Learning in Communities (MA Hons) - Mockup

Learn how to help people realise their full potential while working with communities to create positive change and greater social justice.

This programme is ideal for anyone who is committed to social justice and wants to develop their knowledge and skills in working with young people and adults in communities. You’ll leave with the skills to drive change and help people and communities achieve their full potential.

Moray House has been making a major contribution to the field of education for almost 200 years. We’ve offered professional pre-service teacher education programmes in the Community Learning and Development (CLD) field since 1961.

This programme builds on our broad expertise. Our graduates are competent, informed, critical,reflective CLD practitioners who are ready for a range of careers in community education, learning and development.

Apply now

Visit UCAS for detailed entry requirements, fees and to apply.

What is Community Learning and Development (CLD)?

In Scotland, Community Learning and Development (CLD) brings community-based adult learning, youth work and community capacity building together under a single professional rubric. Known as the empowering profession, CLD is an informal educational practice that seeks to serve people in communities.

Study CLD at one of the best Schools in the world

  • Moray House is ranked first in the UK for Education (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026) and one of the top 20 schools in the world for Education and Training (2025 QS World University Ranking)
  • Our staff have extensive knowledge and experience in fieldwork and research in a range of CLD settings
  • We have strong links with more than 30 Community Education providers
  • The programme is professionally approved and tailored specifically to the needs of those who wish to enter this sector, so you'll be well prepared for a rewarding career in Community Education
  • You can choose to study four years and graduate with an MA Hons or exit at the end of year 3 with a BA Ord

What you will study

Drawing on a range of concepts and approaches, practitioners work alongside individuals and groups to engage them in lifelong learning. They help people think critically about their world and bring about change in their lives, communities and society, building vibrant democratic cultures and working towards social justice.

This programme provides a well-rounded, rigorous grounding in education and the social sciences. We seek to develop your understanding of the complex and dynamic relationship between theory, policy and practice. Work-based learning placements provide you with experience in the field.

Teaching Fellow Gary Fraser introduces the programme

Programme structure

This  is a full-time degree based at our campus in Edinburgh. Although campus-based, the programme includes some elements of blended learning.

As standard, students will enter on the four-year degree programme, graduating with an MA (Hons) degree. However, we understand that students have different needs and career and academic goals, so there is an option for students to exit at the end of year three with a BA (Ord) degree.

Details of the programme structure for each year of study is available on the University of Edinburgh's Degree Finder.

We deliver four distinct learning strands focused on:

  • informal teaching methods and approaches
  • theoretical ideas and conceptual frameworks
  • research capacity
  • professional practice placement experiences

Research and current practice inform all our teaching. You will graduate with a broad range of knowledge and skills to work alongside people in communities. You’ll be prepared for a range of education and development jobs in the public, voluntary and third sectors.

Our teaching staff have extensive practice experience in diverse settings. They also contribute to both the academic literature and research knowledge in this dynamic field. Staff draw on this experience and knowledge to inform students' teaching and learning experience.


This programme has two possible exit routes leading to two qualifications: 

  • BA (Ordinary) SCQF 9 - exit after Year 3
  • MA (Honours) SCQF 10 - exit after Year 4 

BA (Ordinary) - 3 years

The BA (Ord) Learning in Communities degree, awarded after three years of study, is professionally approved by the Community Learning and Development Standards Council for Scotland (CLDSCS). The UK-wide Joint Education and Training Standards (JETS) also recognises the degree, so it meets the standards in the rest of the UK. 

Community Learning and Development Standards Council for Scotland

Joint Education and Training Standards

MA (Honours) - 4 years

Students can also graduate after Year 4 with an MA (Hons) Learning in Communities degree. However, you must complete the first three years of study, leading to the BA (Ord) degree, to progress to Year 4 and graduate with the MA (Hons). This is unconditional. 

All MA (Hons) Learning in Communities graduates will be professionally qualified and eligible to register with the CLDSCS. 


You will undertake three practice-based learning placements in Years 1, 2 and 3 of study. There is no placement requirement in Year 4.

Placements take place in a range of settings that represent the diverse scope of CLD practice. This gives you the chance to develop the skills, attitudes, competence and values you’ll need in the workplace.

You must complete 370 placement hours. You will be on placement in Semester 2 of each year and will normally attend your placement on a part-time basis three days per week, for 17 weeks. You will have access to an extensive range of appropriate placements.

Your family commitments, learning and development needs, professional interests and career aspirations will be considered as far as possible when identifying your placement.

Placement identification begins with a one-to-one meeting between you and a programme tutor. While on placement, you will work closely alongside and receive support from a placement supervisor. Supervisors are professionally qualified, experienced practitioners who have completed the University of Edinburgh’s placement supervisor training programme.

Whilst a University tutor will offer support on placement, the crucial element of each placement is the relationship between you and your placement supervisor.

For me, the best thing about the programme was the placement experiences I had. Being on placement is where you hone your skills as a community education practitioner and learn about the realities of working in what can be a challenging profession. It is through meeting and working alongside people that are making a difference to local communities everyday that you see the real value of community education. - Ian MacNeill, Graduate


Support for your studies

You will have access to a range of support services if you need them throughout your degree.

We will assign you to a Student Advisor in your first few weeks at Edinburgh. This should be the first person to contact if you need help. They can guide you to other University service teams depending on what support you need.

Support for your studies

Careers for Learning in Communties graduates

Graduates receive accreditation from the Community Learning and Development Standards Council for Scotland (CLDSCS) and equivalent bodies in the rest of the UK.

Local authorities in Scotland and across the UK recruit graduates for roles in CLD and related departments. Local and national voluntary sector organisations and national and international NGOs also employ CLD practitioners in education and development roles.  

Graduates often go on to work with young people, adults and communities in settings such as: 

  • youth work in communities, schools or criminal justice
  • community development
  • community capacity building
  • community engagement and inclusion
  • community health and housing
  • adult literacy and lifelong learning
  • citizenship and democracy 

Our graduates bring a clear professional identity and knowledge and skills grounded in the theory and practice of community-based informal education to any setting they join. 

Students have a chance to mix with and learn from our alumni, some of whom serve as placement coordinators or teach on students’ professional placements. Alumni can also offer  employment or volunteering opportunities.

In first year, you will take the course Community Learning 1 – Building Professional Identity, which includes a session on the Careers Service. It prepares students for compiling a CV and planning their career.  Likewise, Professional Practice 1 will teach you how to create a professional CV.

I took the learning from my course and my experience of professional football teams doing more ‘in their local communities’ and worked closely with the [University's football] team captain at the time to try and increase the community engagement side of the University football team.

Since leaving the University of Edinburgh I have been fortunate enough to work in three different countries, including the United States, England and Scotland, working in professional football.

Chris Ross

The University of Edinburgh's Careers Service supports all current students (and graduates for up to 2 years) to develop their potential and achieve satisfying and rewarding futures.

Join in and make use of:

  • individual appointments
  • group sessions
  • wider campus-based activity
  • online services and resources

We also deliver a diverse programme of face-to-face and online events throughout the academic year.

Visit the Careers Service website


Our students

Student experiences

video

Former students share their experience studying at Moray House. Hear what they enjoyed learning, how they were supported through their studies, and what their career aspirations are.

Chris Ross

Chris Ross

Chris graduated with an MA Community Education (now Learning in Communities) in 2018. Since then, he's led professional football clubs in both England and Scotland. He now works as CEO of Partick Thistle Football Club in the Scottish Professional Football League.

Finding a path forward 

Before starting at Moray House I had spent several years working as a manager of wine merchant – I had previously dropped out of university in my early 20s (much to my parents' despair) and had spent a couple of years somewhat adrift, unsure of what my next steps were going to be.

A career that would allow me to make a difference to society

I choose Community Education partly on the recommendation of a friend who had previously been through the course and because I saw it as a route to a career that would build on my strengths as a person and allow me to make a genuine difference to society. What appealed to me about Moray House was the balance between academia and exposure to real-work experience in the field of community education via our regular placements.

I chose Moray House because of the good words said about the degree by a friend of mine. I also liked that I could tailor aspects of the degree towards the areas of practice that I was most passionate about - which was youth work. More broadly, The University of Edinburgh has an outstanding global reputation and as a city to be student in I don’t think there are many better than Edinburgh.

Why placement matters

For me, the best thing about the programme was the placement experiences I had. I really enjoyed the academic aspects, particularly as I got further into the degree, but being on placement is where you hone your skills as a community education practitioner and learn about the realities of working in what can be a challenging profession– both in terms of the demands of the job but also the nature of the sector (e.g. sometimes perilous funding etc). It is through meeting and working alongside people that are making a difference to local communities everyday that you see the real value of community education.

Eye-opening experiences

I enjoyed engaging with key debates and real time issues during my studies –such as the rise of neoliberalism and the launch of David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’. Community education often involves working with local groups, but our lives are impacted and shaped by national and global forces. Interrogating and unpicking how this happens was eye opening, to say the least.

PhD to SG

After finishing my PhD, during which I regularly drew on my experiences of being a youth worker, I started work as a social researcher with the Scottish Government.

My experiences at Moray House were a direct motivation to apply for my PhD. This involved evaluating a project that worked with young people after they left prison. Had I not trained as a youth worker then I very much doubt I would have taken the path I have followed since.

Advice for future students 

If someone was considering studying at Moray House, I would say: don’t hesitate. This is a fantastic place to learn your craft as an educator.

Three words to describe your experience

Inspiring. Challenging. Life-changing.


Ian Macneill

Contact us

Questions about the programme

For programme-specific enquiries, contact the Programme Director.

Dr Sarah Ward

Programme Director

  • Moray House School of Education and Sport

Contact details

Questions about your application and how to apply

For enquiries about your application or how to apply, contact the Undergraduate Admissions office.

Undergraduate Admissions Office

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

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