Social Work

Entry requirements

A good honours degree in the social sciences, an interest in the chosen topic area and a clear idea of your proposed thesis topic. In the case of research in health services and personal social services, we will also consider candidates with professional qualifications alone and/or relevant experience in the health service.

Months of entry

January, September

Course content

Research programmes involve writing a thesis on a particular topic with specialist supervision. You are given research training, which is tailored to the particular needs of your research and takes into account any training you have previously received. You also have opportunities to attend modules on relevant subjects on a non-assessed basis to fill any gaps in your background.

About the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research (SSPSSR)

Our School has a long and distinguished history and is one of the largest and most successful social science research communities in Europe. In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, 100% of our Social Work and Social Policy research was classified as ‘world-leading’ or 'internationally excellent' for impact and environment

The School supports a large and thriving postgraduate community and in 2010 distributed in excess of £100,000 in Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) quota awards, and in University and SSPSSR bursaries and scholarships to new students.

Academic staff specialise in research of international, comparative and theoretical significance, and we have collective strengths in the following areas: civil society, NGOs and the third sector; cross-national and European social policy; health, social care and health studies; work, employment and economic life; risk, ‘risk society’ and risk management; race, ethnicity and religion; social and public policy; sociology and the body; crime, culture and control; sociological theory and the culture of modernity.

Fees and funding