Master in Health and Social Work with Children and Youth (class 2006/2008)

The programme consists of:

Compulsory courses (autumn semester) (45 credits in total):

• Philosophy of science and research method (15 credits)
• Perspectives on childhood and socialisation
• Perspectives on work with vulnerable children, adolescents and their families

Optional courses (spring semester) (The students choose 2 courses of 30 credits in total):

• Child welfare reports (15 credits)
• Digital management (15 credits) – (not offered in the spring of 2007)
• Empowerment - perspectives and practice
• Preventive work with vulnerable children, adolescents and their families (15 credits)
• Disabled children, adolescents and their families (15 credits) – (not offered in the spring of 2007)
• Communication, interaction and relation work (15 credits)
• Marginalisation processes in the welfare society (15 credits)
• The organisation of welfare (15 credits) – (not offered in the spring of 2007)
• Welfare right topics (15 credits)

Applicants with 3 years of previous university-level education as social educator, child welfare officer, social worker or corresponding are the target group, and the admission requirement is to have such an approved education.Students with other relevant background (pre-school teacher, teacher, nurse etc.) may be admitted after individual evaluation.

Applicants with education higher than Bachelor’s level, may apply to get this approved as part of the Master’s degree programme.In the evaluation of such applications, the education in question will be assessed and compared with the Master's degree programme in terms of relevance, academic level and overlapping courses.

There is no practice requirement in order to be admitted, but work experience will be emphasised in the application process.

In connection with the application, the student is asked to draft a subject field of interest in relation to the work on the Master’s thesis.This is followed up at the beginning of the study when the students prepare individual education plans.

It will be possible for the students to take optional courses at another institution if these courses are approved by Lillehammer University College.Individual supervision will be offered in connection with the preparation of individual education plans.In the education plan, the students should show how they plan their own study progression.The education plan should also include a draft of desired arrangement for a Master's thesis.The purpose of the latter is to ensure that the students wish to write about a topic on which they may receive competent supervision at Lillehammer University College.It is even more important, however, to ensure that the students already from the start work determined to acquire competence and the specialisation required for the thesis, and also that the work starts soon enough for it to be realistic according to the standard curriculum.

An approved education plan forms the basis for a contract between the student and the university college.

The programme is arranged so that it can be taken both part-time over a longer period of time, or full-time over two years.Since the programme is based on courses, the students can take different parts at different pace.The difference between the part-time and the full-time programme will be flexible so that it will be possible to take some parts full-time and others over a longer period of time.The teaching will therefore be organised in meetings which are available both for full-time and part-time students.In addition, an essential part of the communication between the university college/teachers and the students will be done via the Internet for both the student categories.

An important evaluation method will be essay writing on a limited problem issue within the topics of the respective courses.The essays may be theoretical discussions or use of theory on empiricism which is obtained either from own practice or through data collection.

In addition, there will be other examination methods, e.g. home examination on a given topic, oral or written school examination.

The essays should normally have a volume of 10-15 pages.

The courses will also have a work requirement which will be included in the evaluation since these must be approved in order to sit for the examination.You will find more information about evaluation under each course.

The essays are graded (A-F).

The Master's thesis

The central evaluation basis in the programme is the Master's thesis.The work on the thesis amounts to 45 credits in the Master's programme.Students may cooperate on the Master's thesis.The individual student's workload will nevertheless be the same.

The thesis is evaluated by an evaluation committee of 3 members of whom at least one is external and one of the internal members is the supervisor. The thesis must be defended in an oral examination.

Oral examination

There will be an individual final oral examination in which the evaluation committee members on the Master's thesis are the examiners.In the oral examination, the student will be defending the Master's thesis.

There will be given a total grade (A-F) on the Master's thesis and the oral examination.

The regulation on admissions, programmes and examination at Lillehammer University College 01/10/06 is the basis of the examination arrangements in the Master's programme.

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