Universities United Kingdom University of Essex Courses MA Social Work

MA Social Work
at University of Essex

Essex, United Kingdom

Tuition Fee £ 19,740
Country Rank#40
Duration21 Months
Score IELTS: 6.5

Program Overview

Social work is a human rights profession; be part of it.

This course, unique to the UK, provides an opportunity for you to qualify as a social worker while at the same time engaging with debates around the importance of human rights and social justice in the context of social work practice.

Building on the success of our existing Social Work programmes and the global reputation of the University's outstanding human rights research, we’ve designed a new postgraduate approach to social work education. Our Social Work students will not only acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to practice as social workers, but they will also have the opportunity to learn about the importance of human rights in an inter-professional manner, alongside students and tutors from the University's Law Clinic. Moreover, through our work with the United Nations, governments, human rights organisations and corporations all over the world, we bring a global outlook to our teaching.

We’ve blended theory and practice throughout to nurture you from a trainee social worker to a confident professional practitioner. You will explore the fundamental principles of human rights and equality, and examine how these doctrines will underpin your practice. You will also cover topics including:

Service users autonomy
Social justice and values
Equality and diversity
Safeguarding and protection
Evidence-based relational practice

The School of Health and Social Care is proud to work closely with our Service User Reference Group (SURG). SURG is made up of service users, carers, and volunteers who generously share their first-hand experiences of health and social care. We work collaboratively with SURG to design our courses to ensure that we truly are putting the needs of patients and clients at the heart of what we do. SURG are involved as part of our course application processes and often form part of our interview panels. This helps us to be confident that we are selecting the right applicants for the course and their future careers. SURG members also support the delivery of our teaching sessions and research activity, which means you’ll benefit from an insight into their lived experiences of living with a diagnosis, health condition, or circumstance. You’ll find that not only does your clinical knowledge expand, but your empathy, compassion and ability to advocate develops also.

Course Content
Year 1

COMPONENT 01: CORE
- Social Work Theory and Methods
- Law, Policy and Ethics
- Life Span Development
- Practice Placement 1
Final Year

COMPONENT 01: CORE
- Critical Issues in Contemporary Social Work
- Practice Skills and Placement 2
Entry Requirement
UK entry requirements

Complete applications for this course must be received by 13 June 2022 . If your application is incomplete or is submitted after this date it will not be considered. You should have:
- A 2:1 or above (or international equivalent) in any discipline. Applications from students with a 2:2 or equivalent will also be considered where applicants also have significant vocationally relevant experience.
- Hold GCSE Maths and English grade C/4 or above, or equivalent at the time of application.
- Have some paid or voluntary work experience in health or social care in a relevant social care or child care/education setting.
- Successful performance at interview and sucessfully pass a English language assessment.
You must also have:
- One satisfactory reference (either academic or professional).
Don't worry if you cannot provide your reference when you make your application, as if we make you an offer you will be able to provide this at a later stage. References should be recent and verifiable, on official institution paper, signed and dated by the referee.If a referee wishes to provide an email reference, it must be sent from the referee’s email account.

You must also have a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check (including child and adult barred list check) this is organised by the University.

For this course, you will be required to register for the DBS Update Service (information relating to this service can be found here). You will need to register for this within 30 days of your DBS certificate being issued. The Update Service costs £13 per year, which the University will reimburse. You will need to keep the subscription to this Service active for the duration of your course.

If you do not register for the Update Service within 30 days, or your registration lapses, and you later attend a placement where this is a requirement, you will have to pay for a new DBS check, which will enable you to sign up to the Update Service.

Interviews

Interviews will take place from November 2021 for the October 2022 intake.

Interviews will be via Zoom, details of which will be provided in advance.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, we require IELTS 6.5 overall, or equivalent, with a minimum of 6.0 in reading and writing and 5.5 in all other components.
Fees & Scholarships
Home/UK fee
£9,200

International fee
£19,740

Fees will increase for each academic year of study.
Career Prospect
We are first university in the UK to sign a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). This creates internship and research opportunities for our postgraduate students and is based on our long-established expertise in international humanitarian law.

We also work with the university’s Employability and Careers Centre to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.

With 91% of our postgraduate graduates are in highly skilled employment (Graduate Outcomes 2022), we're confident that this course will be just the start of great things for you. As a qualified Social Worker, you'll be able to work with a variety of client groups in various settings, and it's likely that no two days will be the same.

Cost Of Studying At University of Essex

Interest rates as low as 8.9% ^*

250K+

Students Assisted

800Cr+

Loan Amount Disbursed

5000+

Loans Sanctioned

Check Loan Eligibility

MA Social Work at University of Essex