Social Work
University of the West of Scotland
UCAS Code: L500 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
plus GCSE English and Maths at Grade C
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
plus English and Maths at Ordinary Level
Scottish HNC
Entry to Year 1 with HNC with B in the Graded Unit in one of the following titles: Social Sciences; Social Care; Social Studies; Early Education & Childcare; Working with Communities; Counselling; Health Care; Additional Support Needs: Managing & Supporting the Services); Childhood Practice. Entry to Year 2 with an HNC with A in the Graded Unit in one of the following subjects: Social Sciences; Social Care; Social Studies, plus National 5 Maths and English at C or above (or equivalent)
Scottish Higher
Plus National 5 Maths and English at Grade C or above.
T Level
UCAS Tariff
About this course
**OVERVIEW**
The UWS BA (Hons) Social Work has been designed to provide you with the knowledge and practical experience to qualify as a practising social worker and it is approved by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).
If you want to help improve the lives of others and kick-start your journey towards qualifying as a practising social worker, then the BA (Hons) Social Work is the place to start.
This degree has been designed in collaboration with employers and service users to provide you with the knowledge and practical experience to qualify as a practising social worker.
**PRACTICAL FOCUS**
The first two years of the course cover the theoretical base for social work. The final two years concentrate on applying that theory and knowledge into practice on two practice learning placements.
Placements are varied and have taken place in organisations, including:
// Prisons // Children’s units // Hospices // Addiction teams // Women’s support and aid organisations
In Year 3, you will complete 85 days of assessed practice learning placement in Term 2*.
In Year 4, you will complete a social work dissertation and 115 days of assessed practice learning placement over Terms 1 & 2*.
*Please note that start dates for placements can vary within the term, therefore your placement might run into Term 3.
**PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION**
This degree has been approved by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) .
**CAREER PROSPECTS**
**Jobs**
Your Social Work degree will qualify you to work in a wide range of settings both in statutory and voluntary roles within adult services, children and families and criminal justice sectors in Scotland, across the UK and in many other countries.
**Further Study**
Social Work graduates can further their studies to master's and research degrees.
Modules
In Year 1, you will combine modules in Sociology, Psychology and Social Policy with Social Work. Social Work modules explore values and ethics, discrimination and disadvantage along with understanding service failure in organisations.
In Year 2, you will study modules including Life Span Development, Social Work Law and Communication Skills.
Year 3 sees you combine academic studies with practice-based learning. Academic studies include modules in critical reflection on radical approaches to social work and a larger module applying theory to practice with a range of different needs including working with children, adults and criminal justice social work. In addition, you will complete 85 days of assessed practice-based learning in Term 2 (see PRACTICAL FOCUS section, above).
Your final year of study, Year 4, focuses on the completion of a social work dissertation where you will focus on a topic of your choice.
Assessment methods
Teaching covers a wide range of topics including assessment, critical reflection, anti-oppressive practice, legislation and theories to inform your practice as a social worker. In addition, teaching is research-informed, practice-focused and has been designed to enhance the necessary skills and qualities required for you to thrive in practice.
Your studies contain a variety of formative and summative assessments, ranging from traditional exams and essays to case studies, group and individual presentations, real life scenarios (e.g. policy briefs, research proposals) or policy analysis and evaluation.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
Extra funding
Visit www.uws.ac.uk/scholarships
The Uni
Dumfries Campus
Paisley Campus
Education and Social Sciences
What students say
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How do students rate their degree experience?
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After graduation
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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
This section covers a range of subjects that are often very different, so if you have a particular course in mind, the data here might not fully reflect the possible outcomes from your particular choice. Graduates from these subjects tend to do similar sorts of things to graduates from other social studies courses, so welfare and community roles are common, as are education, whilst graduates also often go into management, marketing and HR jobs and jobs in the police, and employment rates are good in general — but talk to course tutors and attend open days and try to get stats for the course you’re interested in.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Social sciences (non-specific)
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£18k
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£22k
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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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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