Social Work MSc (PGDip)

Course structure

The course consists of university-based teaching and 200 days of practice learning. In your first term 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. Later in your first year and during your second, 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 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 support you to become a curious, critical and compassionate practitioner and, as such, our teaching brings together concepts from critical theory, systemic thinking and relationship-based practice. Across the course 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.

It is possible to take the PGDip as a standalone qualification in 18–21 months, usually for candidates supported by an existing employer, or as an early exit award for those registered on the MSc who choose not to take the dissertation module but who meet all other PGDip requirements.

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 introduces core skills, theories and approaches for social work practice and social work research, the underpinning knowledge that students go on to apply during their placement. This knowledge base incorporates perspectives from across the social sciences, including psychology and sociology, enabling students to develop a holistic approach to practice – something supported by critical attention to social work values and ethics.

During this first year, students complete a 70-day placement, based in an organisation involved with social work, social support, education or wellbeing. Practice learning is supported by Practice Educators and Practice Supervisors, in addition to the tutorial support from within the university.

Lifespan Development
This module introduces and examines knowledge of human development across the lifespan, including a range of bio-psychosocial theories and related theories, including systems theory. As an integral part of this, account is taken of different cultural contexts; disability; mental health; harm and abuse; inequality, exclusion and discrimination. A critical application of knowledge to inform an understanding the life course – as applicable to social work practice – is embedded throughout the module learning.

Legal and Policy Contexts of Decision-Making in Social Work
This module introduces students to the legal and policy contexts of social work practice, as relevant to Social Workers in England. It requires students to critically analyse and apply knowledge to practice scenarios, mindful of legal responsibilities and statutory powers. A critical awareness of issues of human rights, equality, justice, discrimination and social inclusion, partnership working and ethical practice in accordance with social work values, anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice and service user/carer choice and empowerment are central themes throughout.

Practice Learning 1
Module learning consists of a blend of university based learning – supported by the provision of a series of skills days and group tutorials – and practice learning. The preparatory learning is part of a necessary professional requirement: Readiness for Direct Practice, as outlined in the Practice Capabilities Framework (PCF). The placement in this module runs for 70 days and is assessed against the sector guidance of the PCF and follows the regulatory requirements set by Social Work England.

Critical Social Work in Practice and Research
This module extends the learning so far undertaken on the course: it enhances the ability to critically engage with and evaluate situations involving competing demands, rights and values – both in terms of social work practice and social work research. As such, it develops key attributes such as critical thinking, research mindedness, systemic appraisal and decision making. All learning and teaching is analogous with the Professional Capabilities Framework (BSWA) and the Professional Standards mandated by Social Work England.

Year 2

Year 2 builds on the learning already completed and is where students develop knowledge and skills for more specialist, complex and challenging practice. Contemporary social work practice and preparation for employment are explored, to help prepare students for work after graduation. Research methods and methodologies are examined in depth as part of the dissertation for MSc students. Within this year, students gain a greater awareness of themselves as practitioners and undertake increased levels of autonomous and challenging practice.

In this year students complete a 100-day placement, primarily offered within a statutory social work department or an organisation fulfilling statutory functions. Once again, practice learning is supported by Practice Educators and Practice Supervisors, in addition to the tutorial support from within the university.

Contemporary Social Work Practice
This module focuses on continuing professional development needs and acts as a bridge towards qualification, linking prior learning to contemporary practice issues. It reviews key, recent and emerging issues in social work practice; evaluates practice settings, including challenges and opportunities faced by the sector and practitioners; provides a contemporary and critical overview of the functions of governmental bodies and other agencies involved in social work; enables students to develop their ability to undertake critical and reflective self-assessment.

Practice Learning 2
This module extends learning and experience gained during Practice Learning 1 and forms the second half of the placement requirement. Learning takes place within the University (skills days and group tutorials) and in a 100 day statutory placement setting or in an organisation that undertakes delegated statutory work, as defined by Social Work England. Assessment is constructively aligned, enabling attainment of academic credits against practice learning experiences, themselves assessed against the Professional Capabilities Framework and requirements of Social Work England.

Research in Social Work: Dissertation (MSc only)
Running throughout the final year of the programme, the dissertation module offers students the opportunity to carry out an in-depth piece of research – into a specific area of practice chosen by them – either by undertaking a literature review or small-scale empirical project. The module develops the ability to carry out research independently and to evaluate research in order to inform practice (MSc students only).

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

Lucy Basterra, course leader

Lucy is a registered Social Worker and qualified Practice Educator with over 10 years’ practice experience in Brighton & Hove. After qualifying, she went on to specialise in supporting those affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence, having a particular interest in understanding, and working with trauma. She has further experience working in substance misuse treatment settings where she designed and delivered the substance misuse training programme for B&H City Council. Before lecturing, she worked for the Fulfilling Lives Project, which was one of 11 programmes nationally that provided intensive and tailored support to people with multiple and complex needs, helping the most vulnerable and hard to reach. Read Lucy's full profile.

Other members of the teaching team:

• Ian Dore
• Paul Teverson

• Zara Tighe

• Lucy Evans

• Jo Starzacher

Student views

Katie:

What have you found enjoyable about the course so far?

"I have found it enjoyable meeting other people that are quite like minded and I think, because of the emotive nature of the course and that everyone's really busy, it's nice to be able to relate to people that are going through something quite similar and shaping your experiences with everyone else as well."

How have you found it being a social student working towards a vocational and academic qualification?

"There have been points where it feels very full on and you're definitely very busy between uni work and your placement, but it's good, nothing feels too intense because there's so much variety and you get to try different things. 

"When your placement feels like it's been quite full on for a few days and you have a uni day that kind of breaks it up a little bit. It’s quite motivating as well to have a specific role that you want to work towards whilst you're doing your uni work." 

Amy:

How has teaching supported your learning and are there any key bits of learning that stand out?

"There are certain things on the course that you think you don't remember, but when you're in a situation with a service user you think, oh, I remember that theory or that model, and it is comes to your mind, and actually you’ve soaked up more than you thought you did, because obviously it's over the course of a certain period of time. I found we've taken more from each lecture than we thought we had." 

What sorts of things are you thinking about now that you weren't thinking about before?

"Because social work is such a values-based profession, when you apply, you already have those values; if anything, it just strengthens it. The way I always think about social work is, you're basically being paid to do what you would do for free a lot of the time because of the values that we all have.

"So I think that just grows and grows and grows and grows and I feel privileged to be on the course and to be training to be a Social Worker."

Course fees

Fees listed here are for the first year only. Further tuition fees are payable for each year of study. See the Info tab for more details.

Social work bursary information

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

Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more about postgraduate fees and funding.

Fee information for this course for 2025 entry will be updated here no later than December 2024.

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2024–25.

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

• Fees, bursaries, scholarships and government funding info for UK and international postgraduate students
• Student finance and budgeting while studying
• About the university’s fees by checking our student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Local area

Maps

Support and wellbeing

Sport at Brighton