MASc/PGDip/PGCert in Community, Engagement, and Belonging (2026 Entry)
Find out more about our Community, Engagement, and Belonging MASc/PGDip/PGCert degree at Warwick
How can we truly belong in a global community? On this innovative programme students will cross disciplines to explore what it means to create purposeful change within local and global communities. Students will have the flexibility to shape the course around their own interests and career goals, while developing their research skills and expertise in community engagement.
We offer multiple routes through the programme, with options for completing the MASc full-time or part-time, as well as a Postgraduate Certificate and a Postgraduate Diploma, designed to provide professional development for those working in related fields or have an interest in the area and to offer a more flexible route through postgraduate studies.
Course overview
This taught MASc in Community, Engagement, and Belonging is offered by the Liberal Arts Department in partnership with the Warwick Institute of EngagementLink opens in a new window. This unique, transdisciplinary course is designed to help students develop as future intellectual leaders, bringing together sites of knowledge creation (such as universities, think tanks, and industry) and global communities.
The core modules on this course focus on the value of building and enhancing partnerships with community organisations. They will help students to critically reflect on where, why, and how to bridge the gap between knowledge creation and communities, creating spaces for dialogue and innovation. Crucially, the core modules offer the methodological and theoretical grounding for in-depth research. This course also offers students the freedom to choose optional modules from across the University, enabling students to tailor the degree to suit their own intellectual passions, interests, and ambitions. In the Liberal Arts Department, we have extensive experience and resources in place to help students find modules from across the University that align with the issues of community engagement that matter to them most.
The MASc course culminates in an intensive project focused on the creation of original, evidence-based, interdisciplinary, and embedded knowledge; students can choose either a Research Dissertation or a Community-Based Learning Dissertation. This flexibility empowers students to develop a project most aligned to their intellectual interests and/or career goals. The Research Dissertation allows students to use interdisciplinary approaches to produce original knowledge in a topic or case study related to Community, Engagement, and/or Belonging from any period or area. The Community-Based Learning Dissertation focuses on critical engagement with embedded knowledge in the form of a community project, undertaken with a community partner. If students choose this option, they will also be supported by our dedicated Employability and Placement Manager and will have the opportunity to apply for an experienced mentor from the Warwick Institute of Engagement. In both the Research Dissertation and the Community-Based Learning Dissertation, students will have a dedicated dissertation supervisor assigned to them in the Liberal Arts department who will mentor them and help their project reach its full potential.
Graduates from this course will emerge as leaders in interdisciplinary community engagement. They will take their next steps with a deeper understanding and broader appreciation of the value of making a difference in local and regional communities.
Partnership with the Warwick Institute of Engagement
Students on the MASc programme will benefit from a one-of-a-kind partnership with the Warwick Institute of Engagement (WIE)Link opens in a new window, including:
- A two-year WIE Programme Fellowship: one year during students’ studies and one alumni year of fellowship. The year of alumni fellowship will enable students to continue developing networks beyond graduation. It will also help students to stay connected to Warwick as they work in their communities or take the next step in their international career.
- The opportunity to take WIE’s intensive Public Engagement postgraduate module, dependent on availability. This module is taught in conjunction with the Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning (IATL).
- Involvement in WIE’s Learning CirclesLink opens in a new window, allowing students to engage meaningfully in cutting-edge University-level discussions around public engagement.
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Mentorship of an experienced WIE Fellow if students choose the Community-Based Learning Dissertation. Students will also benefit from WIE’s expertise via their practically focused Public Engagement module.
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Additional opportunities from WIE may also be available throughout their study
Interested in learning more and taking the first step to making a real difference in your community? Sign up for updatesLink opens in a new window and get in touch with us at LiberalArts at warwick dot ac dot uk.
Who is this programme for?
This programme is ideal for you if you would like to pursue questions of belonging, engagement, and how knowledge production relates to communities from the local to the global. It is also appropriate for those who are keen to work within and alongside community projects, local government, heritage organisations, the charity sector, and other key organisations that interface between knowledge creation sites and communities. The programme is also ideal for those who wish to facilitate greater inclusion of community voices within research institutions and other sites of knowledge creation. We particularly welcome students with prior experience of interdisciplinary learning.
We also welcome mature students and those who have already obtained a postgraduate qualification (such as another MA or PhD), who are seeking to hone their expertise in community engagement and bring their rich experience to bear on these topics. Alternatively, potential students might already be working in a relevant sector and wish to gain a deeper understanding of community engagement and methodological approaches, including by studying their own knowledge-creation institution or community.
Skills from this degree
During this degree, students will develop the ability to:
- Critically and creatively evaluate issues of community engagement, citizenship, well-being, and belonging, while demonstrating advanced scholarship in an interdisciplinary context.
- Demonstrate and evidence a comprehensive understanding of transdisciplinarity and mixed methods in research design.
- Exhibit mastery in the exercise of transferable research skills and in community engagement theories and methods.
- Take a proactive and self-reflective role in developing research and community engagement skills.
- Demonstrate in-depth, specialist knowledge and mastery of techniques relevant for research and engagement.
Optional, flexible routes:
In addition to our MASc available full and part-time, we also offer a postgraduate diploma (ft & pt available) and a postgraduate certificate. These optional routes are all taught together with the MASc students. They are stand-alone certifications, but they can also be used as building blocks to the full masters, making the programme customisable and adaptable over time.
Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) (120 credits)
Complete all taught core modules for 80 credits, and any combination of optional modules for 40 credits.
Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) (60 credits)
Take two core modules: Theory and Practice of Community Engagement (20 credits) and The Good Life: Flourishing and Belonging in Communities (40 credits)
General entry requirements
Minimum requirements
2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent). Find out more about our requirementsLink opens in a new window.
We welcome students from different backgrounds and experiences, and particularly those with a strong interest in community engagement and studying across disciplines.
In certain circumstances, we will consider applicants with a lower second-class honours degree, or a normal degree (and their equivalents). This is particularly the case for applicants with relevant professional experience which can be explicitly and directly related to our curriculum.
English language requirements
You can find out more about our English language requirementsLink opens in a new window. This course requires the following:
- Band B
- Overall IELTS (Academic, UKVI or Online) score of 7.0 and minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.
International qualifications
We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.
For more information, please visit the international entry requirements pageLink opens in a new window.
Academic References
We typically ask for one academic reference for taught courses, and two academic references for research courses.
You will be asked to include an email address for your referee(s) when submitting your application and we will contact them for you.
View our guide to academic references.Link opens in a new window
Additional requirements
There are no additional requirements for this course.
Core modules
The core modules on this course will allow students to come to their own understanding of how we belong in our communities, how to conduct meaningful research around topics related to community engagement, and critically reflect on the duties and responsibilities that we all share both as creators of knowledge and members of overlapping communities. The civic focus of this degree will empower students to think in a rigorous, evidence-based, interdisciplinary manner to transform our complex world.
Term One
Term Two
The Good Life: Flourishing and Belonging within Communities continues from Term 1.
Term Three
MASc students will choose one of two intensive knowledge-creation projects (core modules), to suit your intellectual passions and career aspirations:
Optional modules
40 credits for MASc students, 40 credits for PGDip students
In Term Two, students will have the opportunity to explore a variety of optional modules both within the School for Cross-faculty Studies and across other departments. This flexibility will enable students to tailor their degree to their own intellectual passions, interests, and/or career goals. Staff in the Liberal Arts Department have extensive expertise in helping students choose the best optional modules to design a unique degree that suits their interests and students on this degree will benefit from such bespoke support throughout.
Students who opt for the Community-Based Learning Dissertation will be encouraged to consider the Warwick Institute of Engagement’s postgraduate module on Public Engagement offered intensively or over Term 2 as one of their optional modules (dependent on availability).
Example optional modules from across the University may include:
Please note, optional modules are subject to availability and offerings may change each year to keep students’ learning experience current and up to date. Students will also need to discuss their optional module choices with their personal tutor and receive approval from the Director of Graduate Studies in the Liberal Arts Department.
Teaching
Teaching and learning on this course take place across different disciplines, while also engaging with non-academic partners to bridge the gap between sites of knowledge creation and communities. This is reflected in the distinctive award for this degree: MASc (Master of Arts and Science), encapsulating the inter- and transdisciplinary nature of this programme.
We pride ourselves on a pedagogy of Problem-Based Learning. Students will be taught key course content via interactive lectures and task-guided reading. However, most learning will be through the active, authentic and applied student-self-construction of knowledge. This approach to teaching allows students to develop applied process skills and academic subject content at the same time.
Core modules on this course will be taught mainly by staff from the Liberal Arts Department who are passionate about the civic and interdisciplinary tradition of liberal education and experts in the delivery of interdisciplinary, research-led teaching and learning.
Class sizes
We aim to keep the class sizes for core modules on this course small (around 5-10 students), allowing teaching to be tailored to students’ interests. Students on all versions of the programme will be taught together.
Typical contact hours
In the first term, full-time students will spend six hours (part-time, four hours) each week participating in interactive seminars for their core modules.
In the second and third terms, contact hours will depend on the options selected. For the part-time certificate, students will spend two hours each week in seminars.
Assessment
Students on this course will be assessed by a variety of methods, linked to practical applications. All assessments in modules offered by the School for Cross-faculty Studies link to practical applications. In these modules, students will complete formative and summative assessments. Throughout their studies, students will have the opportunity to show subject expertise, while continuing to develop process skills.
Reading lists
If you would like to view reading lists for current or previous cohorts of students, most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library on the Talis Aspire platformLink opens in a new window.
You can search for reading lists by module title, code or convenor. Please see the modules tab of this page or the module catalogueLink opens in a new window.
Please note that some reading lists may have restricted access or be unavailable at certain times of year due to not yet being published. If you cannot access the reading list for a particular module, please check again later or contact the module’s host department.
Your timetable
Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, core and optional where appropriate, and you have been allocated to your lecture, seminar and other study groups. Your core modules will be registered for you, and for the MASc and PGDip you will be able to choose your optional modules when you join us.
Your Career
Graduates from this course will be well-equipped to take community engagement forward in a local, national, or global context. Your expertise in community engagement will allow you to access a wide variety of fields, including (but not limited to) Research, Community Development, Project Management, Data Intelligence, Policy Advisory, Humanitarian Aid, and Academia.
Our department’s Employability and Placement Manager has links with employers from the private, public, and third sectors, including Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), think tanks, social enterprises, and sustainability consultancies. These links will be useful for both the capstone project in Term Three and employment opportunities during and beyond the course.
Liberal Arts Department
The Liberal Arts Department at Warwick is home to a close-knit community of passionate and engaged staff and students. We are connected by the values underpinning a liberal education: an enthusiasm for learning across disciplines, an eagerness to think critically, and a desire to make a positive change in the world. The Liberal Arts Department sits within the School for Cross-faculty Studies, a transdisciplinary School committed to community and critical engagement. Students on this course will join our postgraduate community in the School, as well as the wider postgraduate community at Warwick.
The Liberal Arts Department has established its reputation for outstanding teaching and learning; in 2023 and 2024 the department ranked first in the UK for teaching quality and student experience (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023/2024). Our dedication to student support is also reflected in our 2023 National Student Survey results, where our undergraduate Liberal Arts course scored 97.4% for teaching satisfaction, and the award-winning personal tutoring offered in Liberal Arts. We hope to build on these foundations as we continue to expand our community and to welcome further postgraduate students to our department.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees are payable for each year of your course at the start of the academic year, or at the start of your course, if later. Academic fees cover the cost of tuition, examinations and registration and some student amenities.
Discounts
Find out more about the discounts the School for Cross-faculty Studies offers to Coventry residents and Warwick staff members.
Fee Status Guidance
We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Students will be classified as Home or Overseas fee status. Your fee status determines tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available. If you receive an offer, your fee status will be clearly stated alongside the tuition fee information.
Do you need your fee classification to be reviewed?
If you believe that your fee status has been classified incorrectly, you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire. Please follow the instructions in your offer information and provide the documents needed to reassess your status.
Find out more about how universities assess fee status
Additional course costs
As well as tuition fees and living expenses, some courses may require you to cover the cost of field trips or costs associated with travel abroad.
For departmental specific costs, please see the Modules tab on the course web page for the list of core and optional core modules with hyperlinks to our Module Catalogue (please visit the Department’s website if the Module Catalogue hyperlinks are not provided).
Associated costs can be found on the Study tab for each module listed in the Module Catalogue (please note most of the module content applies to 2022/23 year of study). Information about module department specific costs should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below:
- Core text books
- Printer credits
- Dissertation binding
- Robe hire for your degree ceremony
Scholarships and bursaries
Scholarships and financial support
Find out about the different funding routes available, including; postgraduate loans, scholarships, fee awards and academic department bursaries.
Living costs
Find out more about the cost of living as a postgraduate student at the University of Warwick.
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Application deadlines
The application process for courses that start in September and October 2026 opens on 2 October 2025.
Applications close on 2 August 2026 for students who require a visa to study in the UK, to allow time to receive a CAS and complete the visa application process.
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About the information on this page
This information is applicable for 2026 entry. Given the interval between the publication of courses and enrolment, some of the information may change. It is important to check our website before you apply. Please read our terms and conditions to find out more.