Undergraduate and Postgraduate Studies in Criminology and Social Work
E-mail: socialwork@lancaster.ac.uk | criminology@lancaster.ac.uk
MA & PgD Social Work
LATEST NEWS - Social Work Bursaries are now available for students starting in 2013. For more details click here
The Department of Applied Social Science
The Department of Applied Social Science provides a lively and active research environment with much on-going research work in the field of social work and applied social science. The Department has been judged as excellent for its social work teaching and research. You can find out more about our staff, their publications and research interests by following the research or people links on this website.
All staff in the Department have research interests within the areas of social work, social policy, health and welfare, criminology and applied sociology. Considerable emphasis is placed on linking theory, research, professional practice and service development in the Department's research and teaching activities. In addition to offering social work programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, the Department also offers an undergraduate degree in Criminology.
Introduction to Postgraduate Social Work
The MA Social Work and PgD Social Work are professional qualifications. Graduates are eligible to register as social workers with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
To register with the HCPC on graduation you must be able to demonstrate that you have reached the Standards of Proficiency it has set for social work. These are available to view here. The social work degree programmes at Lancaster University are designed to ensure that on their successful completion students will meet the Standards of Proficiency.
The professional aims of the MA and PgD social work schemes are to develop students' ability to become social work practitioners, who are prepared to practise critically in order to help individuals, families and groups in need, by giving them insight into the following aspects of social work practice:
- The need for social workers to practice in a disciplined way.
- Social work as a resource and case management.
- Social work in a team context, both within the agency and across agency boundaries.
- The use of research in changing practice and organisational policy.
- The ambiguities of welfare and the need for honesty and clarity - e.g. about social work as surveillance and control.
- The need for social workers to be aware of social divisions and inequalities, and to incorporate this awareness into their practice.
The schemes involve students and staff in an active debate about the nature of social work based on research evidence and professional experience in order to illuminate its various purposes - support, maintenance, protection, control and bringing about change.
Read I want to work as ... A social worker a short interview in the Lancashire Evening Post with Bob Sapey, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Applied Social Science and member of the social work teaching team.
Social Work Curriculum
The MA Social Work is a full-time 24 month course and the PgD Social Work is a full-time 21 month course.
Students undertake a mix of taught courses within the University and two practice placements of at least 170 days within local social work agencies. Courses enable you to monitor your learning and development from entry level to the end of your training through the Professional Capabilities Framework (the PCF can be seen here). By the end of the programme you will be expected to have demonstrated the knowledge, skills and values to work with a range of user groups, the ability to undertake a range of tasks at a foundation level and the capacity to work with more complex situations; you should be able to work more autonomously, whilst recognising that the final decision will still rest with a supervisor and you will know how to seek appropriate support and supervision for your continuing professional development as you embark on your Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE). The structure of the two years is as follows:
Year 1
- Michaelmas and Lent terms year 1 - full-time study in the University
- Easter to July/August – 16 weeks Practice Learning
- August to September - dissertation study
Year 2
- Michaelmas term year 2 - taught courses and dissertation study
January to August - 20 weeks Practice Learning - September year 2 - Exam board
(PgD students do not undertake the dissertation and so will start their second placement in October and their work will be considered by the June Exam Board).
Year 1 Courses
- Preparation for Practice
- Policy and Legal Contexts of Social Work
- Social Divisions and Social Diversity
- Disability and the Life Course
- Social Work with Children and Families
- Social Work with Young People
- The Reflexive Practitioner 1
Year 2 Courses
- Social Work and Mental Health
- Social Work and Substance Use
For MA students dissertation study is from the August of year one to the January of year two.
Placements
Placements provide the opportunity for students to integrate knowledge, skills and values within social work practice settings. The availability of placements is beyond the control of the University and therefore choice is limited. However, we do ensure that all students have the opportunity to meet the Standards of Proficiency for social work.
Placements are provided by agencies in the statutory and voluntary sectors within Lancashire, Cumbria, Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen. As placements are across a large geographical area students may have to travel relatively long distances or find accommodation close to their practice to complete them.
The NHS Social Work Bursary contains a fixed contribution (you can see the details here) towards placement travel expenses from term-time addresses to placements. It is expected that the agency offering the placement will contribute towards any travel expenses incurred while students are doing placement duties.
Assessment
The MA and PgD social work are assessed by coursework, exam and practice. The assessment of practice will be undertaken by accredited practice assessors who will make recommendations to the Examinations Board. Students taking the MA must also complete a dissertation (15,000 words) on social work practice.
Admissions
We aim to recruit up to 40 students each year.
Applications
Applications for postgraduate social work are made through UCAS. Applications are made and submitted on line. You can access the UCAS website here.
Applications should be made between 1st September and 15th January. Later applications will be considered only at the University's discretion.
Admissions requirements
Applicants should have at least an upper second class (2:i) honours degree.
English Language and Mathematics
Social work entrants must hold at least a GCSE grade C in English Language and Mathematics (O Level grade C, or CSE grade 1 are the equivalent). We also accept Key Skills Level Two qualifications. You will be required to declare that you have these qualifications.
For students whose first language is not English an IELTS score of 7 is required.
Information technology
All applicants must show an ability to use basic IT facilities, including word processing, internet browsing and use of email. You will be required to declare that you have such an ability.
Previous relevant experience
Applicants will be expected to have had experience in paid or voluntary work in a helping capacity, or to have personal experience of receiving care, which indicates their potential to become qualified social workers and that they are fully informed in their decision to study social work.
Admissions process
For entry to social work courses we hold several recruitment days between November and April. The recruitment days will introduce applicants to the social work courses at Lancaster University and will give applicants the opportunity to talk informally with social work students, to take a tour of the University campus and to ask questions of the social work teaching team.
On the recruitment days applicants will have to do a:
- a written exercise
- a group-based exercise facilitated by service users/practitioners
- an individual interview with a member of the social work teaching team.
If you are invited to a recruitment day you will be sent information about the purpose of the three activities. In brief, however, the aim of the activities is to ensure that students admitted to study social work have the potential professional capabilities to practice it on graduation. The activities, therefore, will be concerned, among other things, with assessing your:
- knowledge and understanding of social work as a professional practice
- knowledge and understanding of the value and ethical basis of social work
- ability to critically reflect and analyse
- ability to write a piece of work with a coherent structure and a visible argument
- ability to engage with others and the skills needed to do this
The activities will be assessed by social work team members from the Department of Applied Social Science, and by practitioners and service users.
Criminal Convictions, disciplinary action and vulnerable adults and children
All members of social work courses are required to apply for enhanced Disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau, which will reveal details of any cautions or convictions. Whilst a caution or conviction may not be a barrier to accessing the programme, some agencies may refuse to provide placements to students with convictions. If they do this we will be unable to offer a place on the course.
Failure to declare cautions and convictions, including driving offences, is viewed very seriously and will normally result in students being asked to withdraw from the course.
You will also be required to declare if you have ever been subject to any disciplinary action, or if you have ever been subject to an allegation involving child protection issues and/or the abuse or neglect of vulnerable adults.
Failure to declare disciplinary action or an allegation involving child protection issues and/or the abuse or neglect of vulnerable adults is viewed very seriously and will normally result in students being asked to withdraw from the course.
Health requirements and disability
The HCPC has produced a useful guide for disabled people considering becoming a health or social work professional. It can be accessed here.
Our responsibilities
Under Part 6 of the Equality Act 2010 the University has a duty to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged in the admissions process and during their course of study. The University’s disability policies and the support it offers disabled students can be viewed here.
Disclosing a disability
On applying for the social work programmes you do not have to disclose if you have a disability. However, it is recommended that you do as the earlier we know about it the more time we have to prepare to support you.
What you can expect
If we know about your disability we must consider whether reasonable adjustments may be necessary to facilitate your studying at the University. If they are we must then consider whether, having made the adjustment, you will be able to meet the standards of proficiency for social work set by the HCPC. If the University is satisfied that reasonable adjustments are appropriate and that on completing the course you will meet the standards of proficiency (and you have been assessed at a recruitment day as being suitable for the course) we would expect to offer you a place.
In advance of recruitment days we will give invited applicants the opportunity to disclose any disability they consider they face. This is so that, in consultation with the University’s Student Wellbeing Services, we may make reasonable adjustments to the recruitment days for disabled people.
Finance
Tuition fees and living expenses
The tuition fees for the study of postgraduate social work are currently £5,500 per year for home students and for students from European Union countries, and £12,100 per annum for students from countries outside of the European Union. There might be an increase for students entering the University in 2013. This will be announced in the Spring of 2013.
Of course, the amount that students require to support themselves depends on their personal circumstances. However, the University has calculated average living costs for studying at Lancaster. The costing can be viewed here. They vary from £8,736 per annum for a single student to £17,680 per annum for a couple with three children.
For further details about fees and living costs see the University’s website on such issues here.
Bursary
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) administers the social work bursary for students ordinarily resident in England on behalf of the Department of Health (DH). Information about the bursary including the eligibility criteria can be found on the NHSBSA website.
Stakeholders
The University has a number of stakeholders who advise on the content of the course and who also provide practice placements. Partnership between the University and social work agencies in the north west is nothing new. The degree partnership is founded on a history of co-operation going back to 1975, which has covered student selection, assessment and placements, shared teaching, in-service training, post-qualifying courses, higher degrees and collaborative research. We are confident that the MA programme has strengthened, and will continue to strengthen existing ties and allow the established tradition of high quality social work education at Lancaster to be maintained and developed.
All stakeholders in the degree have Equal Opportunities Policies and share a commitment to develop and to implement anti-racist and anti-discriminatory policy and practice. The course team will ensure that such policy and practice are central features of the degree. All students will be expected to demonstrate both their understanding of racism and discrimination and their capacity to apply this understanding to their social work practice.
Further Information
If you have any questions about the postgraduate social work schemes at Lancaster University please contact the Social Work Courses Admissions Office in the first instance:
Tel: 01524 594098
E-mail: socialwork@lancaster.ac.uk
Useful Websites
The following websites are likely to be useful to you in developing your understanding of social work as a profession. They are all externally provided and Lancaster University cannot be held responsible for their content.
College of Social Work. The College of Social Work is an independent, not-for-profit body that is committed to developing and promoting the social work profession. Click here to access its website.
Health and Care Professions Council. The HCPC is the regulating body for social work and other health and care professionals. It keeps a register of health and care professionals (including social workers) who meet the Standards of Proficiency that it sets. Click here for its website.
NHS Business Services Authority. The NHSBA administers the social work bursary for students ordinarily resident in England. Click here for to access its website.
Social Work Action Network (SWAN). SWAN is a network of social work practitioners, academics, students and social welfare service users that promotes a model of social work rooted in social justice. Click here for its website.
Masters and PgD
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