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Social Work

Entry requirements


A level

A,B,B

Excluding General Studies and Critical Thinking; GCSE requirements – English and Mathematics grade C (numeric grade 4)

Access to HE Diploma

M:30

Including at least 6 Level 3 credits in study skills; GCSE requirements – English and Mathematics grade C (numeric grade 4)

Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal

D3,M2,M3

GCSE requirements – English and Mathematics grade C (numeric grade 4)

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32

GCSE requirements – English and Mathematics grade C (numeric grade 4)

Please contact the school for further information on acceptable subject and qualification combinations. GCSE requirements – English and Mathematics grade C (numeric grade 4)

Please contact the school for further information on acceptable subject and qualification combinations. GCSE requirements – English and Mathematics grade C (numeric grade 4)

Please contact the school for further information on acceptable subject and qualification combinations. GCSE requirements – English and Mathematics grade C (numeric grade 4)

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

DDD

Health and Social Care/Social Science courses are preferred; GCSE requirements – English and Mathematics grade C (numeric grade 4)

Please contact the school for further information on acceptable subject and qualification combinations. GCSE requirements – English and Mathematics grade C (numeric grade 4)

Scottish Advanced Higher

A,B

Scottish Highers of ABBBB are also required; GCSE requirements – English and Mathematics grade C (numeric grade 4)

Scottish Higher

A,B,B,B,B

Scottish Advanced Highers of AB are also required; GCSE requirements – English and Mathematics grade C (numeric grade 4)

Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (first teaching September 2015)

A

A Levels at BB are also required; GCSE requirements – English and Mathematics grade C (numeric grade 4)

UCAS Tariff

104-141

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About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Social work

Social workers play a vital role in protecting vulnerable people, promoting human rights and helping people to make changes. As a social worker, you could be working with children, older people, carers, and people with disabilities in a role that is challenging but also incredibly rewarding.

Our BA Social Work will give you insights into human life and the world around us. You will consider topics such as social justice, equality and diversity and advocacy.

You'll learn how to communicate with service users, build effective relationships, and create reports which you may need to present in court. You'll develop skills in the classroom, through placements, and on simulated skills days.

Our course is regulated by Social Work England and prepares you to practice in both adults' and children’s services. Successful completion of the course makes you eligible to apply for registration as a social worker with Social Work England.

Modules

A total of 360 academic credits are taken over three years, divided into 120 credits per year. This is the equivalent of 40 hours of University-based study per week, or 40 hours per week of practice-based learning.

You will spend the first year based at the University, where you will explore social work's key functions and develop skills for social work practice. You will also study core aspects of sociology and social policy which underpin the profession's knowledge base.

In year two, you will be based at the University during the first semester, and study central aspects of social work's knowledge base, including the law, social work theories and human development.

You will go out on placement for 80 days during the second semester.

In year three, you will again be based at the University during the first semester, and will have the opportunity to focus on studying key issues within social work with adults or children and families. You will also study central themes for all social workers, such as safeguarding.

You will go out on placement for 90 days during the second semester.

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
£20,500
per year
International
£20,500
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University Park Campus

Department:

School of Sociology and Social Policy

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 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
85%
Staff are good at explaining things
81%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
85%
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

73%
Library resources
69%
IT resources
76%
Course specific equipment and facilities
62%
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
7%
Male students
93%
Female students
80%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
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.

£23,000
high
Average annual salary
100%
med
Employed or in further education
90%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

83%
Welfare professionals
8%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
4%
Teaching and educational professionals

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.

£30k

£30k

£31k

£31k

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