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Kingston University

UCAS Code: L508 | Master of Social Work - MSW

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About this course

Course option

2years

Full-time | 2025

Subject

Social work

**Reasons to choose Kingston**
- On successful completion, you will be qualified to practise as a registered social worker. The MSW is recognised and approved by Social Work England, the professional regulator for social work.

- Our teaching partnership with local authorities and voluntary agencies creates a leading social work education community shaped by academic research and frontline practice.

- In addition to working in the UK, this MSW is also recognised as a professional social work qualification in Canada and the USA.

**About this course**
The Masters of Social Work is a postgraduate intensive qualification that will enable you to become a social worker in two years.

You will be taught by social work academics, researchers, expert practitioners and people with lived experience, spanning the range of specialist social work fields. This prepares students to become social workers in their chosen areas of specialist social work practice, equipped with a broad range of theory and evidence.

The course provides transformative learning experiences in a supportive, inclusive environment. It is underpinned by a psycho-social and life-course approach, encouraging critical thinking and anti-discriminatory practice in response to the needs of people and communities. You will develop knowledge and skills in our state-of-the-art Practice Learning Skills Lab. Through a specialist practice interest module, you may study a chosen area in depth.

We provide two quality contrasting placements of 70 days and 100 days. You will make observation visits, learn from service users, carers and experienced social workers.You will study effective approaches to working with children and their families, and adults at risk, including older adults and mental health social work practice.

A satisfactory health declaration, including immunisations, and a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check are required from accepted candidates before registration for the programme.

**Example modules**
– Readiness for Direct Practice
– Assessment and Intervention
– Legal, Ethical and Policy Frameworks for Social Work Practice

**Career opportunities**
Fields of practice as a qualified social worker include children’s services and family support, community care and adult services; adult/youth criminal justice services, community, day, residential and health settings; and mental health, disability, addiction and forensic services. You can also progress to the Advanced Social Work MA.

Modules

Please note that this is an indicative list of modules and is not intended as a definitive list.

Readiness for Direct Practice
First Placement 1 (70 days)
Final Placement 2 (100 days)
Assessment and Intervention
Human Development and the Social Environment
Applied Social Work Practice
Legal, Ethical and Policy Frameworks for Social Work Practice
Specialist Practice Interest
Independent Study: A Capstone Project

Assessment methods

Individual and group presentations, essays, exam, case studies, portfolio, feedback, practice assessment and final project.

Tuition fees

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

England
£9,535
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,535
per year
Scotland
£9,535
per year
Wales
£9,535
per year

The Uni

Course location:

Kingston University

Department:

Department of Social Work and Social Care

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.

77%
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

85%
Staff make the subject interesting
88%
Staff are good at explaining things
87%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
94%
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

79%
Library resources
92%
IT resources
90%
Course specific equipment and facilities
66%
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
11%
Male students
89%
Female students
74%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
B

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.

£22,000
med
Average annual salary
94%
low
Employed or in further education
84%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

54%
Welfare professionals
10%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
8%
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.

£31k

£31k

£32k

£32k

£36k

£36k

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 is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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