Social Work

Entry requirements

Take a look at the latest entry requirement information on our website: https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/guide-to-applying-to-uob/before-you-apply/entry-requirements/

Months of entry

October

Course content

Supervised by experienced practitioners, this practice-based Social Work MSc offers induction, protected workload and weekly study days during placement. It equips you with the skills, ethical principles, deep knowledge, critical awareness and reflexivity needed to pursue a career in this challenging and rewarding field. It also includes an opportunity to develop your research skills via the dissertation project.

Find out if you are eligible for a Social Work Bursary administered by the NHS Business Services Authority.

Course accreditation

Our Social Work courses are accredited by Social Work England. Registration with SWE is needed to work in the sector.

Facilities and specialist equipment

• Access to the Faculty’s range of fully immersive simulation units, moot court, police custody suite and police interview room, preparing you to respond to and manage a range of scenarios
• Close associations with the University’s research schools - such as the Safe Young Lives research centre and the Tilda Goldberg Centre – opening up access to cutting-edge research in the field

Industry links

Strong links with local authorities including Luton, Bedford, Milton Keynes and Hertfordshire, giving a wide choice of placement opportunities.

Current practising social workers and subject specialists from local authority social care teams and other relevant organisations contribute regularly to teaching on the course.

What will you study?

Studying our Social Work MSc course will equip you with the in-depth knowledge and skills for qualified social work practice. This course offers significant opportunities to engage in hands-on, practical work such as in our Skills Development and First 70-Day Placement unit. It will equip you with the essential skills and knowledge needed for this placement, and once on placement you will demonstrate through direct practice the core skills needed to support individuals, families and communities. Our unit Working with People: Theories and Methods for Social Work Practice is where you will learn both the theory and practical communication and interpersonal skills to build effective relationships with service users, families and professionals. Our Human Development for Social Work Practice unit will help to enhance your understanding of anti-discriminatory practice and apply this to human growth and development to better understand the varied contexts and characters of social work practice.

At the same time, you will build a critical understanding of structural inequality and discrimination in the field, how this can affect the way service users engage with social work professionals, and the techniques to deal with the conflict or reluctance that may arise from this. This will be particularly relevant in our Social Work Law, Ethics and Values unit where you will also explore the legal and ethical themes in social work practice among diverse service user groups. Here, you will examine legislation that impacts the lives of a diverse range of people who access social work services and critically analyse your role as a social work practitioner in making ethical and legal decisions while challenging inequality and oppression in the field. To add to this, you will explore how society is structured and how the welfare system responds to different social issues such as poverty in our Sociology and Social Policy Perspectives unit.

You will then move on to complete your Last Placement (100-Days) where you will learn to integrate and apply your knowledge of theory, methodologies, research, policy and legal frameworks discussed in the first year. Our unit in Knowledge for Social Work: Critically Reflective and Research-Informed Practice will develop your skills for evidence-based social work practice including equipping you with the reflexivity and ability to draw knowledge from service users. You will also apply this learning to the preparation of a research project relevant to social work. In addition, our unit in Critical Issues in Specialist and Inter-Professional Practice will allow you to examine the legislative, policy, theoretical and practice contexts in which social work operates, and this knowledge will be crucial in supporting your practice. You will be taught to implement best practice by considering elements such as safeguarding and risk assessment in intersecting fields of social work practice.

Careers

Approved by Social Work England (SWE) this course opens up a rewarding career path. In addition to gaining a postgraduate qualification successful students are eligible to apply to the social work regulator Social Work England for professional registration. Once registered you can pursue a professional social work career across a range of settings including within local authorities and many private and voluntary agencies throughout the UK.

Information for international students

Please see our website for the latest fee information.

Fees and funding

Please see our website for the latest fee information.