Career Guidance and Coaching BA (Hons) at Northumbria gives you the knowledge and skills to help people navigate some of life’s biggest decisions using person-centred, counselling-informed approaches. Taught by research-active academics with backgrounds in counselling, coaching, career guidance, education, and social care, this course combines academic depth with hands-on practice.
Explore theories underpinning career development, coaching and counselling, and how social context and inequality shape people’s lives. Work directly with clients through placements, and build the reflective person-centred skills of effective, socially aware practitioners. CDI recognition and AC accreditation (subject to approval) mean your qualification carries genuine professional weight.
Graduates can pursue roles across education, public services, and private organisations, or move into self-employment. An optional placement or study abroad year lets you develop your skills in a professional setting before your final year.
This extended degree offers an alternative route into higher education if you don't meet the standard entry requirements. Your foundation year explores health, education and social care, and you can build a foundation in key debates, theory and practice while developing the research skills needed to progress to degree level.
From the start, you’ll explore the principles of career guidance, coaching, and counselling, and how practitioners support people through significant life decisions. By the end of this year, you'll be ready to engage critically with theory and build on person-centred, reflective practice.
Next, the focus shifts to applying theory in practice through coaching, mentoring and groupwork, grounded in person-centred skills. By the end of this year, you'll be equipped to plan and evaluate individual and group interventions with confidence.
Your optional placement or study abroad year gives you the chance to apply your skills in a real professional setting, building experience and networks that strengthen your final year and your career beyond graduation.
In your final year, advanced models of career guidance, ethical coaching, narrative and brief approaches to counselling and independent research converge. You'll be equipped to practise at professional-level, supporting others with skill, insight and integrity.
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This extended degree offers an alternative route into higher education if you don't meet the standard entry requirements. Your foundation year explores health, education and social care, and you can build a foundation in key debates, theory and practice while developing the research skills needed to progress to degree level.
From the start, you’ll explore the principles of career guidance, coaching, and counselling, and how practitioners support people through significant life decisions. By the end of this year, you'll be ready to engage critically with theory and build on person-centred, reflective practice.
Next, the focus shifts to applying theory in practice through coaching, mentoring and groupwork, grounded in person-centred skills. By the end of this year, you'll be equipped to plan and evaluate individual and group interventions with confidence.
Your optional placement or study abroad year gives you the chance to apply your skills in a real professional setting, building experience and networks that strengthen your final year and your career beyond graduation.
In your final year, advanced models of career guidance, ethical coaching, narrative and brief approaches to counselling and independent research converge. You'll be equipped to practise at professional-level, supporting others with skill, insight and integrity.
Year One:
From the start, you’ll explore the principles of career guidance, coaching, and counselling, and how practitioners support people through significant life decisions. By the end of this year, you'll be ready to engage critically with theory and build on person-centred, reflective practice.
Year Two:
Next, the focus shifts to applying theory in practice through coaching, mentoring and groupwork, grounded in person-centred skills. By the end of this year, you'll be equipped to plan and evaluate individual and group interventions with confidence.
Year Three: Optional Placement or Study Abroad
Your optional placement or study abroad year gives you the chance to apply your skills in a real professional setting, building experience and networks that strengthen your final year and your career beyond graduation.
Year Three / Year Four (Final Year):
In your final year, advanced models of career guidance, ethical coaching, narrative and brief approaches to counselling and independent research converge. You'll be equipped to practise at professional-level, supporting others with skill, insight and integrity.
Module information is indicative and is reviewed annually therefore may be subject to change. Applicants will be informed if there are any changes.
You will develop your understanding of academic conventions in UK higher education aligned to your level of study, including expectations around critical analysis, structure, argumentation, evidencing, and referencing. The module focuses on developing communication strategies that will help you express your ideas clearly and coherently in written assignments and spoken activities. You will also reflect on your current academic and language skills and develop strategies for development ahead of your assessments.
This module aims to provide formal academic induction across your whole first year of study, introducing you to the academic literacy practices required to perform successfully in higher education. The module will equip you to become effective, active, independent learners throughout the rest of your degree. It will enable you to recognise appropriate approaches to study in higher education and begin to develop the academic skills, qualities and competencies expected of students on the programme. The module has been designed to support you to recognise and debate key concepts of your degree by encouraging you to actively engage in discussion and debate to enable you to make-sense of the subject-curricula and discourse communities of the discipline area and to develop your own standpoint.
The module will illuminate how to use, at various points throughout the programme, the expertise and resources on offer in a range of formats via, for instance, the Northumbria Skills framework including Skills Plus.
This module has been designed to support you to recognise and debate key concepts of your degree by providing you with underpinning knowledge and understanding regarding the broad foundation of the history and practice of counselling. You will examine a range of counselling perspectives and evaluation issues in relation to counselling practice. Through a range of teaching and learning strategies you will be encouraged to explain and distinguish between the various theoretical bases of counselling and identify their key features. The module aims to orientate you to the breadth of the discipline as well as the language and key terms used in the literature.
This module provides you with an introduction to academic research within health and social sciences disciplines. In an increasingly information-rich society, knowledge and skills in research play an essential role in enabling society to anticipate, and respond to, unexpected challenges and change. Therefore, understanding and using research are recognised as essential requirements for all professionals to inform service improvement. This module is designed to develop your understanding of the nature, purpose, principles, practical challenges and ethics of research by examining a broad range of research methodologies and methods. You will also learn essential concepts and languages in research.
The focus of the module is on specific and very important aspects of research for you:
• Understanding the role of research;
• Introduction to research methodologies and how these underpin different forms of knowledge;
• Introduction to research methods and their strengths and weaknesses;
• Reviewing and critiquing literature with methodological appropriateness and with particular reference to the application to practice;
• understanding the importance of the ethical issues in research;
• Application of knowledge to practice and putting research to use.
This module will support you to develop the research skills and knowledge necessary that are transferable across disciplines. This module will assist you in the conception, development, documentation, delivery and reporting of your independent research. The module is invaluable in providing you with a solid foundation from which to develop your independent research, including final year project.
Being an effective practitioner hinges on having a clear and detailed understanding of self. In this module you will explore different ways of thinking about what it means to ‘be’ or to ‘have’ a self. You will look at the ways in which the experience of the self is embedded in social relations. Taking as a starting point the proposition that being a self involves being uniquely situated within the context of contemporary social conditions, dealing with an incessant sense of becoming, and being an active participant in social change, you will learn about the relationships between individuals and the wider cultural and structural contexts they inhabit. You will explore the ways in which being a self involves not simply being a product of social life but being collaboratively involved in its continuous emergence. You will examine ways in which competing, conflicting and subversive narratives around gender, class, age, disability, sexuality, race and ethnicity, come to shape individuals’ perceptions of life and of their own roles in it. While the presence of structural and cultural influences are often obscured at the level of people’s everyday interactions with each other, it is within these that the self takes its shape and roles and identities are bestowed, learned, negotiated and resisted. When life is an ongoing, incessant process of meaning making, an insight into these relationships will enhance your understanding of why people think and feel about themselves as they do, and ground your developing Guidance and Counselling practice.
In this module, you will explore some of the criteria that might be used to analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of services in the field of guidance, counselling and coaching. You will learn about: major areas of policy and government strategy that determine the focus or development of services in different fields; codes of practice and quality standards governing the operation of organisations and agencies; systems for performance management and customer feedback. You will be introduced to enquiry skills including, observation and narrative recording, to enable you to undertake a series of enquiry-based visits, and/ or conversations with practitioners and desk-based inquiry. You will also explore issues of safeguarding and ethical practice in relation to delivery of services and to support your planning and delivery of these visits.
This module enables you to develop skills used in a range of ‘helping’ professions and to explore the nature and application of one to one and group interventions in a range of settings. Drawing upon counselling theory, you will consider the skills, strategies and models underpinning effective guidance and coaching practice. You will undertake a range of formative, skill based activities and a summative assignment which encourages you to reflect on your own experience and use of coaching and guidance skills.
You will develop your understanding of academic conventions in UK higher education aligned to your level of study, including expectations around critical analysis, structure, argumentation, evidencing, and referencing. The module focuses on developing communication strategies that will help you express your ideas clearly and coherently in written assignments and spoken activities. You will also reflect on your current academic and language skills and develop strategies for development ahead of your assessments.
You will explore the theory and practice of a range of helping processes drawn from differing contexts and critical perspectives. Attention is given to individual approaches to helping and initiating change. This will include the exploration of counselling within specific contexts (e.g. Transcultural, feminist, online etc.) and representations of helping in the media. There will also be an opportunity to explore critical views of counselling paradigms that have been developed within the disabled people’s movement and other sociological perspectives.
The aim of the module is to provide you with an opportunity to explore potential career pathways and develop an understanding of professional roles by undertaking a career development project. Exploring entry routes and requirements of occupations through a range of sources, including direct contact with professionals, will further develop research skills as well as develop and utilise networks to help you to enhance your employability. You will conduct a study into a chosen professional area, reflect critically upon a range of academic and work related experiences and consider how these have informed your career identity and contributed to the development of graduate attributes and employability skills. You will complete an application and undertake a mock interview in which you will be supported to reflect upon and verbally articulate your graduate skills, attributes and values.
This module will help you to further develop knowledge from the module ‘introduction to academic research’ through development of a deeper understanding of the research process.
The overall module aim is to support you in developing your research skills and knowledge. You will also further develop your ability to analyse and critique research literature and to consider its application to practice. The module will provide you with a strong grounding in a range of research methods. It will also enable you to understand the philosophical and theoretical frameworks that underpin these methods and the research process as a whole. Undertaking this module will help you to prepare for your final year dissertation / project
You will explore the theory and practice of mentoring and coaching, focusing on the use of both group and individual approaches in developing and enhancing the mentoring relationship. You will recognise the core guidance and counselling skills inherent in the mentoring and coaching role and apply them with student peers. You will undertake research into the effectiveness of mentoring and coaching across the life course and within educational, business and community settings.
You will explore the theory and practice of group delivery within a career guidance and coaching context. Throughout the module you will be provided with knowledge and practical experience of working with groups, initially as a participant and later as a facilitator. You will study theoretical approaches to group work and group management, the latter including the skills of leadership and facilitation. You will gain practical experience of working in groups, beginning with low stakes activities to build your confidence (including taking part in a coaching group) Ultimately you will be involved, with a small group of your peers, in the planning and delivery of a group work session. You will undertake personal research into the effectiveness of group delivery of career guidance and coaching as the module proceeds.
Optional modules may include:
Optional modules may include:
You will develop your understanding of academic conventions in UK higher education aligned to your level of study, including expectations around critical analysis, structure, argumentation, evidencing, and referencing. The module focuses on developing communication strategies that will help you express your ideas clearly and coherently in written assignments and spoken activities. You will also reflect on your current academic and language skills and develop strategies for development ahead of your assessments.
This module explores theories of career choice and development and how these are used in career guidance practice with young people and adults. In this module you are encouraged to develop insight into a range of multi- disciplinary models of career choice and development and consider their relevance to current practice in the UK (both in schools and in in a range of settings for all ages). You will have the opportunity to further develop and apply important guidance and counselling skills in the context of careers work. You will undertake formative assessments which allow you to practice and further develop guidance skills. The summative assessment will involve planning and delivering a career guidance intervention, for example a career guidance interview or a group activity, and written commentary, drawing upon career development theory.
You will explore the theory and practice of a range of brief approaches drawn from differing theoretical and critical perspectives. In this module you will develop knowledge and critical understanding of three types of brief counselling approaches as used in guidance and counselling settings: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Solution Focused Approaches and Motivational Interviewing. You will develop understanding of the theoretical background to the approaches and implications for practice. This may involve working in situations where you will think about issues that some people face, such as anxiety and depression, as well as behaviours which may prove problematic, such as substance misuse.
In this module you will develop knowledge and critical understanding of three types of narrative practice used in guidance and counselling: personal construct psychology, existential therapy and narrative therapy. You will develop understanding of the ways in which the lives of individuals, families and communities are shaped by the stories they tell about themselves, and of ways in which identities can be enriched and strengthened or hurt and diminished depending upon the sorts of stories that are told and who is recognised as having the right to tell stories. In exploring these three types of therapeutic intervention, you will gain insight into how different types of listening conversations can be used as opportunities to allow people to think about how damaging stories can be rejected, and different meanings and preferred storylines can lead to more positive, accepting outcomes. You will gain insight into the view that the person is never the problem, but that the problem is the problem: and find creative ways of working with people in to support them to think differently about problems. As well as learning about the theoretical bases of each of these approaches, you will participate in workshops and seminars where you will have the opportunity to begin to put them into practice. This may involve working in situations where you will consider ideas about subjects including loss, bereavement, death, modern power, or where you will learn about counselling individuals, couples, family groups and communities.
Ethical Coaching explores ethical complexities of coaching practice through an anti-oppressive lens. This module examines power, privilege, and structural inequality in coaching relationships, developing sophisticated ethical decision-making through practice, supervision, and critical reflection. Core content includes ethical theories and decision-making models; anti-oppressive practice principles; intersectionality and working across differences; power and privilege in coaching relationships; confidentiality and boundaries; working with vulnerable clients; safeguarding; competence and scope of practice; supervision as accountability; contemporary issues in coaching ethics including digital practice and self-care. You will develop advanced understanding of ethical frameworks with anti-oppressive practice as the organising principle. You will examine professional codes of ethics and develop your own ethical framework for coaching practice.
You will apply concepts through coaching practice, supported by supervision.
This module completes Association for Coaching (AC) Foundation Coach accreditation requirements, enabling students to graduate with degree, career guidance level 6 recognition and professional coaching credential.
Building on research understanding and skills developed throughout your programme, this module will introduce you to key ideas, perspectives and activities in social research relevant to the field of study. You will develop knowledge and understanding about what and how things can be ‘known’ (epistemology), ways of seeing the world (paradigms), approaches and traditions in research (methodology), collecting or generating data (methods) and analysing or interpreting findings (analysis). In addition, you will understand how to relate each of these elements into a coherent research project and will appreciate relevant ethical issues that apply to your research.
Standard Offer 112 UCAS Tariff Points
From a combination of acceptable Level 3 qualifications which may include: A-level, T Level, BTEC Diplomas/Extended Diplomas, Scottish and Irish Highers, Access to HE Diplomas, or the International Baccalaureate.
Find out how many points your qualifications are worth by using the UCAS Tariff calculator: www.ucas.com/ucas/tariff-calculator
Contextual Admissions 96 UCAS Tariff points
Northumbria University is committed to supporting all individuals to achieve their ambitions and we understand that every applicant’s circumstances can be different, which is why we take a flexible approach and assess your individual circumstances and potential when reviewing your application.
To find out more, review our Northumbria Entry Requirement Essential Information page for further details www.northumbria.ac.uk/entryrequirementsinfo
GCSE Requirements:
Applicants will need Maths, Statistics, or Physics and English Language at minimum grade 4/C, or equivalents.
Additional Requirements:
A suitable DBS Enhanced Certificate is required.
International Qualifications:
We welcome applicants with a range of qualifications which may not match those shown above.
If you have qualifications from outside the UK, find out what you need by visiting www.northumbria.ac.uk/yourcountry
English Language Requirements:
International applicants should have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.0 with 5.5 in each component (or an approved equivalent*).
*The university accepts a large number of UK and International Qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades in our English Language section: www.northumbria.ac.uk/englishqualifications
The UK tuition fee for 27/28 is £10,050 and is set in line with the UK Government's tuition fee cap. The University may increase this fee in subsequent years in line with any changes to the tuition fee cap. Students will be notified of any increase ahead of it taking effect.
The remaining fees for 27/28 are to be confirmed and relate to the International Soccer Academy and accommodation fees. Accommodation fees may increase in subsequent years. Students will be notified of any increase ahead of the re-issuing of tenancy agreements.
The University may increase tuition fees in the second and subsequent years of your course at our discretion in line with any inflationary or other uplift, as decided by the UK Government, up to the maximum amount for fees permitted by UK law or regulation for that academic year. To give students an indication of the likely scale of any future increase, the UK government has suggested that increases may be linked to RPIX (Retail Price Index excluding mortgage interest payments). If the University intends to exercise this right to increase tuition fees, notification will be communicated with all students affected by the end of June in the academic year before the one in which we intend to exercise that right. Student fee loans have risen in line with the level of uplift decided by the UK Government.
Extended Degrees: Students will pay the applicable Foundation Year fee in Year 0. Tuition fees will follow the Year 1 (Level 4) cap in the first year of Undergraduate study, with tuition fees in subsequent years increasing as per the above information.
* Fees subject to annual increases over the course of the period of study. Students will be liable for payment of any/all tuition fees which are not sponsored by their employer or other third party.
This is the tuition fee for your first year of study. You should expect to pay tuition fees for every year of study. The University may increase fees in the second and subsequent years of your course at our discretion in line with any inflationary or other uplift. Students will be notified of any increase ahead of it taking effect.
Tuition fees in the academic year 2027/28* will be £10,050. Fees are set in line with the UK Government's tuition fee cap. The University may increase fees in subsequent years in line with any changes to the tuition fee cap. Increases will be linked to inflation. For example, increases may be linked to RPIX (Retail Price Index excluding mortgage interest payments) Students will be notified of any increase ahead of it taking effect. Student fee loans rise in line with the tuition fees cap.
This is the programme fee for your first year of study. The programme fee includes the international tuition fee, International Soccer Academy and accommodation fees. Accommodation fees may increase in subsequent years. Students will be notified of any increase ahead of the re-issuing of tenancy agreements.
Apply Now
To start your application, simply select the month you would like to start your course.
See professional practice first-hand through observational visits in your first year, then apply your skills through recorded coaching sessions and placement opportunities as you progress.
Benefit from CDI recognition and AC accreditation (subject to confirmation), giving your degree real professional standing and opening pathways to membership of both bodies during your studies.* Please note that this may incur an additional cost.
Learn from staff with hands-on backgrounds across counselling, coaching, career guidance, health and social care, whose active research ensures your studies reflect real-world developments and contemporary professional practice.
An optional placement or study abroad year between levels five and six lets you build professional experience and international perspective before your final year.
Newcastle's thriving public sector, education landscape, and voluntary sector create a natural backdrop for networking, work experience, and the professional connections that matter after graduation.
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See professional practice first-hand through observational visits in your first year, then apply your skills through recorded coaching sessions and placement opportunities as you progress.
Benefit from CDI recognition and AC accreditation (subject to confirmation), giving your degree real professional standing and opening pathways to membership of both bodies during your studies.* Please note that this may incur an additional cost.
Learn from staff with hands-on backgrounds across counselling, coaching, career guidance, health and social care, whose active research ensures your studies reflect real-world developments and contemporary professional practice.
An optional placement or study abroad year between levels five and six lets you build professional experience and international perspective before your final year.
Newcastle's thriving public sector, education landscape, and voluntary sector create a natural backdrop for networking, work experience, and the professional connections that matter after graduation.
Our Applicant Services team will be happy to help. They can be contacted on 0191 406 0901.
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