Community Development
Community Educator (Master’s Degree)
Joint Application for Finnish-taught degree programmes
From 10.3.2026 at 8:00 to 24.3.2026 at 15.00
Please note that admission to these programmes requires B1 level Finnish proficiency.
The next application round for English-taught degrees is in January 2027.
Bachelor’s Degrees (in Finnish)
Master’s Degrees (in Finnish)
Develop, lead, anticipate – renew communities and create communality!
The Humak Master’s degree in Community Development is designed for professionals from various fields who want to deepen their expertise in developing participation and communality. Upon completion, graduates receive the title Community Educator (Master of Humanities).
The degree provides qualifications for demanding expert and leadership positions in the public, private, and third sectors. Graduates often work in communal operational environments and in personnel leadership and development, as well as in various training and coaching positions. Upon completion, graduates receive the title Community Educator (Master of Humanities).
The degree corresponds to a university master’s degree and enables further studies towards a doctoral degree. All Humak Master’s degrees are completed entirely online. Webinars are held on weekdays between 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM. All webinars are recorded.
Who is this programme for?
Youth workers or civil society professionals
You have work experience in youth work or civil society work and want to deepen your expertise. The Master of Humanities degree provides qualifications for leadership and development positions.
Those interested in working as a developer of professional communities
You are a professional in any field whose goal is a more human-centered approach to work. The degree provides skills to develop communities and communality.
Developers of inclusiveness, participation, and diversity
You work in expert positions and consider it important to develop the inclusion of diverse people in organizational and societal activities.
Programme content
The Community Development studies consist of advanced studies, elective studies, and a thesis. The degree comprises 90 ECTS credits, typically completed in 1.5 academic years.
The advanced studies in Community Development consist of three courses, two of which provide perspectives on the future of the field and the third covers the fundamentals of research-based development.
- Renewing Communality (5 ECTS)
- Community-Developing Learning (5 ECTS)
- Research-Based Development (5 ECTS)
In the elective studies, students choose three 15 ECTS modules from five options:
- Promoting Participation
- Creative Solutions
- Proactive Responsibility
- Renewing Work Communities
Additionally, you can build your own module from individual courses, also utilizing offerings from other higher education institutions.
The thesis at Humak is a research-based development assignment, primarily completed as pair work. The aim of the thesis is to solve problems arising from working life practices, reform the professional field, and produce new, reliable knowledge.
RPL process, also known as Recognition of Prior Leaning at Humak means you can substitute part of your studies with previously acquired work experience or education (RPL procedure). For Master’s degree courses, it is possible to apply RPL for competence acquired through work or leisure activities up to 10 years old or through level 7 education.
What skills will you have upon graduation?
We offer students an inspiring and motivating learning environment, so that you can develop as an expert through the Humak Master programme. The goal is that after your studies you will be able to….
Lead
You will be able to lead companies and organizations based on humanistic values.
Develop
You will learn to utilize diverse development methods in developing your own field.
Anticipate
You will be able to prepare for different futures in your profession.
Engage
You will be capable of taking into account diverse people in communal activities.
Career opportunities
The Master of Humanities, Community Educator degree leads to various positions in the social, youth, and education sectors as well as in the civil society field. Our alumni work in leadership positions, as experts, planners, and counselors in the public, third, and private sectors, as well as entrepreneurs.
92 %
Of those who graduated with a Master of Humanities, Community Educator from Humak Master, 92% were in working life.
4059 €
The average salary of those who graduated in 2020 with a Master of Humanities, Community Educator from Humak Master was €4,059 and the median salary was €4,000.
95 %
Of those who graduated with a Master of Humanities, Community Educator from Humak Master, 95% were satisfied with the degree.
88 %
Of those who graduated with a Master of Humanities, Community Educator from Humak Master, 88% were satisfied with their career.
Alumni titles and career paths
Leadership Positions
- Executive director
- Education director
- Service director
- Youth director
- Sports and youth services director
- Project director
- HR director,
- Supervisor
Experts and Developers
- Development specialist
- Civil society specialist
- Communications specialist
- Interaction specialist
- Preparedness specialist
- various coach and trainer positions
Planners and Coordinators
- Community planner
Special planner - Project planner
- Regional coordinator
- Civil society planner
Counseling, Youth Work and Education
- Youth worker
- Youth counselor
- School social worker
- Vocational rehabilitation counselor
- Social counselor
Frequently asked questions
Yes, the entire degree is delivered online. Webinars are scheduled between 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM to make studying alongside work possible. There are typically 2–4 webinars per course. Some courses have no webinars at all.
You can soon find course descriptions on the curriculum pages. The implementation details include the name of the responsible teacher. You can contact them for more detailed information about the specific course content.
You can check your eligibility on the StudyInfo pages. If you are unsure, you can contact Humak’s applicant services at hakijapalvelut@humak.fi.
If you have strong work experience in the subject area or equivalent master’s level studies, you can have part of your studies accredited as a degree student through the RPL procedure.
Yes. You can also become a degree student through Path studies.
More information
Degree information on StudyInfo
Read more about admission criteria and upcoming application rounds.
Want to dive deeper?
Download our digital brochure (in Finnish) and read more about the degrees!
Have questions?
Contact our Admissions services via email: admissions(at)humak.fi
Or by phone Mon-Thu from 13 to 15:
+358 20 7621 234
Our other Master’s Degrees
Learn more about our other degrees!
Cultural Management Development
Cultural Manager (Master in Culture and Arts), online studies
European Master in Sign Language Interpreting (EUMASLI)
Tulkki (YAMK), verkkototeutus