Module Directory

This module is an opportunity for students to explore, develop, and apply an interdisciplinary set of theories useful for understanding and acting within the professional and academic field of community and regional development. Acknowledging that there is a natural desire to have a positive impact on our community, the module tasks students with working on a project that can address problems in the local community.

The module takes students through what the nature of community groups are, the structures of power in society; the function of non-profits and community organisations; the networks that tie community groups to each other; and how students can work together to make a difference at the local level engaging with these actors and networks.

The module will more specifically tackle four streams related to development, including urban poverty, and ecology; rural poverty and sustainable agriculture; food insecurity; and health and poverty. Students will follow a specific stream that they are interested in and go in depth into understanding both the theoretical and practical solutions and obstacles to having a positive impact on a community in this area.

The aims of this module are:

• To develop a detailed knowledge of the main theoretical and empirical concepts in development, poverty and community studies.


• To gain an in-depth understanding of how social science applies to the local issues facing our community and the main findings of social science.


• To develop a comprehensive knowledge of developments, issues and debates in poverty, community development and urban and rural ecology and the sources of information for studying development from an inter-disciplinary perspective.


• To apply analysis and research to solve and explore common issues in development.


• To develop skills in teamwork and technical presentations.


• To deliver successful planning and project implementation through strong organisational skills.


• To develop understand how to undertake independent research, to learn important research techniques, writing and critical thinking.


• To critically engage with data, and understand how to gather/access sources of data.


• To develop greater competence of one's skillset are and how to communicate what these skills are.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Understand the contemporary theories of how key topics intersect with poverty, community development, urban and rural ecology and development economics.


2. Develop their ability to critically assess and discuss a variety of issues in different disciplines.


3. Understand the effect that a variety of institutions and structures impacts community development.


4. Adjudicate between competing theories or arguments, giving credit to perspectives other than their own.


5. Improve their abilities to write objectively and persuasively.


6. Improve general writing skills in a concise fashion.


7. Learn how to gather data and analyse it in a concise fashion.


8. Learn how to present information orally.


9. Learn how to work in large teams.

Additionally, this module will:

1. Engage students in their own employability and development.


2. Enable students to develop a thorough understanding of the range of careers and their ability to access and utilize resources effectively.


3. Engage students with the purpose of developing employable skills and understanding why these specific skills are essential.


4. Develop students' understanding of the recruitment process and what their ability is to influence this process.


5. Develop students' ability to articulate their personal brand, skills and attributes in a positive, confident and professional manner.

Syllabus information

• Introduction


• Urban Poverty and Urban Ecology


• Rural Poverty and Sustainable Agriculture


• Food Insecurity


• Health, Disease and Poverty


• First Presentations


• Mentoring with Careers


• Final Presentations

Students will be given prepared content ahead of time in the style of a flipped classroom so that they are able to use the seminar/class to discuss key concepts in depth. This gives students more flexibility with how they want to consume information provided by the lecture and gives them a chance to follow up with discussions. The teaching is designed to help students gain breadth and more in depth understanding of crises in social sciences. After consuming the flipped information, students will meet with the entire module cohort in one hour sessions – five times in the Autumn term, three times in the SP term, and twice in the Summer term.