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Social Work

Entry requirements


GCSE/National 4/National 5

Candidates must have a GCSE grade C+ / 4 (or equivalent) in Maths and English. Equivalent qualifications include Key Skills Level 2; Learn Direct Level 2; and Functional Skills Level 2. English Language Requirements for International Applicants: If English is not your first language, evidence of your proficiency must be dated within the last 2 years from IELTS with an overall band score of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in each element. Alternative acceptable IELTS equivalents can be found at https://www.wlv.ac.uk/international/making-an-application/language-entry-requirements/, however we would recommend the Oxford International Digital Institute English Language Level Test (ELLT) as a suitable alternative to IELTS.

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About this course


Course option

2years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Social work

This graduate entry level course is designed to equip social work students with the knowledge, skills and values necessary for qualification. Upon successful completion of the course students will have met the required levels of the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF). They will then be able to register with Social Work England (SWE) and ready to begin their first year in employment as a registered and qualified social worker.

The MA (Social Work) is an academic award dependent upon successful completion of a Masters level dissertation as well as demonstrating capable practice. There is an ‘exit award’ of PGDip, which allows successful students to register with SWE as a qualified and registered social worker. Students, who take this route, will be eligible to complete a Masters dissertation in Social Work Studies.

The course enables successful students to begin practice as a qualified and registered social worker.
The English qualification is accepted throughout the UK, the EU and is recognised Internationally.

Graduates may return to the University of Wolverhampton (or any Higher Education Institute) to undertake courses as part of their continuing professional development, which is a requirement to maintain social work registration with SWE. A revised framework for Continuing Professional Development and Post-Qualifying Awards is in development by The College of Social Work.

It is a condition of continuing SWE registration that qualified and registered Social Workers maintain a record of CPD. There is also the opportunity for candidates to enrol on a programme of doctoral study - either a Professional Doctorate or a more conventional PhD.

**Please note**
Due to the nature of social work and the geographical location of social work practice placements, you will be expected to travel and this may be for up to an hour and a half (90 minutes) from where you live to the placement agency. You will also be expected to travel as part of the placement day from the placement office to meetings and to undertake visits to people in their homes. You must ensure you have the time required to travel and can meet the travel costs. Having a driving license and your own transport is advantageous.

The Uni


Course location:

University of Wolverhampton

Department:

Institute of Community and Society

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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.

42%
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

46%
Staff make the subject interesting
62%
Staff are good at explaining things
69%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
81%
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

60%
Library resources
80%
IT resources
52%
Course specific equipment and facilities
15%
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
12%
Male students
88%
Female students
75%
2:1 or above
16%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
E

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.

£19,000
med
Average annual salary
44%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

22%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
20%
Welfare professionals
13%
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.

£18k

£18k

£20k

£20k

£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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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