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Social Work (Graduate Entry)

Entry requirements


The 2 year accelerated Social Work course is not open to school leavers. Applicants must be graduates, with at least a Second class honours degree in a cognate area. A relevant degree (second class lower division or higher) is deemed to be an Honours degree, where at least 33% of the programme passed at Honours level comprises one or more of the following: Sociology, Psychology, Social Policy/Social Administration, Law, Teaching, Nursing, Community Work, Youth Work, Early Childhood Studies and other cognate subjects at the discretion of the University. Applicants who do not have a cognate degree should apply to the three-year course.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

You must satisfy the General Entrance Requirements for admission to a degree course and hold a GCSE pass in English Language and Maths at grade C or above (or equivalent). Essential Skills Communication and Application of Number are accepted as equivalent to GCSE Maths.

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

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About this course


Course option

2years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Social work

The Degree in Social Work was introduced in 2004 to meet the requirements of the Northern Ireland Social Care Council, which, along with other Councils, agreed that all social work training would be offered at Honours degree level. One of the main features is the introduction of a pre-registration year. This means that when you complete the degree, you will then have to successfully undertake an assessed year in employment before being eligible for full registration as a Social Worker with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council. Within Northern Ireland, this is called the 'Assessed Year in Employment'

The programme is for those who intend to work as professional social workers and includes a substantial element of practice learning.

The programme includes underpinning relevant theory in the social sciences, including social policy, psychology, sociology and law, the focus of the programme is on the development of skills, values, and knowledge required for social work practice. You must successfully complete a preparation for practice module prior to undertaking supervised practice learning on placement.

The design and delivery of this ‘fast track’ degree programme are premised on the relevant graduate qualities of the applicant in meeting the demands of this accelerated learning programme.

Modules

This course is recognised by the Northern Ireland Social Care Council as the professional qualification for social workers in Northern Ireland. The design and delivery of this ‘fast track’ degree programme is premised on the relevant graduate qualities of the applicant in meeting the demands of this accelerated learning programme. In acknowledging the reality of meeting the requirements of the degree within the limits of the academic timetable, the Northern Ireland Social Care Council require students to partake in Professional Development Days (additional to the scheduled timetable,15 days each year), in acquiring key knowledge for university and practice learning. More information is provided regarding these at Induction.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

England
£9,250
per year
EU
£16,320
per year
International
£16,320
per year
Northern Ireland
£4,750
per year
Republic of Ireland
£4,750
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

Extra funding

The Department of Health Social Work Incentive Scheme is available to eligible students (approx. value £4500 per annum).

The Uni


Course location:

Derry~Londonderry

Department:

Magee Campus

Read full university profile

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.

88%
Social work

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

92%
Staff make the subject interesting
91%
Staff are good at explaining things
95%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
95%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

86%
Library resources
86%
IT resources
87%
Course specific equipment and facilities
76%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

98%
UK students
2%
International students
21%
Male students
79%
Female students
79%
2:1 or above
10%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
C

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.

£21,626
med
Average annual salary
99%
med
Employed or in further education
89%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

65%
Welfare professionals
21%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
3%
Childcare and related personal services

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.

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Lower entry requirements
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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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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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