Department of Applied Social Studies

Head: Professor Michael Preston-Shoot

Established in 1994, the Department of Applied Social Studies at the Luton College has rapidly come to be recognised as a centre of excellence for research and for teaching and learning.

This has been achieved by developing and delivering high quality programmes of academic and professional study. It is accredited by the National Youth Agency to provide study programmes leading to youth and community work qualifications, and by the General Social Care Council for the delivery of social work programmes.

These represent external endorsements of excellence in providing teaching and facilitating learning.

The department also provides degrees and/or diplomas in criminology, health and social care, and child and adolescent studies, with a commitment to broadening access and promoting inclusion in higher education.

Excellence has also been achieved by undertaking innovative and influential strategic and applied social research of relevance to policy-makers, service managers, practitioners, and citizen and user groups.

The department was awarded a 3a grading in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise, which denotes national and some international excellence, a most positive result for a post 1992 college and well ahead of some longer-established institutions.

The department is committed to underpinning undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and learning with research conducted by the department's academic staff.

The staff team combines extensive research and teaching interests across social work, youth work, criminal justice, social studies, child and adolescent studies, and health and social care, committed not only to disseminating a sound underpinning knowledge base through teaching but also to contributing to its creation through a very active programme of research.

Many staff members have a national and international profile for excellence in teaching and research, being consulted by government departments, local authorities, professional associations and voluntary organisations.

The department maintains a predominant focus on professional concerns within social welfare. It maintains active links with staff in psychology, education studies and health services education, thus ensuring that it responds dynamically to the new agenda promoted by government for the professions, which calls for a truly 'joined up' interdisciplinary approach to thinking in this field.

Many of the department's academic staff have practice qualifications in their field and have held posts of significant responsibility within their professions before joining the college.

Together they combine to produce a dynamic, vibrant and exciting department, demonstrated particularly by the number of students who, having initially enrolled on undergraduate and/or professional study programmes, continue onto postgraduate research study.