Social work provides an opportunity to ensure fair and just treatment for those who might not be able to do so for themselves and can be a hugely rewarding career for anyone with an interest in safeguarding the human rights of others.
This programme is designed to provide the professional knowledge and skills needed to qualify and practice as a registered social worker. Through an integrated learning approach, students are supported to develop as competent, confident, analytical, and reflective practitioners who can work safely and effectively in complex, challenging environments to make a difference in the lives of people and society.
Interprofessional learning is at the core of this programme, enabling students to learn, develop, and collaborate with students from other disciplines in health and social care, including Nursing, Occupational Therapy, and Physiotherapy students. Students may take advantage of the excellent research environment and opportunities available to build on links between social work practice and research to undertake their own real-world research study. The programme benefits from strong international links providing chances for focused teaching and study visits further afield.
Each year, students will have the chance to undertake practice placements, supervised and assessed by a practice educator. These allow students to apply the theory and practice of social work in varied and challenging settings with a focus on health and social care.
Interprofessional learning
Accredited course
Placement opportunities
Benefit from a number of research partnerships, including The NHS, and the National Institute for Health Research Network
Opportunity to engage in exciting research projects
A focus on professional and personal development
This programme takes a student-centred approach to study through active participation, self-directed learning, and research, and the model of joint learning with other professionals is fully embedded within the teaching strategy. This is supported by a wide range of structured, planned, and additional teaching.
The University aims to support students in their learning and to produce independent, enquiring, and knowledgeable graduates and social work practitioners.
To support learning and accommodate a range of styles, the School's approaches to teaching and learning are diverse and include:
- Fostering interprofessional learning to collaborate with and learn alongside other health and social care students, including Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Nursing students.
- The involvement of service users, carers, and practitioners to promote the application of theory, knowledge, and values into practice.
- Utilising the School's excellent simulation resources to enable skills development within a safe and supported learning environment.
- Peer-learning opportunities such as knowledge exchange presentations, on-line discussion boards, and collaborative group-based learning.
- The active use of research to inform practice is embedded within each module, offering the opportunity to incrementally support development as a research informed practitioner.
- Examining global and international perspectives on social work to further develop understanding and capacity as a professional social worker.
Placements in social work and health organisations are a key feature of this course. Over the duration of the programme, you will spend 170 days on placement, which will include 70 days on your first placement and 100 days on the second placement. Placements are generally located across partners in Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, and North East Lincolnshire. Students will be expected to travel across the county as necessary to attend their allocated placement. At least one of the placements will take place in a statutory setting.
Students are usually required to be at the University three days per week during teaching time, and expected to allocate one to two working days per week for independent study, research, preparation, and to complete assessed work.
Students are likely to incur additional costs for travel to practice placements on this course and are expected to hold a valid Driving Licence to enable them to drive in the UK while undertaking their practice placements (unless a disability/medical condition prevents them from doing so). For further information on driving in the UK please see: https://www.gov.uk/browse/driving/driving-uk-and-abroad.
† Some courses may offer optional modules. The availability of optional modules may vary from year to year and will be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved. This means that the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed. Optional module selection may also be affected by staff availability.
We want you to have all the information you need to make an informed decision on where and what you want to study. In addition to the information provided on this course page, our What You Need to Know page offers explanations on key topics including programme validation/revalidation, additional costs, contact hours, and our return to face-to-face teaching.
Students can benefit from the excellent research partnerships across the School of Health and Social Care. These include:
Additionally, there are a number of Individual research projects currently being undertaken at programme level that highlight the School’s commitment to embedding research within social work practice. These include:
This programme has satisfied all the professional qualification requirements set by the professional regulator (Social Work England). Upon successful completion of the programme students will be eligible to apply to register as a qualified social work practitioner with Social Work England.
Assessment methods on this programme include written submissions, case studies, presentations, portfolios, a Readiness for Practice assessment interview, practice based assessment, in class tests, and a dissertation.
The final dissertation involves primary research with practitioners and or service users to investigate key social issues or to evaluate existing services. Recent successful dissertation topics have included:
- An evaluation of a regional befriending scheme for older people
- The role of social workers in challenging child poverty
- The experiences of kinship carers
- The impact of rurality in delivering social work to young people with disabilities
- Placing sibling groups for adoption.
Assessment Feedback
The University of Lincoln's policy on assessment feedback aims to ensure that academics will return in-course assessments to students promptly - usually within 15 working days of the submission date.
Postgraduate study is an investment in yourself and your future. It can help you to further or completely change your career, develop your knowledge, enhance your salary, or even prepare you to start your own business. Postgraduate students at the University of Lincoln benefit from inspirational teaching combined with high-quality facilities and learning spaces, great industry links, and unique research opportunities, all of which are designed to help you stand out from the crowd and make the most of your time with us. Graduates from the programme have gone on to work in a broad range of social work settings, including children’s services, adults services, mental health trusts, and in a range of independent and voluntary sector organisations.
Postgraduate Application Support
Applying for a postgraduate programme at Lincoln is easy. Find out more about the application process and what you'll need to complete on our How to Apply page. Here, you'll also be able to find out more about the entry requirements we accept and how to contact us for dedicated support during the process.
How to Apply
A minimum of a 2:2 degree with relevant prior experience (including voluntary) in social care, education, or health. This programme also requires GCSE English Language at grade C or above (or equivalent).
We do not specify a minimum length of time in social work since we are most interested in how you reflect upon your experience. If you have studied outside of the UK and are unsure whether your qualification meets the above requirements, please visit our country pages https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/studywithus/internationalstudents/entryrequirementsandyourcountry/ for information on equivalent qualifications.
International Applicants
We welcome international applications although our places are very limited.
All international applicants require IELTS 7.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each element for students whose first language is not English. Applicants must provide a valid IELTS certificate at the point of application.
Students who have completed a UK degree within 5 years of their proposed enrolment at the University will not be required to provide IELTS.
For information regarding other English language qualifications we accept, please visit the English Requirements page https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/studywithus/internationalstudents/englishlanguagerequirementsandsupport/englishlanguagerequirements/.
For further advice on IELTS and the support available, please contact the International College by email at internationalcollege@lincoln.ac.uk.
International applicants need to obtain a recent criminal record certificate from their home country and ensure this is still valid by the date of enrolment in addition to the DBS requirements detailed below. A list of admissible certificates can be found on the UK Government website; please see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants.
Other requirements include:
Shortlisted applicants will also have to pass screening processes in terms of professional suitability: DBS criminal record checks; health declaration; professional references. The University will pay for DBS checks.
You must declare all spent and unspent criminal convictions including (but not limited to) cautions, reprimands, final warnings, bind over orders or similar and details of any minor offences, fixed penalty notices, penalty notices for disorder, ASBOs or VOOs.
Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/disclosure-and-barring-service
If you would like further information about entry requirements or would like to discuss whether the qualifications you are currently studying are acceptable, please contact the admissions team on 01522 886097, or email admissions@lincoln.ac.uk.
You will need to have funding in place for your studies before you arrive at the University. Our fees vary depending on the course, mode of study, and whether you are a UK or international student. You can view the breakdown of fees for this programme below.
The University offers a range of merit-based, subject-specific, and country-focused scholarships for UK and international students. To help support students from outside of the UK, we offer a number of international scholarships which range from £1,000 up to the value of 50 per cent of tuition fees. For full details and information about eligibility, visit our scholarships and bursaries pages.
All candidates on the MSc programme who meet basic UK residency criteria will be able to apply for a Social Work Bursary to support their studies. The bursary provides a basic grant as well as means-tested allowances for a range of needs. For full details and information about eligibility, please visit: http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/825.aspx.
Eligible students may be able to apply for an NHS Student Bursary for Practice Placement Expenses. Please see: www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-bursary-students
For each course you may find that there are additional costs. These may be with regard to the specific clothing, materials or equipment required.
With regards to text books, the University provides students who enrol with a comprehensive reading list and you will find that our extensive library holds either material or virtual versions of the core texts that you are required to read. However, you may prefer to purchase some of these for yourself and you will be responsible for this cost.
As students will be expected to travel across the county as necessary to attend their allocated placement, they are likely to incur additional costs for travel to practice placements on this course and are expected to hold a valid driving licence to enable them to drive in the UK while undertaking their practice placements (unless a disability/medical condition prevents them from doing so).
For further information on driving in the UK please see: https://www.gov.uk/browse/driving/driving-uk-and-abroad
Postgraduate Funding Options
Find out more about the optional available to support your postgraduate study, from Master's Loans to scholarship opportunities. You can also find out more about how to pay your fees and access support from our helpful advisors.
Explore Funding Options
If you have any questions about this course then you can speak to the Programme Leader.
Dave Callow
To get a real feel for what it is like to study at the University of Lincoln, we hold a number of dedicated postgraduate events and activities throughout the year for you to take part in.
Upcoming Postgraduate Events
