Entry requirements
Our typical offer is:
| Qualification |
Minimum grade |
| a Canadian bachelor's degree | GPA 2.40 |
| a USA bachelor's degree | GPA 2.5 |
If you already hold a postgraduate qualification, please see our Applying for additional postgraduate degrees Help and Advice article.
If you don't meet our standard entry requirements, you can take one of the foundation pathways at our partners ONCAMPUS Sunderland. Find out more information and whether your course is eligible on our ONCAMPUS page.
If your qualification is not listed above, please contact the Student Administration team at studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk for further advice.
We require applicants to hold a minimum 2:2 undergraduate degree or equivalent.
You also need Grade C or above in GCSE English language, or equivalent qualification. If you've studied for a GCSE which has a numerical grade, you'll need to achieve a grade 4 or above.
Please note, if you're an international applicant, you'll be required to demonstrate that you've met the English Language Testing System (IELTS) at a score of 7.0 in all components, or equivalent, before your application is assessed for the next stage of the selection process and an offer letter is issued.
Supplementary questions for your application
To be considered for a place on this course, you must also complete the supplementary questions within the application form. The supplementary questions and application form will be used to assess whether you'll be invited to attend one of our selection days.
Social work experience
To apply for this degree you must have experience (voluntary or paid) in a social care setting. You can include placements that you've undertaken as part of college, but we do expect more experience than this. Experience could include volunteering during weekends, evenings, or holidays. We may also consider any relevant personal experience you might have.
You should clearly describe your experience in the personal statement section of your application and show how this relates to a career in social work.
Social work involves working with some of the most vulnerable people in society, and social work education is regulated by Social Work England. We must therefore be satisfied that you're 'fit to practise' before we can accept you onto this degree.
In addition to the academic qualification and work experience, you'll need:
- Two satisfactory references
- A satisfactory health clearance
- An Enhanced Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check
- A completed declaration form about previous criminal convictions (either spent or unspent) and any disciplinary hearings or investigations related to vulnerable adults or safeguarding young people.
Social work is listed in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 [amended 2013]. This means that we must ask you for an enhanced DBS check. Some spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’, which means that we can't take them into account when deciding on your suitability for this course. You must read the Disclosure and Barring Service Filtering Guide to decide whether or not you need to tell us about your spent convictions or cautions.
If we offer you a place on this course, we'll need you to make a written statement about any prior incidents. We’ll need your permission to share this anonymised information with our partner placement agencies, so that we can make a judgement on your fitness to practise.
We may also need your permission to contact the agencies involved in any incidents that you declare. Any offer of a place on the course will be subject to a satisfactory outcome of this process. However, declaring something doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be prevented from attending the course, and we judge each case on its merits.
We welcome applications from international students, however, it's important to be aware that the focus of the course is the nature and context of social work in England and is based on UK legislation. On successful completion of this course, and in order to practise as a social worker in England, you would need to be eligible to register with Social Work England and have the right to work in the UK.
Driving
While it's not mandatory that you hold a driving licence and have access to a vehicle to undertake this course, please be aware that the availability of placements may be limited by not driving. Many Local Authorities in the North East also require driving or access to mobility support as an essential requirement for employment.
Please note, the deadline for applications from international students is Friday 23 May 2025.
Is your qualification not displaying here? For international qualifications, search our full list of international entry requirements for this course.
