037	Intervention for Community Action and Development	5 ECTS
YTH5038	Sustainability and Community Development	5 ECTS
YTH5045	Puzzled Communities: New Directions in Community Studies	5 ECTS


Year (This/these unit/s start/s in Semester 1 and continue/s in Semester 2)

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

YTH5046	Community Work Modalities: A Practice-based Approach	10 ECTS


Semester 1

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

YTH5040	From Practice to Praxis: Reflexivity and Advanced Skills for Professional Practice in Community Settings	5 ECTS
YTH5041	Participation and Activism: Governance and Social Movements	5 ECTS


Semester 2

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

YTH5039	The Digital Dimension of Community Action and Development	5 ECTS
YTH5050	Place, Space and Community Development	5 ECTS


Year (This/these unit/s start/s in Semester 1 and continue/s in Semester 2)

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

YTH5012	Dissertation	30 ECTS

This programme of study is governed by the General Regulations for University Postgraduate Awards, 2021 and by the Bye-Laws for the award of the degree of Master of Arts in Community Action and Development - M.A. - under the auspices of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing.

A sample of the learning outcomes you will acquire by the end of the course are:

Development of professional practice rooted in an academic and rigorous research culture of social engagement that seeks sustainable community development and regeneration.
Ability to develop, implement, co-ordinate and support policy that is grounded in scientific knowledge.
Generation of primary data, identification and effective deployment of secondary data to address poorly understood/vulnerable community and relational dynamics.
Critical engagement with stablished paradigms, policies, literature and data.
Leadership, team and team-building skills.
Engagement with education as a concept and a lifelong practice that goes beyond schools and schooling, i.e. extending to informal and non-formal dimensions.

Generation of primary data, identification and effective deployment of secondary data to address poorly understood / vulnerable community and relational dynamics.

For this to occur, the targeted key/transferable skills and skills relevant to personal development and employability include:

Critical engagement with established paradigms, policies, literature and data;
Interpersonal and networking skills;
Leadership, team and team-building skills;
Training-the-trainer skills that are grounded in emancipation of self and context;
Advanced professional practice rooted in ethics of practice;
Relevant corporate and organizational skills;
Relevant ICT skills (with special focus on online media campaigns/dissemination and online analytics);
Community profiling;
Advanced research skills;
Project and resource management (with special attention to local regeneration and gentrification projects).

Non EU Applicants:

Total Tuition Fees: Eur 10,800
Yr 1: Eur 5,400 - Yr 2: Eur 5,400 - Yr 3: NIL

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Potential career and employment prospectives include community workers/developers, health workers, educators, cultural operators and mediators, opinion makers, researchers, policy-makers, officers working on local regeneration and gentrification projects and other executive and high administrative posts within:

The European Union (EU) and EU agencies,
State entities such as ministries, regional and local councils and other state entities, such as the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality, the European Union Programmes Agency (EUPA), the Malta European Union Steering Action Committee (MEUSAC), SAPPORT, APPOGG.
Civil society entities that include NGO remunerated staff and volunteers, social partners (trade unions, employers' associations), social cooperatives, fair trade proponents, members and agents of political parties;
The private sector, e.g. corporate social responsibility, technology with social purpose.

https://www.um.edu.mt/courses/overview/pmacdvpet7-2024-5-o/