Social Work MA

This course is in clearing with spaces available

Overview

Course options

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MA

UCAS code: L512
  1. MA Social Work

    • Home Applicant
    • Full time, 2 years
    • 8700 Per year
  2. MA Social Work

    • International Applicant
    • Full time, 2 years
    • 15780 Per year

Course modules

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Fundamentals of Social Work

Social Work Law

Human Growth and Development

Professional Practice Placement 1 (70 days)

Dissertation

Professional Development

Professional Practice Placement: II (100 Days)

NOTE: Modules are subject to change. For those studying part time courses the modules may vary.

Download course specification

Your future career

Your future career

We are the principal social work training provider in east London. Choose this course and you will have a head start when it comes to finding a job in social work in the area.

The MA Social Work has been developed in collaboration with local employers so it reflects the priorities and needs of contemporary social work practice in east London. Local employers trust the training given to our graduates and regularly employ them once qualified.

There are good employment opportunities in social work in London, often in children and family contexts but also in other service groups and in a variety of settings - voluntary and statutory, for example.

After gaining a professional and academic qualification in social work at the postgraduate level, you are required to continue your professional development as part of your professional registration.

This will firstly be through the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment and may also be through further post-qualifying awards in specialist areas of social work at the University of East London and the Tavistock.

Explore the different career options you can pursue with this degree and see the median salaries of the sector on our Career Coach portal.

Social work at UEL is unique because it draws heavily on psychoanalytic concepts that allow you to understand issues not just on the surface, but also to see beneath the surface."

Muibat Alli

MA Social Work

How we support your career ambitions

We offer dedicated careers support, further opportunities to thrive, such as volunteering and industry networking. our courses are created in collaboration with employers and industry to ensure they accurately reflect the real-life practices of your future career and provide you with the essential skills needed. You can focus on building interpersonal skills through group work and benefit from our investment in the latest cutting edge technologies and facilities.

Career Zone

Our dedicated and award-winning team provide you with careers and employability resources, including:

  • Online jobs board for internships, placements, graduate opportunities, flexible part-time work.
  • Mentoring programmes for insight with industry experts 
  • 1-2-1 career coaching services 
  • Careers workshops and employer events 
  • Learning pathways to gain new skills and industry insight

Mental Wealth programme

Our Professional Fitness and Mental Wealth programme which issues you with a Careers Passport to track the skills you’ve mastered. Some of these are externally validated by corporations like Amazon and Microsoft.

See more details

We are careers first

Our teaching methods and geographical location put us right up top

  • Enterprise and entrepreneurship support 
  • We are ranked 6th for graduate start-ups 
  • Networking and visits to leading organisations 
  • Support in starting a new business, freelancing and self-employment 
  • London on our doorstep

What you'll learn

This full-time two-year course has a distinct theoretical and practical tradition with a focus on developing reflective practitioners.

Theoretical and practical learning are not separate but intertwined. The emphasis is on building a framework of skills and knowledge - communication skills, ethics and values, and social policy - within which you can develop your practice.

The Fundamentals of Social Work Practice module is a wide-ranging introduction to theory and practice. This is studied in Year 1 and prepares you for practice.

Once you pass this module, you can move on to the first of two long practice learning placements (for 70 days in Year 1 and 100 days in Year 2). You will also develop your knowledge of social work law via a module where you will begin the process of applying law to practice situations.

You will also study the Human Growth and Development module at the Tavistock. This includes a baby or young child observation, and, to develop your understanding of the social work role, you will study Social Work Law.

In Year 2 you will undertake your dissertation and study the Professional Development modules, which support your placement learning.

How you'll learn

We offer a wide range of teaching styles, from lectures to seminars, tutorials to workshops.

The child observation and practice placement in Year 1 is supported by a small group reflective seminar. This work discussion continues throughout Year 2 and is an approach to learning from experience that is unique to this course.

Your initial preparation for practice includes five days of shadowing a social worker.

In preparation for practice, we also offer you the exciting opportunity to work with a group of actors from a theatre company in role-play social work scenarios.

The actors are given a brief and you will interview them or produce a case study. You are given feedback on your performance from a tutor, from someone who has used social work services and from practitioners.

How you will be assessed

We use a range of assessment approaches. These include case studies, a formative service user interview, essays, online tests, group presentations, practice placement portfolios and a dissertation.

Campus and facilities

Docklands Campus, London, E16 2RD

Who teaches this course

This course is delivered by the School of Education and Communities.

The teaching team includes qualified academics, practitioners and industry experts as guest speakers. Full details of the academics will be provided in the student handbook and module guides.