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Social Work

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B

Any subject.

Access to HE Diploma

D:30

The Access to HE Diploma to include 30 Level 3 credits at Distinction in Health/Social Science units. Plus GCSE English and Mathematics at grade 4 / C or above.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

5 GCSEs at grade 4 / C or above to include English and Mathematics.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

30

to include 15 points at Higher level.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDM

in a Health based subject.

Scottish Higher

B,C,C,C,C

UCAS Tariff

120

[1] 4 qualifications for tariff points allowed [2] May also include AS level and EPQ [3] Specific subject not required

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Social work

**This course encompasses contemporary issues in social work practice, and it aims to give you the knowledge, skills and attributes required to be an effective social worker and make a positive difference to service users.**

This course is designed to develop your professional knowledge and skills so that you may achieve a recognised social work qualification with eligibility to apply for registration with Social Work England1.

Upon successful completion of this course, you will:

- Have developed the knowledge, cognitive skills, ethical understanding and interpersonal skills necessary for qualified social work practice.

- Be able to recognise and work with people from a diverse range of backgrounds in ways that balances the need to be sensitive to difference, cultural and otherwise, whilst remaining committed to upholding universal social work values.

- Have developed the self-efficacy, autonomy, self-awareness, reflective ability, emotional intelligence and the organisational skills to work as an effective and empathic social worker.

**Key Course Benefits:**
- There aren’t many careers that make you feel like you are giving back to society in the way that social work can. Social work is much more than ‘helping people’. At its best, it helps save lives, protect vulnerable people from harm and enhances the life chances of those in social need. Approved by Social Work England, on successful completion of this course you will be eligible to apply to Social Work England to register as a social worker (additional costs apply).

- The course facilitates transformative learning through practice-led and research-inspired teaching. You will be taught by a dedicated team of experienced social work academics which currently includes academics with substantial practice and research experience across a range of social work practice settings, including children and families and adult practice (staff subject to change). The course is designed around the applicability of learning to practice through the use of real-life case studies, serious case review findings, and the involvement of social work practitioners and experts by experience, to enhance the student learning experience.

- The teaching curriculum reflects the changing demographics of society and emerging social issues. The decolonisation of the curriculum is integrated so that graduates have the required skills and capabilities to practice with diverse groups of people presenting with the complexities of modern-day social problems. Social work by nature is embedded in making a contribution to the betterment of communities and promoting social justice, responsibility, sustainability and social responsibility. Many of the modules throughout the course are aimed at equipping you with the awareness of the nature, causation and impact on people of current social problems and how you may constructively and creatively respond to these.

- You will be provided with a comprehensive induction programme to support the transition into a new learning environment. This induction is student-centred and aims to promote good communication and working relationships between staff and students. You will be supported through a range of university support services including welfare service, student success coaches and student mentors. You will also be allocated a personal tutor who can help provide academic, personal, pastoral and welfare support. The course also emphasises the development of your emotional literacy and intelligence capacity in order to promote resilience and psychological wellbeing to practice effectively as a social worker.

- The course has embedded the employability of graduates and a major stem throughout the degree programme by ensuring is ensuring currency in the curriculum. We will support you in your final year as you transition to employment through a range of initiatives with local employers.

Modules

Year One
In the first year, the curriculum allows you to gain a broad grounding in the discipline where you will develop knowledge and skills to do with human growth and development, communication, legal and policy frameworks as well as theories, methods and models for social work practice, among others.

Modules
Introduction to Social Work - 20 credits
Communication in Social Work - 20 credits
Legal and Policy Frameworks for Practice - 20 credits
Human Growth and Development: Psychological Perspectives - 20 credits
Theories and Methods in Social Work Practice - 20 credits
Readiness for Practice - 20 credits

Year Two
In year two, the 70-day placement*, forms an important part of the course as you move on to apply your knowledge and skills in real-life situations. Academic modules presenting knowledge and understanding support practice-based learning. There are modules in sociological theory, and its application to social work practice, and modules very much rooted in the practice environment, in which the current key themes in social work practice with children and families, and adults are examined.

Modules
Critical Reflective Practice 1 - 40 credits
Social Work Practice 1 - 20 credits
Contemporary Society: Sociological Perspectives - 20 credits
Social Work Practice with Children, Young People and Families - 20 credits
Social Work Practice with Adults - 20 credits

Final Year
In year three, you will complete your final 100-day practice placement*, which is complimented by modules in which the organisational context of social work, research findings and the evidence-base for social work practice are critically examined. A key aspect of the final year is to prepare you for employment as a Newly Qualified Social Worker.

Modules
Critical Reflective Practice 2 - 60 credits
Social Work Practice 2 - 20 credits
Organisational Context of Social Work - 20 credits
Research-mindedness in Social Work - 20 credits

We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated. For full module details please check the course page on the Coventry University website.

*For further information please check the course page on the Coventry University website

Assessment methods

The course adopts a variety of assessment methods, both formative and summative, which will vary depending on the module.

Assessment methods include:

Coursework assignments
Case study analysis
Reflective writing
Test
Presentations
Practical interviewing
Portfolios

The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Coventry University

Department:

School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

83%
Social work

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Social work

Teaching and learning

82%
Staff make the subject interesting
88%
Staff are good at explaining things
81%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
93%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

70%
Library resources
74%
IT resources
76%
Course specific equipment and facilities
59%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

98%
UK students
2%
International students
15%
Male students
85%
Female students
67%
2:1 or above
6%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
D
C

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Social work

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£19,240
med
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education
68%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

36%
Welfare professionals
22%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
11%
Childcare and related personal services

We're short of social workers - so if you want a degree that is in demand, then this could be the one for you! There's a shortage of social workers all over the UK, and graduates can specialise in specific fields such as mental health or children's social work. If you decide social work is not for you, then social work graduates also often go into management, education, youth and community work and even nursing. Starting salaries for this degree can reflect the high proportion of graduates who choose a social work career - social work graduates get paid, on average, more than graduates overall, but not all options pay as well as social work. This is also an unusual subject in that London isn't one of the more common places to find jobs - so if you want to get a job near to your home or your university this might be worth thinking about.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Social work

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£20k

£20k

£20k

£20k

£29k

£29k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here