Our MA Social Work degree will give you the knowledge, skills and values you need for a career as a social worker. On successful completion, you will be eligible to register with Social Work England.

You will learn about social work practice, including the professional skills you need. This includes communication and team work. You'll reflect on your own professional development and consider how you can improve.

You'll also learn about the complexities of social work. Our teaching is research-informed and we work closely with research groups across the university. These groups research issues such as domestic violence or coercive control.

As part of the course, you will also hear from people with lived experience of social care. This forms part of our community engagement and service user support groups (Comensus). This will enrich your learning and help you understand social work from different perspectives.

During your degree, you will complete simulated learning and placements. Our simulated learning will help you prepare for placements and feel confident in applying your knowledge to real-world scenarios. Placements are normally with a local authority, NHS or a private charity. This will give you real-world, practical experience. You will complete a total of 170 days in placements.

Future careers

Recent graduates of the MA in Social Work have gained jobs in social work teams in safeguarding/support roles, in childrens, young people and adults services, and with local authority, third sector and private organisations.