Social Work
The University of Edinburgh
UCAS Code: L500 | Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Required subjects: A Levels: no specific A Level subjects required. GCSEs: English at C or 4 and Mathematics at C or 4.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
36 points with 665 at HL. Required subjects: HL: no specific subjects required. SL: English at 5 and Mathematics at 4.
Scottish Higher
AABB by end of S5 or AAAB by end of S6. BBB must be achieved in one year of S4-S6. Required subjects: Highers: no specific Higher subjects required. National 5s: English at C and Mathematics or Applications of Mathematics at C.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
Social workers support people in difficult circumstances to improve their wellbeing. They provide protection to people who may be vulnerable, and challenge social injustice.
Social workers work within legal systems, and with communities and related services including:
* health
* education
* housing
* the police
Studying social work will enable you to think critically about the work that social workers do. You will develop:
* skills in assessment and communication
* a strong sense of professional ethics
* an understanding of the importance of social justice
Our programme will provide you with an internationally-recognised professional qualification, which will enable you to register as a professional social worker.
**Who is this programme for?**
Social work is a profession suited to people who:
* are creative
* are practical
* are resourceful
* enjoy working with other people
You will combine ingenuity and optimism with honesty and realism, in the face of the demanding situations which some service users experience.
You should have a stable, well-integrated personality, and you must be able to see beyond the immediate issues presented by service users, the general public, and policy-makers. You will also require well-developed social and communication skills and a high degree of empathy.
Good social work combines an interest in people with a rigorous intellectual attitude and the constant search for better methods of helping, supported by research and development.
All our students must register with the Scottish Social Services Council.
**Why Edinburgh?**
The University started providing training for social workers in 1918 and today we are well-recognised as a leading institution in social work training.
We are a diverse and international community of staff and students. We work with local and international partners on all of our teaching programmes to ensure that our teaching reflects our commitment to social work values, ethics and social justice.
Our research reflects the wide-ranging experience of our staff and postgraduate researchers and, with the help of our partners, our findings and knowledge exchange makes a difference across the world.
Our graduates work throughout the world to make a real difference in the communities where they live.
We seek to meet the demands of this changing profession and contribute to an understanding of, and improvements in, public policy and professional practice.
We have previously played a major role advising on the future shape of social work services in Scotland. We contributed to reports that led to the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, which remains a core legislative basis for Scottish social work today.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
Central area campus
School of Social and Political Science
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Social work
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Social work
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
We're short of social workers - so if you want a degree that is in demand, then this could be the one for you! There's a shortage of social workers all over the UK, and graduates can specialise in specific fields such as mental health or children's social work. If you decide social work is not for you, then social work graduates also often go into management, education, youth and community work and even nursing. Starting salaries for this degree can reflect the high proportion of graduates who choose a social work career - social work graduates get paid, on average, more than graduates overall, but not all options pay as well as social work. This is also an unusual subject in that London isn't one of the more common places to find jobs - so if you want to get a job near to your home or your university this might be worth thinking about.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Social work
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£30k
£32k
£30k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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