This programme enables those with a BA degree to obtain the new professional qualification in Social Work, as well as a Masters degree. You join students on the new undergraduate route for Social Work for Year 3; your academic work is assessed at the higher M level, which includes a dissertation. You undertake two assessed social work placements in line with government requirements of 200 days of practice over the two years of the programme (changing to 170 days for entrants in 2013). International students undertake the same placements as UK students and obtain a detailed understanding of the operation of the English social work system.

The MA follows an exciting programme. Committed to social justice, anti-oppressive practice and relationship based social work and drawing upon a number of disciplines informing social work practice, it includes the study of social work values, knowledge, law, theories, methods and skills. Additional electives offer students the opportunity to focus on a particular area of interest and exciting new projects, such as the International Exchange Project, and the award-winning Survivor Arts Project, allow students to move beyond the core curriculum and explore different ways of seeing the world and more creative ways of working. Watch the following video diary of our first exchange visit to Rotterdam, and a film of our award-winning Survivor Arts Project.

Year 1

In the first year of the degree you will have the opportunity to develop core academic skills and explore the key strands of social justice and inclusion; research-mindedness and evidence-based learning and practice and; respectful, helpful, critical practice. You will also be introduced to the social and organisational context of social work and will be given the chance to develop practice skills in readiness for your 100 day placement for professional practice learning (changing to 70 days in 2013).

The social work regulatory body, the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the College of Social Work requires that before our students go out onto placement that they have the basic skills needed to work with a wide variety of people and talk to service users with understanding and respect. As part of the readiness for practice skills development you will be required to undertake a Shadowing Assessment period with a local family support organisation. During this period you will meet and interact with service users, carers, agency staff and other professionals and will be assessed on your performance before you are able to go out on your first practice placement. You will also undertake Readiness for Practice Learning Interviews, role plays carried out with service users and carers. This way we ensure that students meet the basic standard before they go out into the 'real world'.

We work in partnership with Birmingham City Council, who provide the majority of the placements, and a range of voluntary and private sector organisations. We also have a few placements with some neighbouring local authorities. However, we cannot guarantee any placements outside Birmingham itself and so students who live outside Birmingham will be required to travel. The placements on offer are challenging and also very rewarding. Some of the areas of social work covered on placement are:

• Family support and prevention
• Domestic violence
• Refugee and asylum
• Special educational needs
• Fostering
• Child Protection
• Disabilities
• Substance misuse

Students should be aware that placements in particular areas of interest are not guaranteed. However, all placements are quality assured, meet required HCPC and College of Social Work standards and provide a wide range of learning opportunities which are transferable to any setting, and have international relevance.

In addition to your practice placement you will participate in a practice based reflection module designed to help you apply the values, knowledge and skills acquired to the practice setting and in your work with a specific service user group. You will also undertake a module in Social Justice and Inclusion, and will follow a strand of teaching entitled: Respect, Integrity, Critical Perspectives and Helpfulness in Social Work Practice (RICH).

Year 2

In Year 2 you will undertake a further 100 days of professional practice learning which, in line with HCPC requirements, will be with a different service user group in a different agency setting. All students will have the opportunity during at least one of their practice placements to undertake some statutory duties.

In conjunction with this you will again have the opportunity to reflect upon your learning in preparation for and within practice during the Professional Practice Reflection module. Following on from this, the RICH strand of teaching will concentrate on cross-cutting issues for practice around risk and protection, whole-family approaches, collaborative working, and strengths based approaches. You may then select one elective from a range focusing on areas such as:

• Youth justice
• Substance abuse
• Domestic violence
• Learning disabilities

The final module concentrates on research methods and skills and prepares you to develop, conduct and write-up in the form of a dissertation, an individual piece of literature and/or empirical based research in an area of social work you are particularly interested in.  

Service user and carer involvement

On the MA Social Work, service users, carers and practitioners work alongside academics to create a dynamic environment, both within the department and during supervised practice. The department values highly the contribution service user and carer colleagues make, and feedback from students confirms just how important the user perspective is in helping them to develop greater insight into the role social work can play in people's lives.

Involving service users and carers in all aspects of admissions and the development and delivery of our social work qualifying programmes is a priority for us. We believe it offers students the opportunity to have a thorough grounding in service users' and carers' experiences and expectations from the very start of their social work training.

More information about service user and carer involvement in social work education

Meet some of our contributors

Practice placements

Due to its location and strong links with partner placement agencies, the University of Birmingham is able to provide a wide range of practice opportunities within statutory, voluntary and independent social care settings. The social work department is also fortunate to have a range of exciting new small student units and innovative practice projects and we regularly receive excellent feedback from students about these. The learning gained from these placements support and build on the learning taking place at the university.

Blended learning approach to teaching and assessment

Combining Facebook and enquiry-based blended learning to teach social media skills

The following short film outlines how Facebook and an enquiry-based blended learning design were used to help students develop professional social media skills, knowledge and approaches. The film also includes student feedback about their experiences of engaging with this learning design. As educators, we are aware that students who connect using Facebook during their studies can maintain these social networks once they leave University. They can also potentially use these social networks to discuss future work related issues. To enable students to learn about the potential and pitfalls of sharing, communicating and collaborating using social networks once in employment, this learning design was developed to equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge required to use these tools professionally. This film provides an illustration of the commitment social work staff at the University of Birmingham have in continually striving to ensure their students are equipped with the relevant skills and knowledge necessary for their future roles.

The following video, Innovation in Learning and Teaching, demonstrates one of the innovative approaches used at the University of Birmingham to teach social work students.  It explores an enquiry-based learning approach to teaching child protection processes. Whilst at University not all social work students will experience a child protection learning opportunity. Using a mixture of face-to-face teaching, technology-supported on-line enquiry-based activities and role play, students explain how they were able to develop the planning, recording, assessing and communication skills required to respond to a child protection referral.

The video demonstrates the commitment of social work academics at Birmingham to remain at the cutting edge of innovation in learning and teaching in social work education.

This degree leads to an MA in Social Work with the Professional Qualification in Social Work approved by the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC). This is the qualification required to practice as a professional social worker. As well as equipping you with a professional qualification, gaining the MA allows you to progress on to post qualifying courses or to apply to continue with your academic studies at PhD level.

On successful completion of the MA Social Work, students are equipped to work in a wide range of areas. They have high employability and do not require any further qualifications in order to become a professional social worker. The specialist options built in to the Masters allows students to direct their knowledge and expertise to the area they would like to work in once they have completed, giving them a competitive advantage in the jobs market.

MA Social Work is one of the few Masters level courses that not only provides you with an academic qualification, but also a professional recognition that you are ready to pursue a career in social work.

Developing social work skills for employment

Effective communication skills are vitally important and employers expect Universities to teach these to social work students in preparation for their future professional roles. The following film demonstrates how, using an enquiry-based learning design, students at Birmingham are provided with a broad range of learning and teaching approaches to develop their knowledge around their discipline as well as learning team working, problem solving and critical thinking skills in a safe environment. What this distinctive approach also demonstrates is the commitment Birmingham has to ensure that social work students are as well prepared as possible for the reality of a 21st Century work environment.

 

So what makes a social worker in terms of knowledge, skills and attributes?

Here are three short video clips illustrating how Gary Hickman, our Director of Social Work Education and the Social Work staff group work very hard to ensure our programme enables students to develop the attributes of a Social Worker, alongside some very valuable transferrable skills for practical application in the workplace.

Gary also delivers sessions to all final year students, aimed at developing specific knowledge and skills around applying for social work posts. This specific input, together with the academic teaching and high quality practice learning, means that we develop social work graduates, whom we know employers find very attractive even when competing against social workers with several years post-qualifying experience.