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BA (Hons) - Social Work

Do you want to work within the community to encourage change and help others? We can help you harness your passion and become a confident and fully qualified social worker, allowing you to make a positive difference in vulnerable and disadvantaged people's lives.

Our social work degree is approved by Social Work England, and is designed to give you the knowledge, practical experience and connections that will allow you to kickstart a successful career in social work.

What’s more, our social work courses are ranked in the top 25 in the UK overall, and 3rd in the North West for students satisfied with teaching (Guardian University Guide 2023 Results).

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Approved by:

Social Work England

Course Overview

On this social work course, you’ll get hands-on experience and the chance to talk to and work with people in the care system. You will gain insight into your future profession with 170 days of placements (70 days in year two and 100 days in year three). Our expert tutors will teach you theory through lectures, seminars and hands-on practice using facilities including hands-on training for social practice including simulations of home visits, hospital discharge meetings and court work. You will learn to work as a team and develop leadership skills to boost your confidence and future career.

You'll benefit from our great reputation as a provider when applying for jobs. Upon graduation from this BA (Hons) Social Work degree, you will be eligible to apply for registration as a social worker with Social Work England. You'll be in the ideal position for a career as a professional social worker or practitioner.

On this course you will...

Have access to people with lived experience of social work services, allowing you to speak to people who have had social workers in their lives. They will talk to you about their experiences within social work.
Learn from lecturers who take pride in being approachable and caring for your health and wellbeing. They will provide excellent support to you throughout the programme.
Study social work using transformative learning, including simulations of hospital discharge meetings and mock case conferences. Our mock hospital ward and mock house will help you develop your practical skills.
Be taught by registered social workers with many years of experience in both adult and children services. Their experience is used to guide your learning in real-life scenarios.
Complete 170 days of professional placements, allowing you to gain real-world experience and boost your key skills ready for when you become a qualified social worker.

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Key Details

Recruiting toUK / RoI / Settled in UK
EU / EEA / International
Course LocationCarlisle - Fusehill Street
Institute Institute of Health
UCAS CodeL501
Delivery StyleIn-Person
Course DurationFull-time: 3 Years
Course Start PointSeptember
AwardBA (Hons)
More informationProgramme Specification
Prospectus
Open DaysCarlisle - Fusehill Street
All

Minimum entry requirements

104-120

UCAS Tariff points

Tuition fees

£9,535

UK | per year

£16,900

International | per year

Tuition Fees Policy

What our students say

The tutors have done their best to ensure we are supported. I am very proud to be a student at the University of Cumbria.

Eleanor Armstrong, Social Work

Eleanor completed her Social Work placement at a national homeless charity during the Covid-19 first wave. Find out how she found the experience, how she was supported through the experience and what she gained out of it.

Discover Eleanor's Story

Course Structure

What you will learn

Social workers assist and support the most vulnerable people in society either by protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse or through supporting people in overcoming and dealing with addiction, illness, or disability.

As part of this programme, you will engage with complex issues that impact diverse communities and affect contemporary social work practice. You will gain experience and confidence through supervised practice, developing the knowledge, skills, and understanding needed to excel in Social Work. Within our Institute of Health, you will have the opportunity to engage with students in other disciplines in authentic ways, gaining a wider awareness of their roles and how to work in multi-agency teams. For example, experiential learning opportunities, such as our court day experience take place throughout each year.

We also offer the option to study 1 year of our Health and Social Care IFY before beginning this course. Not only will this prepare you to succeed in your BA, with key modules in academic and professional skills as well as baseline introductions to mental health and human anatomy, it is also ideal for those applicants who do not hold the required qualifications for direct entry but are passionate about pursuing social work. You will also be supported by our academic team to make a strong application to your chosen transfer course.

Year one

In your first year, you will learn the basic counselling, engagement and intervention skills needed to develop and maintain working relationships with service users and carers.

You will gain a background understanding of the law and social policy underpinning social work in the UK. You'll be introduced to theories about the nature of human development and society. Opportunities will be provided to help you develop into a more self-aware social worker who integrates their personal experience, philosophy and values into practice.

Law and Social Policy
Introduction to social welfare, social policy, and social work legislation.
Politics, Discrimination and Social Justice
Introduction to a range of theories and debates regarding inequality, social justice, diversity, and the distribution of power present within contemporary society.
Professional Skills 1: Core Skills for Working with People
Introduction to the professional skills that are core to social work practice and essential when working with people with a variety of needs.
Development through the Life Course
Develop an understanding of human development through the life-course.
Experts By Experience
Gain an in-depth understanding of how service users and carers experience social care and social work intervention.
Safeguarding Adults and Children
Introduction to the knowledge required to identify safeguarding issues for both adults and children and to formulate actions to protect vulnerable people.

Year two

In your second year, the focus moves to developing skills in analysis, reflection, and inquiry. You will gain a more detailed knowledge of social work, gaining an understanding of how to research for social work practice is generated and the techniques for carrying out research.

Additionally, students will undertake their first 70 days social work placement.

Professional Skills 2: Applying Models of Assessment and Intervention in Practice
Build upon Professional Skills 1 by extending and developing your key skills set for social work practice.
Understanding and Developing Research and Evidence Based Practice
Learn to critically evaluate research findings in published research and utilise the findings as a basis for evidence based practice.
First Placement
TBC
Reflection on Practice
Learn to reflect upon core social work knowledge, values, and skills.
Working with Children
Build on knowledge of social work theory and social work legislation relevant to the field of children and families work.
Working with Adults
Build on knowledge of social work theory and social work legislation relevant for the field of adult social work.

Year three

In your final year, you will be challenged to take your academic and practical skills to a higher level and to become career-ready. You'll carry out an independently managed social work dissertation, focused on a specialist research topic of choice.

You will explore contemporary issues in social work, informed by the teams' research interests, encouraging you to become a research-minded practitioner. We aim to educate you to become a social worker who will be a leader of the future. You will undertake a final 100-day placement that will give you the chance to bring all prior learning and development on the programme together, and demonstrate that you are ready to complete the programme.

Professional Skills 3: Specialist Skills for Social Work Practice
Building upon the previous two Professional Skills module, this module will equip you with the advanced and specialised social work skills required for practice.
Dissertation
TBC
Critical Evaluation of Social Work Practice
Develop the ability to critically reflect, analyse and evaluate the knowledge, values, and skills developed throughout the programme and identify how theory, models of intervention, research and professional values can be synthesised in the field.
Organisational Factors and Leadership in Social Work
Develop an understanding of the organisational contexts of social work practice.
Contemporary Issues in Social Work
Enhance understanding of current issues which influence or impact contemporary social work.
Final Placement

Teaching & Assessment

How you will learn

Our teaching philosophy is based on transformative learning, it is grounded in human communication. This approach seeks to develop your understanding, self-awareness and re-evaluate your experiences through new knowledge. It should transform your view of society and what you can achieve as a developing social worker.

This is facilitated through task-oriented learning, authentic learning and the understanding of what others communicate in respect of values, ideas, feelings, and morality. This approach is well suited to the core values of Social Work where we seek to understand the reality and experience of the people we work with. Our work is involved in empowering people to change aspects of their lives in a non-judgemental and anti-oppressive way. This is alongside undertaking problem-solving tasks and reflecting upon how these have been achieved.

Other activities include:

Classroom discussions and debates
Research focussed tasks within the literature review and dissertation module
Casework within the practice placements
Experiential learning within seminars
Authentic role-play scenarios.

The experiential learning approach includes role-play, simulations of social work situations such as home visits, and practising giving evidence in court.

Additionally, you will undertake placements in social care agencies of 70 and 100 days in the second and third year respectively, these can be via local or volunteer agencies. Placements are in a range of different settings and with different service user groups. The first placement is usually in a social care setting such as a charity or voluntary organisation, and allows you to apply the theory and skills practised in university to a real work environment. The second placement is normally in a local authority social work team or an organisation undertaking statutory social work duties, and is an opportunity to develop more advanced and specialist skills to prepare you for professional social work practice.

How you will be assessed

Formative assessment is an assignment that provides students with the opportunity to practise a task that is similar or relevant to the actual assignment (summative assessment) that they will be set for the module.

Students will complete a formative assessment task to receive feedback that will help them prepare for graded assignments.

Summative assessment refers to the graded assignment that may contribute to the final degree classification. The summative assignments for each module have been designed to develop an aspect of the knowledge, skills, and values required of students to be social workers.

Overview

104-120 UCAS Tariff Points, You can find out more about the tariff and qualification options from the UCAS tariff table. Offers are tailored to the individual applicant and their circumstances and can be across the tariff range. Applicants who meet our contextual information criteria will be offered at the bottom of the range.

GCSE English Language at C/4 or above. Functional Skills Level 2 in English and Adult Literacy are also accepted. A full list of acceptable level 2 qualifications can be found here: Level 2 Acceptable Entry Requirements .

FITNESS TO PRACTISE

All offers of a place are subject to satisfactory health screening. Further information will be provided following acceptance of an offer (and no earlier than three months before the course start date).
Please note that Professional Bodies, such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), have certain requirements regarding the health and good character status of applicants and students. Please read the NMC and HCPC information to find out more.
For more information about core competencies and medical fitness to train please click here.

In some instances, an applicant may be invited to attend a professional practice panel to discuss any recommended reasonable adjustments, and whether or not core professional competencies are achievable.

For information about Medical Clearance and vaccination requirements  click here.

DISCLOSURE AND BARRING SERVICE CHECK

If you accept an offer of a place we require you to comply with an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) background clearance check. Details on the policy can be found here.

If you think you have a criminal conviction You will need to submit a Criminal Record Self Disclosure Form as part of the process For more information on this and the form itself, please refer to Self-disclosure of criminal record.

Qualifications

Entry Requirements

GCSEs: GCSE English Language at C/4 or above

A-levels: BCC-BBB

T-levels: M. All subjects are accepted however we recommend T level Education and Childcare for entry to this course

Access to HE: 21 credits at Distinction and 24 at Merit 

CACHE Technical Level 3 and Level 3 Extended Diploma: B

OCR Cambridge Technical & Edexcel/Pearson BTEC Level 3 (National) Extended Diploma: MMM – DDM

Scottish Highers: BBBC-AABB  

Irish LC Highers: B1, B2x3 – A2x4

Other experience: Work experience in a social work/care setting is preferred but not essential.

Alternative routes: If don't think you'll meet the criteria for direct application to this course, check out our Health and Social Care with Integrated Foundation Year as an alternative route to this course.  You will be able to apply for the BA (Hons) Social Work course during Semester 1 of the foundation year.

Fair Admissions

When you apply, our Admissions specialists will review your whole application. We are looking for your potential to succeed so will assess your qualifications, any relevant work experience, your personal statement, and references.

At interview we will assess your suitability to train for the profession you have applied for. All professional course interviews are scored. Any offers made will be based on your whole application and your interview score.

Where you have received a conditional offer subject to achieving particular grades/UCAS tariff scores, and do not quite meet these scores, please try not to worry, where vacancies exist our Admissions specialists will review your whole application again and take account of any mitigating circumstances and reassess your suitability for the course.

Selection Criteria

As part of the application and selection process, we are looking for your commitment to Social Work. In your personal statement, you should demonstrate your motivation for choosing Social Work and reflect upon any experience you have gained.

If you are invited to attend interview then we strongly recommend you review the NHS Values and Behaviours of;

Working together for Patients

Respect and Dignity

Commitment to Quality of Care

Compassion

Improving Lives

Everyone Counts

You will receive a case study along with your invitation to interview. This process is linked to the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) for study requirements as outlined in the Professional Capabilities Framework.

At interview you must clearly explain what has led you to apply for Social Work and the attributes you would bring to it. You must demonstrate a good understanding of what social care is and involves; have excellent communication skills; motivation and commitment to pursuing Social Work as a career and the potential to succeed as a health professional.

Following interview if you are offered a place it will be subject to satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service clearance (DBS), medical fitness to practice, proof of qualifications and a satisfactory reference.

Contextual Admissions

Going to higher education can transform a person’s life. We use contextual admissions to make sure that we are accessible to everyone who has the potential to succeed. Qualifications and grades are important, but they are considered alongside other information that helps universities to identify potential and widen access to university level study. For some individuals, the disadvantages they have experienced in their life mean that they have not been able to demonstrate their full academic potential. Where a person lives and their personal circumstances can all affect their educational attainment.

We take this context into account and look for an applicant’s potential when making admission decisions. The University of Cumbria will make offers at the bottom of any UCAS Tariff range to applicants that live in postal code regions with the lowest participation in Higher Education (Polar 4 quintile 1 – you can check your postcode here), applicants that are estranged from their parents, are care leavers or have caring responsibilities or are in receipt of or received free school meals during their secondary education. Attendance at our Masterclasses and Summer Schools will also allow applicants to receive an offer lower within the tariff range. (T&Cs apply)

Contact ugadmissions@cumbria.ac.uk for more information.

Returning to Education

If you are over 21 and returning to study after being in relevant employment for a minimum of 3 years and do not meet the published entry requirements for Year 1 of our degree courses, please do not assume you are not qualified to join us. Our experienced Admissions and Academic staff will review your prior qualifications and professional experience to support your application.

Language requirements

Please follow the link to check entry requirements for this programme here.

Fees & Funding

Tuition Fees

2025 - 2026

£9,535 - UK
£16,900 - International

2024-2025:

£9,250 - UK
£16,400 - International

The figures above don't include accommodation and living costs.

Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The University may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible.

International Finance

At the University of Cumbria, we offer affordable tuition fees for international and EU students looking to study at one of our main four campuses. No matter your choice of course or career path, our International Team is here to support you.

More Information

We have a wide range of scholarships, bursaries, grants and funds available to support you throughout your studies with us. This includes the Cumbria Bursary - a non-repayable bursary designed to support first year students with a household income of less than £25,000..

Student Finance

Additional Costs

There will be some additional costs. For example all students will need to purchase stationery and may wish to purchase some text books. Extra costs may also be applicable to cover field trips, membership fees etc. although such features are usually options within the course.

Books are reviewed annually and are therefore subject to change, course welcome information will provide you with an indicative list for the year.

Books and Journals

You may need to spend up to £200 a year on textbooks. The following is a list of the key texts for the first year of the programme. It is not recommended that you purchase books before the course has begun, you can purchase your own books or you can access them through the library and as ebooks. Chisnell, C. and Kelly, C. (2016) Safeguarding in Social Work Practice. Cunningham, J. and Cunningham, S. (2017) Social Policy and Social Work. Dickens, J. (2012) Social Work law and Ethics. Fawcett, B., Fillingham, J., River, D., Smojkis, M. and Ward, N. (2017) Service User and Carer Involvement in Health and Social Care: A Retrospective and Prospective Analysis. Giddens, A., & Sutton, P. (2009) Sociology. 8th edn. Ingleby, E. S. (2017) Applied Sociology and Social Work. Koubel, G. (ed.) (2016) Safeguarding adults and Children. London: Palgrave Lishman, J. and Yuill, C. (2018) Social Work; An Introduction 2nd edn. J. (2017). Social Work and Human Development.5th edn.

Stationery

Students should budget for stationery and consumables for your own personal use. This should include notebooks, pens and pencils for taking notes in class and/or in the field. Students should also budget for the purchase of USB pen drives, as well as occasional printing and photocopying costs incurred in the preparation or submission of coursework. Whilst you will choose how much you need, expect to pay around £30 - £40 per year for these items.

Clothing and Equipment

There is no dress code whilst you are studying and attending on-campus sessions. On placements in your second and third year, you are expected to wear clothes that are smart casual and appropriate for a professional working environment.

Other

The University of Cumbria has an annual social work conference in the summer which students are encouraged to attend. The fee is likely to be no more than £20.

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Carlisle - Fusehill Street Campus
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BA (Hons) - Social Work