If you’re an ambitious graduate, the University of Bolton’s Master’s in Social Work offers you the skills and knowledge you’ll need for a successful career supporting people in complex and challenging situations. Combining university learning, work-based practice placements, and ongoing professional skills development, our expert team will support you to learn to bring about positive changes for individuals, families and communities.
Course Details
Social work is a varied and rewarding profession centred on people. It offers careers working with children, young people and adults, supporting families, care leavers and older people, as well as those with mental health issues, learning difficulties or physical disabilities. As a social worker, you’ll work in multidisciplinary environments alongside professionals from other agencies, such as housing services, the police and health and social care teams, to empower individuals, families and communities within society.
Our MA Social Work focuses on helping you learn to use your professional judgement and build relationships, both with the individuals and communities you serve as well as with colleagues from other professions and services. Our passionate and knowledgeable staff will support you to develop the sound knowledge of social work theory, models, legislation, policy, ethics and interventions that will underpin your professional decision-making. We’ll cover areas such as the impact of injustice, demography, and social inequality, as well as safeguarding and the signs of harm, abuse, neglect and exploitation.
Our focus is on preparing you to become a confident, highly competent, compassionate and professional social worker. On successful completion of this qualification, you’ll be able to use your professional expertise to work, assess, plan, implement, evaluate and intervene putting the needs of people first, and ensuring their voice is central to decision making. You’ll be ready to maintain professional and ethical standards while supporting positive change in people's lives in order to improve their wellbeing and independence.
Career Opportunities
The field of social work spans multiple career options, and many graduates choose their career path based on the types of people they want to help. Social workers provide help and support directly to individuals, couples, families and groups, often supporting people who face a range of challenges such as poverty, mental health issues, addiction and family problems. As a social worker, you may provide one-to-one support such as therapy and counselling, or connect people with resources in their community to help them to overcome their problems.
As a graduate of this degree, you’ll be able to demonstrate a wide range of transferable skills such as resilience, advanced communication and negotiation skills. You’ll also possess abilities in managing conflict and exercising authority in complex situations, managing risk to self, service users and colleagues, and enabling others to achieve their goals.
What Can I Do With This Qualification?
Successful completion of the MA in Social Work will demonstrate that you have the skills and knowledge to become a leading member of the field. The programme will allow you to develop your expertise, and provide you with a competitive advantage to take on more management/senior leadership roles.
As well as equipping you with a professional qualification, gaining the MA will allow you to progress on to post-qualifying courses or to apply to continue with your academic studies at PhD level.
