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Social Policy

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B

Access to HE Diploma

D:27,M:15,P:3

A distinction and merit profile.

We recognise the EPQ as an excellent indicator of success. If you are predicted a grade B or above in the EPQ, you will receive an offer with a one grade reduction, to include your EPQ with a grade B.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32

International students will also require a score of 4 at Higher Level English Language or Literature, or 5 at Standard Level English Language or Literature.

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

DDM

UCAS Tariff

120

Swansea University will accept the Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate as fully equivalent to one A-Level.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Social policy

The BA (Hons) Social Policy is a flexible degree programme you can tailor to your interests. Second years have the chance to take an employability module including a work placement.

Social Policy helps address today’s most pressing challenges by explaining how and why societies change, and how governments and other institutions respond. Our undergraduate programme keeps pace with the ways in which globalisation, social movements, the European Union and devolved administrations in the UK shape policies in Wales and beyond.

Studying Social Policy at Swansea University could enable you to influence how societies recognise and address people’s social needs. It would give you the knowledge and skills to pursue a career in public services, criminal justice, voluntary organisations or personnel management.

Students also gain a range of key transferable skills, including analytical and critical thinking, problem-solving, independent study and team working as well as written, presentation and other communication skills.

The course could also prepare you for further professional and vocational training in fields such as law, teaching, social work or postgraduate study or research.

• 3rd in the UK for Academic Support (NSS 2022)
• 5th in the UK for Teaching Quality (Times Good University Guide 2023)
• Top 10 in the UK for Student Satisfaction (Complete University Guide 2023)
• Top 10 in the UK for Student Voice (NSS 2022)
• Top 15 in the UK for Overall Score (Times Good University Guide 2023)

85% of Swansea University Social Policy students are employed in graduate level jobs within six months of graduating.

Modules

Your first year of study is made up of compulsory modules covering a range of themes. Compulsory modules are studied by all students on the programme, meaning you are automatically enrolled. Examples of compulsory modules include:

• Environments of Social Policy
• Economics in Society
• Individuals and Society

In your second and third year you will study a mixture of compulsory and optional modules, from an expansive range of subject areas.

Examples of optional modules in recent years have included:

• Poverty and Social Justice
• Sociology of Health and Illness
• Criminalisation of Sex
• Capitalism and Justice: inequality, power and prosperity in contemporary economies
• Social Movements, Social Policy and Social Change

Your final year will include a compulsory independent dissertation project.

For the full programme structure and module breakdown, please visit our webpage at https://www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/social-sciences/criminology-sociology-social-policy/bsc-social-policy/

Assessment methods

We offer a variety of assessment methods within our programmes. In addition to traditional examinations and essays, examples of alternative assessment include:

• Group-based tasks
• Presentations
• Personal Reflections

Throughout your undergraduate Social Policy degree, you will develop excellent research and analytical skills and learn to present your ideas effectively both verbally and in writing.

For full breakdown of course structure and assessment please visit our course page https://www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/social-sciences/criminology-sociology-social-policy/bsc-social-policy/or get in touch with us at [email protected]

The Uni


Course location:

Singleton Park Campus

Department:

Social Work, Social Policy and Social Research

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.

85%
Social policy

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 policy

Teaching and learning

77%
Staff make the subject interesting
85%
Staff are good at explaining things
88%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
88%
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

67%
Library resources
79%
IT resources
79%
Course specific equipment and facilities
88%
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?

96%
UK students
4%
International students
19%
Male students
81%
Female students
78%
2:1 or above
10%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
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 policy

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.

£17,472
med
Average annual salary
91%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

17%
Protective service occupations
14%
Business, research and administrative professionals
11%
Other administrative occupations

Just over 1,600 students graduated in social policy in 2015, which makes it one of the smaller social studies subjects. This is a popular subject at Masters level — 750 Masters in social policy were awarded last year - and so a lot of the more sought-after jobs in management and research tend to go to social policy graduates with postgraduate degrees. For those who leave university after their first degree, then jobs in social care (especially community and youth work) and education, the police, marketing and human resources and recruitment are popular — along with local government, although there are fewer of those jobs around than in the past. This degree is a bit less reliant on London for jobs than other similar subjects, so if you'd like to work outside the capital, it might be worth considering - although the jobs still tend to be in big cities.

What about your long term prospects?

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

Social policy

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

£17k

£17k

£20k

£20k

£27k

£27k

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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Teaching Excellence Framework (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.

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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