Social Work MA

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Make a real difference to some of the most marginalised and vulnerable people in society. Help disadvantaged people access essential social services. Begin an extremely rewarding career in social work.

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Overview

As a social worker, you will have opportunities to make a real difference to some of the most marginalised and vulnerable people in society. You could take your career in a number of directions such as working in child protection, with young people in care, older people, people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, mental health difficulties, homeless people, people with drug dependencies, or with any other group of people with specialist needs.

MA Social Work combines classroom learning and practical experience. You'll study the context of social work, legal and policy frameworks, social work theory, psychological and sociological theory, power, discrimination, and anti-oppressive practice. You will consolidate this theoretical knowledge with two placements to put your learning into practice.

Why us?

You'll spend 170 days on practice placements

The course is approved by Social Work England

Course structure

A typical week on the masters in social work will include lectures, seminars and workshops, with a strong emphasis on individual participation and discussion. During the first semester you will also develop a Practice Skills Portfolio that helps you to reflect and make the best use of supervision.

Compared to an undergraduate course, you will find that a masters degree requires a higher level of independent working.

Your progress will be assessed with assignments, written coursework, presentations, professional discussions and workbooks/portfolios.

Throughout the MA Social Work course, you'll have one-to-one support from academic staff.

Core modules:

The Social Work Context (15 credits)

Explore the context of Social Work in England. Examine legal frameworks and policy contexts for social work with adults, children, young people and families. Critically reflect upon the main statutes and other legal instruments relating to social work interventions. Explore ethical and moral frameworks underpinning social work and consider the degree to which the law supports social work values and enhances or constrains ethical decision making in practice.

Preparing for Practice (15 credits)

Develop practice skills, explore the role and value base of social work, and understand service user and carer perspectives. Consider how discrimination and disadvantage relate to power and oppression. Develop your understanding of diversity in social work and evaluate the range of needs to particular groups of service users and carers. Enhance your interpersonal communication and interviewing skills.

Theories and Models for Social Work Practice (30 credits)

Explore a range of sociological and psychological theories and their application to practice. Learn about different models of assessment and consider the complexities of decision making in professional practice. Discuss different models of service user and carer involvement, emphasising the importance of partnership working. Consider professional social work values and power and critically evaluate theoretical perspectives.

Practice Placement 1 (15 credits)

Demonstrate effective use of knowledge, skills and commitment to core values in social work in a 70-day placement setting, under the supervision of a Practice Educator. Actively engage in direct work with a range of people and situations where there may not be simple, clear cut solutions. Learn from the Practice Educator, other team members, and agency colleagues.

Critical Perspectives in Social Work Practice (30 credits)

Critically evaluate the process of decision-making in social work practice. Examine how legislation, social policy, theory and reflexivity combine to inform the complex decisions needed in social work practice. Develop a deeper understanding of some of the theoretical approaches and how these relate to social work practice. Critically reflect upon your own social work practice approach.

Social Work Research (15 credits)

Understand the nature of social work research to continually evaluate what can be seen as good practice in social work. Develop the attitude of research-mindedness. Analyse the differences between quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Enhance your skills and knowledge in data collection, interpretation and analysis. Acquire the essential attributes required of a critically informed and reflective practitioner.

Social Work Dissertation (30 credits)

Design and implement a research project into a contemporary social work issue/topic of your choice, exploring its contested nature. Draw on your understanding of research methodologies, relevant theoretical knowledge, policy, and literature within your field of study. Critically explore the complex and conflicting relationship between research, evidence, policy, and practice in social work to form a well-reasoned debate and show an awareness of how to apply messages from research to social work practice.

Practice Placement 2 (30 credits)

Demonstrate effective use of knowledge, skills and commitment to core values in social work in a 100-day placement setting, under the supervision of a Practice Educator. Actively engage in direct work with a range of people and situations where there may not be simple, clear cut solutions. Learn from the Practice Educator, other team members, and agency colleagues.

Some modules have prerequisites. Read more about what this means in our Help and Advice article.

More about MA Social Work at Sunderland

Discover more articles

As a Social Work student, you'll be able to enhance your practice strategies with our specialist Communication Skills Room, based in Wearside View. As the home is the most common location for social work to take place, you'll have the opportunity to use this space to simulate a living room environment.

View our AccessAble accessibility guide for Wearside View.
Communication Skills Room
You can access free Wi-Fi throughout the University campus, so you can work from anywhere. If you don't want to carry a laptop around, just use one of the University’s PCs or Macs. We have hundreds of computers for you to use in the Murray Library, St Peter's Library, and the David Goldman Informatics Centre. If you ever have any technical problems, just ask the friendly helpdesk team.
IT provision
University library services will be central to your study experience and are delivered at our two libraries on campus, as well as online. Our libraries offer a variety of study environments to meet your needs, including areas for groupwork, individual and silent study. You’ll also have access to desktop PCs, space to use your own mobile technology and printing facilities.

The library works closely with academic staff within each faculty to offer specialist, industry standard resources in your subject discipline. The Faculty of Social Sciences provides thousands of relevant books and e-books, with many more titles available through the inter-library loan service. You’ll also have access to a comprehensive range of print and electronic journals which are always kept up to date, including Project Muse, Lexis, JSTOR and many more.

To find out more information, visit our University Library website.
Library Services - social sciences
Map and directions

Facilities

You'll be based at the recently refurbished Wearside View, situated on the award-winning Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter's. This stunning riverside location benefits from dedicated library services and has superb transport links with the city centre and City Campus.

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 Mathematics and English Language, or equivalent qualifications. If you have studied for a GCSE which has a numerical grade then you will need to achieve a grade 4 or above.

Please note, if you are an international applicant you will be required to demonstrate that you have 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

In addition to the application form, you must submit supplementary questions for your application to this course to be considered. Please attach these completed Supplementary Application Questions when you apply online, using the apply now button on this page. The supplementary questions will be used together with your application form to assess whether you will 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 have 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 are 'fit to practise' before we can accept you onto this degree course.

In addition to the academic qualification and work experience, you will 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 will 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 does not necessarily mean that you will be prevented from attending the course, and we judge each case on its merits.

We welcome applications from international students; however, it is 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 is 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.

Vaccination

Students studying a health or social care course, that has a placement within the NHS or any other Care Quality Commission establishment, are strongly encouraged to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Find out more in our Help and Advice article.

Please note, the deadline for applications from international students has now passed.

Is your qualification not displaying here? For international qualifications, search our full list of international entry requirements for this course.

Fees and finance

Fees are:

£5,000 if you are from the UK/Europe*
£10,000 if you are an international student

Part-time fees for this course are £833.33 per 15 credits. Part-time study is not available to international students who require a Student visa to study in the UK.

*European Union (EU), EEA (European Economic Area), and Swiss nationals who do not qualify for the EU Settlement Scheme are classed as international, however, for 23/24 admission you will receive a European student fee scholarship and will pay the home tuition fee rate for the duration of your studies. The discounted fee will be reflected in your offer letter. Learn more in our Help and Advice article.

A limited number of Social Work bursaries are available. For more information visit the NHS Business Services Authority Knowledge Base.

Take a look at the Your Finances section to find out about the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.

This information was correct at the time of publication.

The Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter's by night

Career ready

MA Social Work is a highly practical postgraduate qualification. After successful completion of the degree, you will be eligible to apply to register with Social Work England as a newly qualified social worker.

Many social work jobs are with local authorities, but you could also work in an NHS trust, a voluntary agency, a charity, the criminal justice system, or other agencies helping people in need of support.

With a postgraduate degree in social work, you also have the option to continue in academia and apply to study for a PhD.

Centre for Applied Social Sciences

The University of Sunderland’s Centre for Applied Social Sciences (CASS) regularly hosts visiting speakers and it can be an excellent way to learn from the real-life experience of people who already have a strong track record in social work.

CASS is the centre for applied social science research at the University and you may find opportunities to collaborate with the academic team.

Practice placements

Placements are an essential part of your masters degree in social work. You will spend a total of 170 days on practice placements, arranged by our Practice Learning Coordinator. There is in-depth preparation before the placements and you will be supported and supervised by an assigned practice educator.

Placements allow you to apply your learning in a real-life context and get a sense of what type of social work you might want to specialise in when you graduate. When you’re ready to start searching for a social work job, you will already have a wide network of professional contacts who can help you find the right career opportunities.

Meet the students

The University fully supported me in trying to fulfil my career expectations.

Lindsey Salkeld
Studying at the University of Sunderland was the best time of my life.

Ola Tony-Obot

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Contact

Contact the Student Helpline for further information about studying at the University of Sunderland:

0191 515 3000

student.helpline@sunderland.ac.uk

View Programme Specifications for the Faculty of Education and Society.

Page last updated: 22 June 2023

We aim to provide clear, accurate and timely information to prospective and current students. We continuously review and enhance course content in consultation with our students and the information provided on our website is the latest available. If you have received an offer from us to start a course, we will communicate any important changes to you in writing. We will always seek to ensure that our prospective students are fully aware of the basis on which they are accepting an offer.

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