Social Work BSc(Hons)

Course structure

The course consists of university-based teaching and 200 days of practice learning. In your first year you’ll be introduced to foundational social work knowledge, including contributions from the social sciences, such as psychology, sociology, social policy and politics, something which develops in greater depth as you progress through the course. During your second and third years, you’ll complete two placements lasting 70 and 100 days respectively – take a look at the placement tab to find out more about these experiences and what to expect.

Knowledge from professional areas such as counselling, education and health is also incorporated into teaching and learning across the three year programme and, as part of this, there are opportunities to work in larger interprofessional groups during your time on with us. In previous years this has included working with students from other vocational courses, such as medicine, midwifery, occupational therapy and education.

Teaching typically takes the form of workshop style lectures, offering you opportunities to work closely with other students, qualified Social Workers and other professionals who may work closely with them. In this sense, the course benefits from contributions from a number of external partners and you’ll also get to meet different people who’ve either been in contact with services themselves, or care for someone who has. Use of actual and simulated case material is widely used within these sessions, helping you to apply your learning to real-world scenarios when on placement. 

We’re especially keen to enable you to become a curious, critical and compassionate practitioner and across the three years of study you'll be supported by regular tutorials to help meet your developmental needs. These will be facilitated by your Personal Academic Tutor, all of whom are social work qualified and registered with Social Work England.

Making sure that what you learn with us is relevant, up-to-date and what employers are looking for is our priority, so courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis. When you have applied to us, you will be told about any new developments through Student View.

Placements

Practice learning placements are a core part of your training. Of the 200 days allocated for this, 30 take the form of skills for practice days delivered within the university. The focus of these, as their name suggests, in on skills development as set against specific social work tasks and interventions (like assessment and decision making) and/or different areas of practice. These take place at intervals throughout the course.

The first placement, which runs in parallel for second year undergraduates and first year postgraduates, lasts for 70 days. Within this placement the emphasis will be on developing generic skills and underpinned by relevant theories and research. This setting is predominantly based in the private, voluntary or independent sector.

In your final year you’ll spend 100 days on placement. This placement will take place in a statutory setting, usually a Local Authority, or an organisation fulfilling statutory functions, such as a private fostering agency. During this placement you’ll have opportunities to:

• Undertake formal assessment processes.
• Apply legal frameworks in practice.
• Make decisions (with guidance) in relation to situations involving risk and complexity.
• Experience the demands of a high-pressure environment.
• Work with other professions as part of a multi-agency team.

For both of your placements, your practice will be assessed according to the Professional Capabilities Framework and you’ll be assigned a Practice Educator who’ll oversee your assessment. Supervisory and case management support for your work with service users will also be provided by the placement.

The university works with a large number of placement providers along the south-east coast and some upwards into Surrey, this enables us to draw on a wide range of learning opportunities for our students and ensures we meet the regulatory requirement to provide students with two distinct placements. These are our core providers and you will be offered both your first and second placements within these geographical parameters.

In terms of professional requirements, by the end of the course you must also demonstrate that your practice meets the Professional Standards for Social Workers from Social Work England.

Year 1

Year 1 will introduce social work practice and begin your professional training. You will also learn about how the social sciences inform social work and about the role of social policy.

Modules

• Introduction to Social Work Practice

  In this module you'll be introduced to core and basic knowledge of professional social work practice, including the central importance of professionalism and ethical and anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice.

  The module outlines the nature, purpose, remit and knowledge base of professional social work; introduces key social work skills and outlines the component parts involved in professional social work tasks.

  You'll explore professionalism - the professional identity, role and responsibility of social workers and how this relates to, and differs from, the personal self. The statutory regulation of social work profession and the professional body for social work are introduced. You'll also be introduced to the range of different settings for professional practice.

• Contemporary Social Inequalities

  This module will provide you with the theoretical and conceptual tools to confront normative/normalising explanations of difference and inequality. You'll understand the ways that ‘differences’ and inequalities are formed and their consequences for everyday lived realities.

• Human Growth and Development

  This module will introduce you to theories and knowledge on human development across the lifespan, by examining a range of bio-psychosocial theories, applying understanding to how human growth and development is shaped as we grow and travel through the life-course.

  You will explore a range of bio-psychosocial theories: (eg. attachment; psychodynamic; bio-psychosocial, cognitive, behavioural, humanistic) and related theories (eg. systems theory and complexity theory). You'll examine the individual’s development in different contexts across the lifespan from childhood and adolescence, through adulthood to end of life, with consideration of the various transitions. You'll also take account of different cultural contexts; disability; mental health; harm and abuse; inequalities, exclusion and discrimination.

  Application of understanding the life course to social work practice is embedded throughout the module learning. Thus, bio-psychosocial theories of development are applied to specific practice issues ranging from child abuse and parenting through to offending behaviour and care for older people and those with mental health difficulties. Key concepts in the lifespan are explored also: for example, identity, vulnerability, risk, protective factors, resilience and the promotion of strengths.

  Learning and teaching on this module contributes to learning and assessment in relation to the College of Social Work’s Professional Capabilities Framework and the Health and Care Professions Councils’ Standards of Proficiency for Social Workers in England and Wales.

• Preparing for Social Work Practice

  This module includes ten 'developing skills for practice' days and will enable you to develop core skills in engaging with service users/carers and undertaking assessments and interventions. You'll have the opportunity to shadow the practice of a Social Worker during your development days.

  The module will also examine a number of social work methods and you'll gain an understanding of the place of theory and evidence in social work in guiding and evaluating assessments and interventions.

• Law for Social Workers

  On this module you'll be introduced to the use of law in social work - you will learn about the English legal system, frameworks and concepts, before going on to consider the core legislation and practice guidance underpinning social work with children and families, adult service users and carers and those with mental health needs.

  Attention will also be paid to the inter-professional context in which social workers operate and the need for partnership working when seeking to meet needs and safeguard and protect service users and carers. Throughout, a key focus will be upon the implications of statutory intervention for anti-oppressive, rights-based practice, the challenging of discrimination and the perspectives of service users and carers on use of law in social work practice.

• Experts by Experience: Identity, Needs and Resources

  This module will introduce you to the concept of need, what need might look like, how it might be defined by different groups and what resources may or may not be available to meet the needs of people with lived experience of receiving social work services or carers. You'll also develop knowledge of research methods and skills of inquiry, as well as skills in evaluation when considering how resources might meet identified needs.

Year 2

Year 2 will develop your specialist knowledge and practical skills. You will also complete your first professional placement.

Modules

• Social Work Practice with Adults
• Social Work Practice with Children and Families
• Practice Learning 1
• Critical Social Work Practice

Final year

In year 3, the second placement will enable further development and the consolidation of more complex social work practice. You will also use your research skills to complete a social work project of your choice.

Modules

• Social Work Dissertation
• Contemporary Social Work
• Practice Learning 2

Lab facilities

Mithras House is home to all our School of Humanities and Social Science courses. It has a series of ‘labs’, which may be used for teaching on your course or in your independent research work.

Life lab
A comfortable space with lounge furniture intended for qualitative research with larger groups. Due to its relaxed layout and naturalistic environment, the space is suited to research using focus groups, research using observation-based methods and child research.

The space is also used for teaching on some social science courses, as well as for dissertation research for projects.
 
City lab
A space designed for collaborative student learning. It is used by students and staff involved in the university’s Global Challenges programme, our collective mission to contribute towards solutions to tackling the pressing issues facing our world.

Design lab
A space housing our extensive collection of historic dress and textiles, which are used in some teaching on our History of Art and Design courses. It has the space and equipment to work on textile projects. Displays created by students on these programmes are on view in the social spaces of the building.

Stats lab
A specialist workspace with computing equipment for statistical analysis and projects involving video and audio editing software. The lab is accessible as a study space to students on psychology courses.

It is also available to students studying courses involving video and audio recording and editing, such as politics degrees and our creative writing programmes. The stats lab contains eight soundproof booths for recording or transcribing interviews undertaken as part of dissertation research.

VR and eye tracking lab
This lab is used for psychological research, specifically eye-tracking research and virtual reality research. Equipment includes an electroencephalography (EEG) headset and Electrodermal Activity (EDA) equipment.

Studying social work (video)

Meet the team

Annie Mullin, course leader

I am a Social Work England registered social worker, Fellow of Advance HE, Senior Lecturer and the course leader of the Social Work BSc(Hons) and I have worked at the University of Brighton since 2017. 

At present I teach, module coordinate, assess and act as a personal academic tutor and dissertation supervisor primarily on the BSc course. This includes supporting students on their practice placements. 

My current teaching, tutoring and course leadership draws on my 20 years of experience working in voluntary sector social care and statutory social work. Before joining the University of Brighton I supported adults and their carers in my social work roles, including people living with dementia, long-term disabilities and short-term health problems. 

Having worked in multi-disciplinary teams and in hospital settings in my direct practice, I am enthusiastic about the opportunities for inter-professional education offered to our social work students at the University of Brighton. My additional experience as a practice supervisor and educator for social work students on practice placements developed my interest in enabling student learning and led to my move into an academic social work role.  This experience underpins the active learning approaches I use in my teaching to support the deep learning students of social work need to prepare them for practice.  

Read Annie's full profile.

Other members of the teaching team include:

• Kelly Alexander
• Lucy Basterra
• Ian Dore
• Paul Teverson
• Emma Inch

• Zara Tighe

• Lucy Evans

• Jo Starzacher

Course fees

Social work bursary information

The NHS Business Service Authority administers social work bursaries, for further information and to check your eligibility visit their webpage. 

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2025–26.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year.

UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or RPI (whichever is higher).

If you are studying part-time your fee will usually be calculated based on the number of modules that you take.

Find out more

• Brighton Boost – cost of living help for our new undergrad students. Find out about how we can help with your study, accommodation or travel costs and more...
• Fees, bursaries, scholarships and government funding info for UK and international undergraduate students
• Student finance and budgeting while studying
• Read our student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf) for more on University of Brighton tuition fees.

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