There are a wide variety of degree- and postgraduate-level courses available in the youth work field. Some of these courses relate specifically to youth work while others relate to associated areas such as social work. Six countries surveyed – Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Malta, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom (England and Wales) – have degreelevel courses specifically in youth work. Eleven countries – Bulgaria, the Flemish Community of Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and Romania (Table 4 in the appendices9 ) – offer courses in related fields that are associated with and provide educational paths into youth work. 

In the Russian Federation there are 42 universities providing degree-level courses in the university programme Organisation of Youth Work, which was created in 2003 by decree of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation as an experimental interdisciplinary speciality. It was aimed at providing competent professionals in youth work for youth organisations, as well as for state and public bodies. The United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta share a common approach that is mainly focused on youth and community work. The United Kingdom (England and Wales) has 36 universities and higher education colleges and institutions in England and Wales that provide 57 courses at degree, graduate diploma and master’s level. While most of these courses are at primary degree level and focus on youth and community work/development, youth ministry and practical theology are also noticeable features of provision. In Ireland, three universities and four institutes of technology provide youth/community and youth work courses to primary degree level while one university provides a postgraduate course at master’s degree level. Malta provides both a primary degree and master’s degree course as well as a course in youth ministry that entitles the bearer to a youth worker warrant. Estonia provides three graduate diplomas in applied higher education in two universities, two bachelor-level courses that focus specifically on youth work and leisuretime management respectively and a master’s degree course that focuses on youth work management. Finland provides eight degree-level courses in civic activities and youth work and there is also an emphasis on research and social equality. The blurring of lines between youth work and other areas complicates the process of identifying formal and accredited educational and training paths for youth workers. This overlapping between the role of youth workers and others working with young people is a common and recurring feature of the youth field (Kovacic 2017). While this may have less significance for individual countries, it does impact on any attempt at formulating a “European” approach to identifying education and training paths. Germany, for instance, has a number of degree-level courses in social work with a focus on “youth work”, “child/youth work”, and “youth in theory and practice of social work”. Courses in social pedagogy and social work in both Germany and Austria are paths into youth work as they are in the Netherlands and the Nordic countries.

The Flemish Community of Belgium has degree-level courses in “social cultural work” and “social work and social pedagogy”, while France has a degree-level course entitledthe Licence professionelle “Métiers de l’animation sociale, socio-éducative et socio-culturelle”, in five universities, roughly meaning profession of social, socio-educational and socio-cultural animation. Luxembourg has a degree course in educational and social sciences that is also being offered on a part-time basis from 2017. The Netherlands also provides degree-level courses in “cultural and community education” and “social and pedagogical care” while Latvia has two master’s degree courses in “career counsellor and youth affairs specialist”. Iceland provides degree courses in “leisure studies and social education” and Bulgaria provides a master’s degree course in “youth activities and sport”, both of which can also be done through distance learning. Bulgaria also provides degree-level courses in non-formal learning. There are also courses in related areas associated with youth work or encompassing youth work. For example, in Germany the professional profile of a youth worker mainly requires studying social work, social pedagogy, pedagogy, psychology and therapeutic education at universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen/Hochschulen) or universities (Universitäten) or completing vocational training as an educator/child care worker (Erzieher/Erzieherin). The University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule) at Potsdam (Germany) offers a European master’s degree course in childhood studies and children’s rights. The University of Applied Sciences in Kempten (Germany) has a specialised programme in youth work that combines both study and work placement, while a number of faith-based universities of applied sciences in Germany also provide specialised programmes that focus on religious pedagogy and youth work. The only formal course offered in Greece is a master’s degree course in European youth policies and culture at the University of Macedonia. Some countries are initiating new more specialised programmes. The University of Applied Science (Hochschule) in Koblenz (Germany) is further developing its existing bachelor’s degree in education (Bildung und Erziehung) by adding a course with a focus on youth work, while Romania has initiated a postgraduate certificate in management of youth educational resources In two countries surveyed, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, the situation as regards the formal education of youth workers has regressed, though there now appear to be measures underway to address the issue. In Serbia, a primary degree and master’s degree course in community youth work operated for only one year, 2008/09. A number of part-time courses in leadership and development youth work, operated in conjunction with Jonkoping University in Sweden, were provided over the period 2001-07. In Montenegro, 250 youth workers gained university degrees between 2002 and 2007 under the Jonkoping University initiative. Similarly, in Bosnia and Herzegovina the course in leadership and development youth work operated from 1998 to 2008, again in co-operation with Jonkoping University. A project to initiate degree-level courses in community youth work at the University of Zenica was also conducted between 2009 and 2012 as part of enhancing inter-regional cooperation in the countries of the Western Balkans. Most degree- and postgraduate-level courses are delivered and accredited for the most part by universities or, in some instances, higher education institutions, such as the institutes of technology in Ireland. In a number of countries – Finland, Germany and the Netherlands – the courses tend to be offered by universities for applied sciences.