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Applied Social Work

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B-B,B,C

Access to HE Diploma

D:15,M:24,P:6

Pass Access to HE Diploma with 60 credits with 45 at Level 3

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE Maths and English Grade 4/Grade C (or above) or equivalent qualification

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

DMM

T Level

M

UCAS Tariff

112-120

We encourage you to outline all your qualifications and achievements in your application to provide us a full picture. Your offer will typically be based on your predicted and/or achieved grades from full level 3 qualifications or above e.g. A levels, BTEC Ext Diploma, Access to HE, etc. Any subject specifics are outlined below in the A-levels section, and these specifics are applicable across all equivalent qualifications. A strong application/performance and appropriate experience will be taken into account where typical criteria is not met.

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About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Social work

Social work challenges you in ways few other careers ever will. You need resilience and flexibility to manage complex cases, but the rewards are immense as you make a genuine difference to people’s lives.

**Why choose this course**
This applied degree equips you to excel on the frontline of social work, reaching out to help people from different backgrounds tackle their problems.
You will learn how to form effective partnerships with individuals, families and other professionals and will become skilled in assessing, interpreting and addressing people’s individual problems.

**How you will learn**
There are visits to workplace settings, work shadowing opportunities, guest lectures and the chance to complete a self-directed study reflecting your professional interests. Students from the degree’s second and third stages act as mentors to first-year students. We offer opportunities for you to undertake projects which match your professional ambitions and personal interests. The Independent Study module provides a chance for you to explore a particular theme in depth and our students have produced thought-provoking research into a wide range of topics.

**Opportunities and experiences**
This course features substantial periods of work placement so that you can apply the theory you are learning to practice. Thanks to our strong professional partnerships with local and regional employers, we offer opportunities for you to work with adults and children in both voluntary and statutory settings. Our students have, for instance, been placed in local authorities with teams specialising in children and families, adult social care, disabled children and looked after children.

**Professionally accredited**
Because our course is accredited by Social Work England, you can register and practise as a qualified social worker on graduation.

**Careers and employability**
There is a growing demand for qualified social workers who can excel in a variety of fields, so this course opens doors to an exciting and diverse range of career opportunities. Your role could involve addressing issues such as, child protection, mental health, disability and youth justice or working with vulnerable or older adults. You could work in settings such as hospitals, day centres, social services, residential centres, schools and the voluntary sector.

**Did you know?**
This course is also available with a Foundation Year.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£14,900
per year
International
£14,900
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Derby

Department:

Health, Social and Community Work

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.

94%
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

98%
Staff make the subject interesting
95%
Staff are good at explaining things
93%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
91%
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

80%
Library resources
85%
IT resources
83%
Course specific equipment and facilities
82%
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?

99%
UK students
1%
International students
15%
Male students
85%
Female students
79%
2:1 or above
25%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
D

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.

£23,600
med
Average annual salary
96%
med
Employed or in further education
73%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

41%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
38%
Welfare professionals
8%
Caring 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.

£21k

£21k

£24k

£24k

£24k

£24k

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 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.

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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