MSc Social Work
Lincoln, United Kingdom
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline *
EARLIEST START DATE
Request earliest startdate
TUITION FEES
GBP 17,500 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* most of our postgraduate courses have no specific closing date for applications. Please allow enough time for your application to be considered prior to the start date. If you are an international student you may need to factor in time for your visa application. We would advise you to apply as soon as possible
** international| home full-time : £9,2500 per year
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Introduction
Social work provides an opportunity to ensure fair and just treatment for those who might not be able to do so for themselves and can be a hugely rewarding career for anyone with an interest in safeguarding the human rights of others.
This program is designed to provide the professional knowledge and skills needed to qualify and practice as a registered social worker. Through an integrated learning approach, students are supported to develop as competent, confident, analytical, and reflective practitioners who can work safely and effectively in complex, challenging environments to make a difference in the lives of people and society.
Interprofessional learning is at the core of this program, enabling students to learn, develop, and collaborate with students from other disciplines in health and social care, including Nursing, Occupational Therapy, and Physiotherapy students. Students may take advantage of the excellent research environment and opportunities available to build on links between social work practice and research to undertake their own real-world research study. The program benefits from strong international links providing chances for focused teaching and study visits further afield.
Each year there will be an option to undertake practice placements, supervised and assessed by a practice educator. These allow students to apply the theory and practice of social work in varied and challenging settings with a focus on health and social care.
Prioritising Face-to-Face Teaching
At the University of Lincoln, we strive to ensure our students’ experience is engaging, supportive, and academically challenging. Throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, we have adapted to Government guidance to keep our students, staff, and community safe. All remaining Covid-19 legal restrictions in England were lifted in February 2022 under the Government&rsquo's Plan for Living with Covid-19, and we have embraced a safe return to in-person teaching on campus. Where appropriate, face-to-face teaching is enhanced by the use of digital tools and technology and may be complemented by online opportunities where these support learning outcomes.
We are fully prepared to adapt our plans if changes in Government guidance make this necessary, and we will endeavor to keep current and prospective students informed.
"This information was correct at the time of publishing (July 2023)"
Admissions
Curriculum
Accreditations
This program has satisfied all the professional qualification requirements set by the professional regulator (Social Work England). Upon successful completion of the program, students will be eligible to apply to register as a qualified social work practitioner with Social Work England.
Research Areas, Projects and Topics
Students can benefit from the excellent research partnerships across the School of Health and Social Care. These include:
- An innovative and large-scale international education and practice development project funded by the European Union.
- A range of local and national partners to support the development of social work practice and social work education. Locally-funded evaluations of service provision and service enhancement are being developed and carried out, with the goal of enhancing practice delivery.
- The National Health Service (NHS), the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) network and other academic institutions link closely with key external contexts such as Best Research for Best Health, the NIHR, and the Cooksey Review of Health research funding. Additionally, collaborative research funded by the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF; budget-held elsewhere) is being revised prior to a program of national dissemination.
Additionally, there are a number of Individual research projects currently being undertaken at the program level that highlights the School&rsquo's commitment to embedding research within social work practice. These include:
- Projects focusing on child and adolescent well-being, enabling young people to prepare for independent living when leaving care.
- Projects centering on developing practice include exploring practitioners' expectations of the role of practice educators, along with developing a bank of resources to support practice education.
- Emphasis on utilizing a collaborative approach that draws together practitioners and researchers in co-producing research and training materials.
Gallery
Program Outcome
How You Study
This Program takes a student-centred approach to study through active participation, self-directed learning, and research, and the model of joint learning with other professionals is fully embedded within the teaching strategy. This is supported by a wide range of structured, planned, and additional teaching.
The University aims to support students in their learning and to produce independent, enquiring, and knowledgeable graduates and social work practitioners.
To support learning and accommodate a range of styles, the School's approaches to teaching and learning are diverse and include:
- Fostering interprofessional learning to collaborate with and learn alongside other health and social care students, including Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Nursing students.
- The involvement of service users, carers, and practitioners to promote the application of theory, knowledge, and values into practice.
- Utilising the School's excellent simulation resources to enable skills development within a safe and supported learning environment.
- Peer-learning opportunities such as knowledge exchange presentations, on-line discussion boards, and collaborative group-based learning.
- The active use of research to inform practice is embedded within each module, offering the opportunity to incrementally support development as a research informed practitioner.
- Examining global and international perspectives on social work to further develop understanding and capacity as a professional social worker.
Placements in social work and health organisations are a key feature of this course. Over the duration of the Program, you will spend 170 days on placement, which will include 70 days on your first placement and 100 days on the second placement. Placements will generally be located across Lincolnshire County Council or within the Humber Social Work Teaching Partnership area. At least one of the placements will take place in a statutory setting. Students are usually required to be at the University three days per week during teaching time, and expected to allocate one to two working days per week for independent study, research, preparation, and to complete assessed work.
Scholarships and Funding
Several scholarship options are available. Please check the university website for more information.
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Supporting the youngest to the oldest in society, social work will take practitioners from hospitals to care homes, and schools to communities as they help people through some of the best and most challenging times of their lives. Social workers could find themselves guiding young people through their mental health journey, helping a family to grow through adoption, or supporting vulnerable people to improve their independence and well-being. Providing this level of support in someone’s life can be an incredibly rewarding experience.
While the job can be a humbling one, it is also a testing career. Working with vulnerable people can mean facing potentially difficult situations, but being a social worker means having the ability to find a way to work through those situations to benefit the person at the heart of it.
Graduates from the program have gone on to work in a broad range of social work settings, including children’s services, adult services, mental health trusts, and a range of independent and voluntary sector organizations.