Social Work MA

About the Course

This is a General Social Care Council’s accredited social work training programme, which aims to educate and train individuals to be reflective, research-minded practitioners who are able to work critically and professionally and in accordance with the principle of anti-discriminatory practice.

The professional and academic elements are closely integrated throughout the programme. There are 200 placement days, with the working week divided between time in placement and time in the University.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) which includes application information.

Aims

The MA Social Work is designed to prepare students for social work practice that requires critical thinking and research skills. By end of this programme, students will be able to:

• Meet the requirements for professional practice according to the General Social Care Council’s accreditation standards, and the National Occupational Standards of the United Kingdom;
• Be competent for ethical, innovative and effective social work practice in a diverse society;
• Undertake critical and professional practice with service users that actively promotes social justice, and make professional decisions and perform professional functions that are informed by an understanding of inequality, disadvantage and discrimination;
• Integrate theory , policy, practice, and research evidence to meet service users’ and the profession’s needs;
• Have a generic and detailed understanding of social work knowledge, values and intervention skills, applicable to all fields and methods of practice; and
• Demonstrate research capacity to critically evaluate social work research, understand a range of relevant research methods, and independently undertake and manage a research project.

Enquiries

Please make your applications through UCAS:

• UCAS Code: L508
• Short form of course: MA/SW

School of Health Sciences and Social Care
Brunel University
Email health-studies-courses@brunel.ac.uk
Tel +44 (0)01895 268846

Programme Leader: Dr Ben CP Liu

Special Features

• The course is validated by the General Social Care Council (GSCC).
• We have an excellent academic record and reputation, and are currently one of the Top 20 Social Work divisions in the UK (Guardian, 2011).
• Students enjoy first-rate facilities in the brand-new, multi-million pound Health Studies Centre.
• We are one of the leading providers of university-based social work research in London and have attracted funding from, amongst other sources, the ESRC, the AHRC, the Rowntree Trust, the Department for Education and Skills and the NHS.
• Students benefit from close links with social service and voluntary organisations.
• Recent groundbreaking research into comparative social work, community care, child development, and race and social work feed into our taught programmes, making them highly relevant and up-to-date. We have an active research centre, as well as an international reputation for our work in the field of social policy. Lecturers include authors of best selling books on citizenship, community care and child protection.
• We have a long-standing commitment to providing training opportunities for mature applicants and for students from ethnic minorities. Anti-discriminatory practice has been at the core of our training philosophy for some years and this emphasis is evident in the teaching of this course.

Jeanette Banks graduated in 2011 with MA in Social work

After working as an unqualified social worker for London Borough of Ealing for 3 years, I was extremely lucky to qualify for a work secondment to the MA in Social work course at Brunel. The two year course offered at Brunel provided me with background knowledge in a huge variety of subjects including law, psychology, linking practice to current research findings and ethical considerations.

Along with the academic knowledge, the two practice placements provided me with unprecedented opportunities to see social work in practice in very different settings, namely end of life and palliative, and dementia social work. This direct experience has improved my confidence in working with other professionals.

Completing my own research was challenging but also taught me determination and persistence. My dissertation tutor, Rachana Patni, supported me through the process tremendously, encouraging me to ‘find my own voice’. This piece of advice continues to help me daily now

I am currently employed full time as a social worker in a Community Mental Health team. This course permitted me to understand the values and ethics of working as a social worker in a world of limited resources, and to uphold these values when working with vulnerable people in need.

Course Content

Modules in Year 1

A Critical Introduction to Social Work Theory

Main topics: the construction of social work theory; the nature of theory and the implications for social work practice; the value base of social work: empowerment and advocacy; and the different perspectives of social work etc.

The Foundations of Social Work Practice

Main topics: the values, codes of ethics, and anti-oppressive practice in social work; power and authority and their effects on workers, service users and others; skills in relationship building; and skills for working with individuals, families and organisations etc.

Social Work, Law and the English Legal System

Main topics: English legal system; the legal framework for a social worker; legal frameworks of social work and social welfare; general ethical and legal issues in relation to social work and social welfare practice; and law and safeguarding children etc.

Social Policy and Social Welfare

Main topics: theoretical and ideological perspectives on social policy and social welfare; the process of policy-making, and the framework and methods of policy analysis; translating policy agendas into an analysis of national and local needs; and social welfare and services for particular groups etc.

Life-span Development

Main topics: key concepts and theories of human growth and development; physio-psychosocial and cognitive development in infancy, childhood, young people, adolescence and adulthood; deprivation and disadvantage across the life-cycle; the impact of culture and ethnicity; developing observational skills, and monitoring and recording observations etc.

Practice Learning A (100 days)

All practice settings provide: a defined student workload reflecting the nature of normal practice in the agency; opportunities for direct interventions with service users and carers; opportunities for learning about organisational processes; opportunities for learning about the legal duties and powers, and their application or implementation within the context of the agency etc.

Research Methods

Research methods appropriate to both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, including surveys and longitudinal studies; questionnaire design; experimental and quasi-experimental designs; statistical analysis and using SPSS; depth interviews; focus groups; observation; qualitative analysis etc.

Modules in Year 2

Advanced Social Work Intervention Skills

Main topics: specialist knowledge and skills for social work in therapeutic settings; and advanced skills for working with individuals such as cognitive-behavioural therapy, motivational Interviewing, Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Family Therapy; advanced skills for working with families and groups etc.

What Works in Social Work?

Main topics: concepts and definitions of evidence, evidence-based practice and evidence informed practice; wider contexts to the evolution of evidence based practice-political and economic influences; use of standardised instruments; measuring change; and choosing evidence based interventions etc.

The Dissertation

Recent examples of dissertations by students taking this course include:

•  Identity issues in trans-racial adoption
•  Globalisation, employment and disability
•  Giving your carers a voice
•  Exploring the relationship between travellers and social services

Practice Learning B (100 days)

All practice settings provide: a defined student workload reflecting the nature of normal practice in the agency; opportunities for direct interventions with service users and carers; opportunities for learning about organisational processes; opportunities for learning about the legal duties and powers, and their application or implementation within the context of the agency etc.

And one elective from:

Social Work with Children and Families

Main topics: developing skills in effective communication with children; assessment frameworks and assessment of risk; child care policy; analysis of serious case reviews, regulatory and legal framework; government guidance and initiatives affecting children and families; working with children in need; the child protection process, investigation, conference, planning, core groups etc.

Social Work with Adults: Community Care

Main topics: the development of community care and care management, ideological underpinnings and contemporary issues in policy and practice; user involvement and community care; social and medical approaches to care in the community; key legislations; the care management models and process; risk analysis; networking and collaboration; and safeguarding vulnerable adults etc.

Note: This course may involve regular access to children and/or vulnerable adults. Where this is the case, students will be required to complete a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check. The application will cost £49.53 (this amount is subject to change) and the University will send further instructions as part of the admissions process. For further guidance please email admissions@brunel.ac.uk

Fees for 2012/13 entry

Read about funding opportunities available to postgraduate students

Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.

Social Work Bursary

Department of Health have confirmed that no changes will be made to the social work bursary for the 2012 academic year. Department for Health will consult in the new year on reforming the bursary with changes planned to take place from the 2013 academic year.

Existing students, including those starting in the 2012 academic year will continue to receive the bursary at the existing rates.

Further information will be available shortly at http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/Students/825.aspx.

Home/EU students: £5,060 full-time

International students: £13,860 full-time

Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.

Entry Requirements for 2012 Entry

Admissions to the MA Social Work Programme

The MA Social Work degree is a professional course leading to eligibility to register as a social Worker. Our programme at Brunel is very popular and every year is oversubscribed. Our selection process is rigorous and we use an holistic approach to ensure we assess the complex mix of intellectual and personal qualities needed to undertake the degree and a future career in Social Work.

All candidates need to apply through UCAS.

• A minimum of a 2.2 Honours degree in a related subject (eg. Education; Sociology; Social Policy; Politics; Psychology; Law; Health and/or Social Care) or a minimum of a 2.1 Honours degree in an unrelated subject (eg. Business, Creative Arts, History);
• Before applying applicants must have a minimum of 1 year’s full time work experience (or equivalent) in social work/ social care, in a paid or supervised unpaid capacity;
• All applicants must have GCSE Grade C in English Language and Mathematics we also accept Key Skills/Functional Skills Level 2 Application of Number and Communication. Please note we do not accept Adult Literacy or Adult Numeracy.
• Applicants must provide an academic reference from first degree level and a reference from their supervised employment in the care services; and
• All applicants must demonstrate: appropriate personal qualities and life experiences; ability to reflect on and positively learn from significant events in their life; recent undertaking of pre-course preparatory work either by making use of training opportunities within their work or by undertaking relevant study; the ability to express themselves orally and in writing and the ability to think critically and analytically; and an understanding of the role of research in informing social work practice.

It is very important that you enter full details of your social work related work experience (both paid and voluntary) in the Employment Section of the UCAS form. Please include the name of the organisations you have worked for, the exact length of the experience, and how many hours per week you worked (e.g. "May 2009 - Oct 2011, 10 hours per week"). Then, expand on this in the Personal Statement section of the UCAS form, saying what role you held and who the service user group was. Please ensure your personal statement is well-written and demonstrates your academic ability. It is also important that you explain what you have learned from your work experience and how this has contributed to your understanding of the social work role and task. You should also reflect on what you have learned about yourself and the service user group(s) that you have worked with.

Those applicants who meet the academic requirements for the course and have provided evidence of appropriate work experience and a well written personal statement will be invited to a selection day.

If you are invited to a selection day you will complete a written test. This is designed to measure your ability to write clearly and coherently in the English language. It is also used to evaluate your ability to develop reflective, analytical and conceptual thinking. If you pass this test you will then be invited to participate in a group interview/observed case study which is used to assess oral communication skills, critical understanding of social care issues, skills in dealing with group dynamics and values appertaining to fairness and diversity.

Applicants need to provide 2 references (1 academic and 1 employer) which are checked and need to undergo a satisfactory CRB check before an offer of a place is made.

English Language Requirements

Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accept a range of other language courses. We also have a range of Pre-sessional English language courses, for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English.