Social Work
Entry requirements
A level
Accepted towards grade requirements
AQA Level 3 Technical Level (1080 glh)
Accepted towards grade requirements
Accepted towards grade requirements with other qualifications
Access to HE Diploma
Distinctions must be in Science
Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Science required at H6
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Science required
Science - Accepted towards grade requirements with other qualifications
Accepted towards grade requirements
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma
Accepted towards grade requirements
Accepted towards grade requirements
Accepted towards grade requirements
Accepted towards grade requirements
Science - accepted towards grade requirements with other qualifications
Pearson BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF)
Accepted towards grade requirements
Accepted towards grade requirement
Accepted towards grade requirements
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Accepted towards grade requirements
Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements
Scottish Advanced Higher
Individual Advanced Highers can be accepted with Scottish Highers towards grade requirements. Science required
Scottish Higher
Science required
T Level
Pass (C and above)
Accepted towards grade requirements
UCAS Tariff
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About this course
Our **BA (Hons) Social Work** aims to equip you with the knowledge, skills and values appropriate for work in a variety of social work settings. Employment prospects for Social Work graduates are excellent and you will be able to pursue social work careers across the country.
This course promotes an approach to learning that actively engages you with key issues and themes in Social Work practice. Throughout the course, you will have the opportunity to develop a range of communication skills through experiential teaching and learning facilitated by Service Users and Social Work Practitioners in readiness for direct practice. You will undertake 170 days of **practice learning (placement)**. Through strong partnerships between the university and employer providers, you will be matched to a specific service. All placement providers are quality assured by the University.
After successful completion of this programme, you'll be able to register with **Social Work England** as **Social Worker**.
**By studying at the University of Northampton, you can be sure that:**
- You will experience student life at the University’s £330 million Waterside Campus. Come along to an Open Day and find out more.
- At UON we guarantee a room in our Halls of Residence for all new full-time, first year students who apply and accept their room offer by June 2024 - and we won't ask for a deposit for September 2024*.
- Students enrolling on this course at Northampton will be provided with their own brand new laptop** to keep at no additional cost. All sports clubs and societies are free to join at Northampton and every essential course text book is available via the library, meaning you won’t have to purchase copies. For more information on this visit our website (northampton.ac.uk/benefits).
- Our expert academics teach in small groups supported with one to one assistance. Our academics and students form a tight bond, providing individualised support and guidance whilst challenging students academically.
- Whatever your ambitions, we’re here to help you to achieve them. We’ll support you to identify the skills you’re learning during your course, find your strengths and secure practical experience so that when it comes to applying for jobs or further study you’ll feel confident in standing out from the crowd.
**The Northampton Employment Promise**
- In fact, we’re so confident in our careers and employability support that if you achieve at least a 2:2 degree and complete either our Employability Plus Gold programme or achieve a Changemaker Gold Certificate during your time studying with us, but still haven’t secured full-time employment 12 months after graduating, we will secure a three – six month paid internship for you or support you into postgraduate study.
✱ eligibility criteria apply. See northampton.ac.uk/student-life/accommodation/ for more information
✱✱ eligibility criteria and terms and conditions apply. See northampton.ac.uk/benefits for more information
Modules
**STAGE 1:**
• Theories and Models for Social Work Practice (compulsory)
• Understanding Contemporary Social Work (compulsory)
• Understanding Law and Policy in Social Work (compulsory)
• Understanding the Life Span in the Social Context (compulsory)
• An Introduction to Professional Social Work Practice (compulsory)
• Preparing for Professional Social Work Practice (compulsory)
**STAGE 2:**
• Social Work with Individuals, Groups and Families (compulsory)
• Social Justice, Power and Professional Judgement in an Inter-professional Context (compulsory)
• Research for Social Workers (compulsory)
• 70 Day Practice Placement (compulsory)
• Assessing and Managing Risk in Social Work (compulsory)
**STAGE 3:**
• Dissertation (compulsory)
• Professional Identity and Transition into Practice (compulsory)
• 100 Day Practice Placement (compulsory)
* To be able to register with the Social Work England and gain the protected title of Social Worker students must pass all modules including the "P" Modules SWK3005P and SWK2011P. Students who do not complete the Honours Degree will be eligible for an Ordinary Degree upon successful completion of a minimum of 60 Level 6 credits. These can be from any Level 6 modules, whether identified as compulsory or designated. The name of the Ordinary Degree will differ from that of the Honours Degree due to professional body requirements. Details can be found in the relevant Supplementary Regulations.
**Module information is quoted for 2023/24 entry. Please note that modules run subject to student numbers and staff availability, any changes will be communicated to applicants accordingly.
Assessment methods
Assessment of learning during the course takes many forms and covers both theory and practice. Each module is assessed against the learning outcomes for the module. The format of the assessments includes essays, posters, reports, presentation, and workbooks of evidence.
There is only one exam in the course, a law exam in the first year. Second and third-year placements are assessed through portfolios. In your third year you will complete a dissertation.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
University of Northampton
Faculty of Health, Education and Society
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.
£28k
£28k
£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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