Social Work
Entry requirements
A level
Access to HE Diploma
GCSE/National 4/National 5
It is preferable for applicants to have grade C or 4 in Mathematics or a suitable equivalent level qualification. However, applicants will still be considered if this requirement is not met.
120 Tariff points from your IB Diploma, typically H5, H6, H6 or equivalent
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Scottish Higher qualifications are considered on an individual basis.
UCAS Tariff
You may also need to…
Attend an interview
About this course
Social work is about changing lives for the better. Our degree has been designed with professional practice in mind, helping you to develop the knowledge and practical skills you need to become a confident, competent social work practitioner.
The School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research is one of the best in the country for teaching and research.
This programme is regulated by Social Work England (SWE).
Reasons to study Social Work at Kent:
Successful graduates of this programme are eligible for professional registration with Social Work England (SWE), the regulatory body for social work.
Social Work at Kent is ranked 2nd for research quality in The Complete University Guide 2023.
You are taught by qualified social workers with diverse practical experience, whose research explores the complexities of the social world
You gain the knowledge, skills, confidence and critical understanding necessary to practise social work.
90% of Kent Social Work graduates were in graduate-level jobs or further study 15 months after graduation. (The Guardian University Guide 2023)
What you’ll learn
You gain a thorough understanding of issues and trends in adult services and social care for children and families. You critically examine how to work with individuals experiencing mental distress, and the role of mental health services. You study partnership working, interventions and skills, research skills and critical and reflective practice.
You’ll complete 20 practice-focused skills days in your second year, as well as a 70-day practice learning placement and five skills development days. Additionally, your final year includes 100 days of practice learning and five skills development days. During these placement periods, you are supported by a practice educator and assessed in accordance with the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF).
Tuition fees
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The Uni
University of Kent at Medway
School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
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.
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
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
£32k
£30k
£33k
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 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):
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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?
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