Social Work
Award
MSc
Duration & study mode
2 years full-time
School
Education & Social Sciences
Location
Paisley
Additional information
Course starting dates
-
Paisley: September
Qualify as a social worker through this professionally accredited two-year MSc programme by developing the practical skills and knowledge you need to play a crucial role in improving people’s lives.
The programme offers a challenging and stimulating range of learning opportunities that will equip graduates with the key attributes necessary to work effectively in an increasingly globalised and pluralistic working environment.
Under the supervision of a practice teacher you will undertake 85 days of practice placement in year one and 115 days in year 2 of the programme. In year one you will also complete three taught modules. To complete the MSc you will undertake a dissertation.
Please note: placement settings are subject to availability.
100% of Social Work students would recommend UWS - Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey 2017
Importantly, as part of this degree, you will undertake 85 days of practice placement in each of the two years of the programme, under the supervision of a qualified practice teacher. You will also complete modules in social work theory as well as applied law. Finally, to complete the MSc you will undertake a research/practice-based dissertation.
UWS graduates enjoy excellent reputations with employers, working in local authority social services; the voluntary or independent sectors; and in health or education. Careers also involve children and families, community care or criminal justice.
We welcome Scottish, UK and international students and consider all applicants on an individual basis.
If you are applying with an EU or non-EU qualification, please check our Postgraduate Entry Requirements page which gives more information about country-specific entry requirements.
Applicants will normally have an existing Honours degree at 2:1 or above in a relevant social science discipline.
In exceptional circumstances consideration will be given to applicants who do not meet this criteria; this will be based on experience and individual merit. No applicant will be admitted with less than a 2:2 in a cognate academic discipline.
The course is professionally recognised by the Scottish Social Service Council (SSSC), core to this recognition is that all applicants can demonstrate that they have literacy and numeracy skills equivalent to Scottish National Five in both English and Mathematics; this must be demonstrated at the point of entry to the postgraduate social work programme.
In addition, you are strongly advised to provide information about modules studied at Undergraduate level in your application.
International qualifications will be accepted providing that they provide equivalent credits to that specified within the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework; a satisfactory academic reference will be required in all cases. International students must also have attained IELTS 7, as a minimum across all aspects.
You must demonstrate that you have an understanding of the social work role and that you have the potential to become a social worker.
All applicants will be interviewed before being offered a place on this MSc.
Offers are made after all elements of the application process have been considered and will be conditional on a further review of application to the register for social work students (SSSC).
For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level. The qualifications below must have been gained within two years of the start of your course.
General English language requirements at UWS: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)
Exceptions to this level of IELTS scoring exist for some accredited or professionally-recognised courses (see section below for more details).
SOCIAL WORK DEGREES
For our BA (Hons) Social Work and MSc Social Work programmes, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
All stated English tests are acceptable for admission for both home/EU and international students for this programme:
For our research degrees (MRes, MPhil, PhD, DBA, DProf) applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For Health, Nursing & Midwifery courses that lead to, or require professional registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council, applicants are required to have an IELTS or Occupational English Test (OET)*.
For such courses, the IELTS score is as follows:
* Note that the Occupational English Test (OET) will now be accepted in addition to IELTS as proof of a Nurse's English Language Competence (Nursing & Midwifery Council, 2019).
For our BSc (Hons) Applied Biomedical Science, BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science and MSc Advanced Biomedical Science programmes, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For our Certificate of Higher Education courses, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
TOEFL IBT*: 78; no sub-test less than:
* Please note that TOEFL is still acceptable for admission to this programme for both home/EU and international students.
For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use TOEFL to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level courses. We therefore still accept TOEFL tests taken in the last two years for admission to this programme.
West African Senior School Certificate of Education (WASSCE) including acceptance of WAEC Scratchcard*
*UWS will accept a WAEC scratchcard confirming that an applicant has achieved C6 or above as evidence of meeting English language requirement from Nigeria if the student graduated within the last 5 years. After 5 years applicants would be required to provide the WAEC Certificate.
Applicants who do not meet the minimum English language requirements have the option to study one of our preparatory and pre-sessional English courses. The UWS courses available are:
Our MSc in Social Work builds upon a long tradition of providing social work education dating back over 40 years. Social work education at UWS has a reputation second to none for promoting excellence in practice.
Two years of taught study and practical placements culminates in a research/practice-based dissertation that will allow students to explore their chosen area of social work practice in considerable depth.
Note that this is a 200 credit Master's degree run over two academic years.
For the Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) stage, you will study the following core modules:
Successful completion of the PgDip allows you to proceed to the master's module:
PLEASE NOTE:
While we are still in the recovery phase of the pandemic; it is not certain whether this model will run; rather, it may be that we need to continue to run with a model that was introduced during the pandemic. The pandemic adjusted model involves replacing the first placement with an advanced skills module; this simulates many, but not all, aspects and experiences that students would encounter in a direct practice placement. This is then followed by a placement of duration of 120 days in year two.
As with other universities, UWS has developed a hybrid approach to learning and teaching; this means that students will study on campus and will study, collaborate and work together off-campus using learning technologies such as Microsoft Teams. All students will therefore need to ensure that they have access to reliable internet connectivity and a suitable device with which to participate in the programme.
The modules selected for inclusion in our course have been carefully chosen to reflect the changing requirements of professional social work practice.
LEARNING AND TEACHING
ASSESSMENT
*Note: both placement elements (modules) have a pass / fail mechanism for the assessment of practice, plus an academic assessment at the end of the module. The academic assessment counts as 100% of the recorded academic mark for the module; however, the pass-fail of the practical placement must be taken into account. It is not shown here as the emphasis is on the academic assessment; but it is significant. In order for each placement to be passed, both elements of the placement must be successfully completed i.e. the practice element and academic assessment.
The thing I like most about UWS is how dynamic my course is, and how passionate the lecturers are. We constantly have outside speakers in from a huge range of agencies and professions to give us an insight into the job and this has been extremely beneficial to my learning. Each of my placements has been totally different and this has allowed me to observe and participate in different sides to social work and understand the role, task and purpose of social work more clearly. It’s so helpful to put our knowledge and theory into practice and actually use the skills we’ve been learning.
Kiara Mayne, Social Work student
£7,000 Cost of study
£11,250 Cost of study
£11,250 Cost of study
£14,500 Cost of study
£7,500 Cost of study per year
£11,750 Cost of study per year
£11,750 Cost of study per year
£15,250 Cost of study per year
For eligible students, the Scottish government (via the SSSC) make a small number of bursaries available for postgraduate social work students. See Tuition Fees & Living Cost Support section below for more details.
The cost of attending university is an investment in your future career.
In addition to tuition fees and living expenses, some courses involve extra costs like study materials, field trips, equipment and uniforms.
Fortunately, there is a great deal of financial support available to help students meet the cost of their study. This ranges from:
The sections below provide details of additional costs that your course may involve along with any financial support that may be available.
You can also find additional information in our Postgraduate Money, Fees & Funding section.
Students on certain degrees will incur some additional costs not covered by their tuition fees. These could be for things like specialist equipment, study materials, work placements, graduation, membership of relevant organisations or costs related to carrying out fieldwork.
For students on course with an element of fieldwork, there may also be extra costs for travel and accommodation.
Please contact the course leader for details of the additional costs associated with this course.
International applicants should note that costs associated with placement - specifically travelling cannot usually be reclaimed due to Visa restrictions. The travelling costs associated with placement vary; but a figure of £1000 per placement would not be unusual.
Successful applicants who gain a place on this course will need to register on the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme, managed and delivered by Disclosure Scotland. You will need to maintain your membership throughout the duration of your studies.
The fee for joining the scheme is £59.
Visit the Disclosure Scotland website for more information on the PVG scheme.
Tuition fees are calculated based on where you are from and what you are studying. Some courses also involve additional costs, such as mandatory field trips, equipment or studying abroad.
Find out how much it will cost you to study at UWS as a postgraduate student.
Scottish students studying at postgraduate level at UWS are entitled to various funds and support towards tuition fees and living costs.
English, Welsh and Northern Irish students studying at postgraduate level at UWS are entitled to various funds and support towards tuition fees and living costs.
EU students studying at postgraduate level of UWS may be eligible for SAAS funding, as well as support to meet the costs of childcare and various sources of additional funding.
There are several scholarship and incentive schemes available to international students studying at postgraduate level at UWS, as well as support to meet the costs of childcare and various sources of additional funding.
For eligible students, the Scottish government (via the SSSC) make a small number of bursaries available for postgraduate social work students. The number of bursaries and amount of funding bursary is subject to change and cannot be guaranteed. Following the selection process, UWS will nominate a number of successful applicants for bursaries; however, the final decision regarding the allocation of bursaries will be exclusively determined by the SSSC.
Please note that being offered a place on social work programme is no guarantee of receiving a bursary. The SSSC use the same criteria for awarding bursaries for all social work programmes in Scotland. Enquiries regarding matters related to bursary funding should be made directly to the SSSC via bursaries@sssc.uk.com.
UWS administer a range of discretionary and childcare funds. These are designed to support students who are experiencing financial difficulty or struggling to meet the costs of childcare.
Becoming a student can have an impact on your entitlement to certain benefits. It may mean you are no longer eligible to claim a benefit you have been receiving, or your new income from student funding may affect the amount you are able to receive.
If there isn’t a statutory source of funding for you or your course, or you are in need of additional financial support, you may wish to consider more alternative sources of funding such as trust funds and scholarships.
At UWS, we believe financial restrictions should never be a barrier to your education.
The WEST (Widening Education and Supporting Talent) Scholarship Programme aims to remove the financial barriers that stop talented students from progressing throughout their degree to graduation.
Choosing to become a student can have a big impact on your budget and you may need to reassess your spending to account for a reduced income. We’ve put together some guidance to help you manage your money and make the right financial choices for you and your family.
All students should apply directly to the University through our online application system. Before you apply, you should check that you meet our entry requirements and you should have all your supporting documents ready.
The first stage of the process is to create a profile; you don't have to complete the application in one session - you can complete it in stages by saving each section and return to complete it at a later date.
You will need to upload documents with your applications, which may include transcripts and degree certificates.
Most courses don't have a formal closing date, but they will close when they are full; apply early to avoid disappointment. There may also be funding deadlines that apply to you. Please be aware that programme fees are subject to increases each year.
Before you begin your application, it is important to read the Postgraduate & Post-Experience application step-by-step guide for a smooth process.
An ATAS certificate is not required for overseas students applying for this course.
Do you have a question about applying for this course? Get in touch. We are here to help!
We will always try to make sure that we publish accurate course information but we do not accept responsibility for any mistakes or omissions. We will also try to make sure that we deliver our courses in line with our published information. However, we may not always be able to do so and you can find further information about this in our enrolment terms and conditions.