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 so 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, is 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, which enables us to draw on a wide range of learning opportunities for our students and ensure 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.

Syllabus

Year 1

Year 1 introduces core skills, theories and approaches for social work practice and social work research, the underpinning knowledge that you go on to apply during your placement. This knowledge base incorporates perspectives from across the social sciences, including psychology and sociology, enabling you to develop a holistic approach to practice – something supported by critical attention to social work values and ethics.

Year 2

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

Modules

• Lifespan Development – Social and Psychological Contexts

  This module introduces knowledge of human development across the lifespan including a range of bio-psychosocial and related theories such as systems theory. Different cultural contexts will be taken into account, including disability, mental health, harm and abuse, inequality, exclusion and discrimination. You’ll learn to critically evaluate relevant theory and research in relation to bio-psychosocial development and social work practice.

• Legal and Policy Contexts of Decision-Making in Social Work

  During this module you will analyse and apply legal/policy contexts of social work practice to different scenarios, taking into consideration legal responsibilities and statutory powers. Key topics include critical awareness human rights, equality, justice, discrimination and social inclusion issues; partnership working and ethical practice in accordance with social work values; anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice; and service user/carer choice and empowerment.

• Critical Social Work in Practice and Research

  This module enhances your learning and ability to critically engage with and evaluate situations involving competing demands, rights and values both in terms of social work practice and research. You’ll develop key attributes such as critical thinking, research mindedness, systemic appraisal and decision-making as well as skills for appraising, analysing, assessing and managing situations involving risk and the need for protection.

• Research in Social Work: The Dissertation

  This module involves an in-depth inquiry into a specific area of practice which allows you to develop the skills required to plan and execute an ethical small-scale qualitative research project. It involves the integration of knowledge relating to practice as well as research methodologies and methods and will develop your ability to independently carry out and evaluate research to inform your practice.

• Contemporary Social Work

  This module focuses on your continuing professional development and acts as a bridge towards qualification. You will review recent and emerging issues in social work practice and evaluate practice settings, including the challenges and opportunities faced by the sector and practitioners. The module provides a contemporary and critical overview of the functions of governmental bodies and other agencies involved in social work. It also encourages you to develop your ability to undertake critical and reflective self-assessment.

• Practice Learning 1

  This module is a mixture of university-based learning – including skills days and group tutorials – and practice learning via a 70 to 80-day placement. You will learn to apply relevant law, policy and social science and social work theory, methods, skills and research to practice by working directly with service users and carers. You’ll also explore social work values and ethics, crucially those of anti-discriminatory practice, social justice and inclusion.

• Practice Learning 2

  This module expands your learning and forms the second half of the placement requirement. Learning takes place within the university and in a 100-day statutory placement setting or an organisation that undertakes delegated statutory work. It will enable you to gain the skills required to intervene in complex and challenging situations, including those involving intersecting needs and risks. You’ll also develop critical analysis and reflection skills, in relation to your own practice and that of others.

Lab facilities

Mithras House has a series of lab rooms which can be used for teaching on your course or in your independent research work.

Life lab
A skills-based lab for practice-based teaching, social work, psychotherapy and counselling, and employability. The Life lab is fitted with lounge furniture to provide a comfortable space for conducting qualitative research with larger groups. The lab can be used to conduct research activities with children of all ages and can be used for meetings and events. The room also contains a dedicated space to conduct assessed role play or interviews with children.

City lab
This is a qualitative research methods and creative methods resource for all students, staff and researchers, as well as research participants, including children, community groups and the general public. It can also be used for meetings and events. The City lab contains a kitchen, a teaching/meeting room with enhanced acoustic isolation and two meeting spaces that can be separated with a screen or combined to accommodate larger groups.

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

Community lab
A space designed for collaborative student learning, this is used by students and staff involved in the university’s Global Challenges programme – our collective mission to contribute towards solutions to tackle the pressing issues facing our world.

Stats lab
A specialist workspace with computing equipment for statistical analysis and projects involving video and audio editing software. The lab contains eight acoustically treated booths for both recording and transcribing interviews undertaken as part of dissertation research and for recording and editing podcasts.

Stats lab
A specialist workspace with computing equipment for statistical analysis and projects involving video and audio editing software. The lab contains eight acoustically treated booths for both recording and transcribing interviews undertaken as part of dissertation research and for recording and editing podcasts.

Applied cognition lab
A dedicated research space for psychological research involving measures such as electrodermal activity (EDA) and electroencephalography (EEG). The space is designed to allow the participant and researcher to sit at separate desks whilst psychophysiological data is being collected. 

VR and eye tracking lab
The VR and Eye-Tracking Lab is used for psychological research using equipment, such as eye-trackers and virtual reality headsets. The space has adjustable lighting and a blackout blind for maintaining consistent lighting conditions during eye-tracking research, as well as sensors set up in the room to allow individuals to move freely around the room during virtual reality research.

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 Brighton & Hove 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 include:

• Kelly Alexander
• Ian Dore
• Paul Teverson
• Emma Inch
• Zara Tighe
• Lucy Evans
• Jo Starzacher
• Kate Simblet 
• Sarah Flagg
• Leah McComb
• Annie Mullin

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 its 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.

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

• 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

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Support and wellbeing

Sport at Brighton