Social Work BA (Hons)

Our course is approved by the HCPC, which makes it a professional qualification in social work. When you graduate, you’ll be able to apply to register with the HCPC as a social worker.

As a social worker, you’ll be at the forefront of helping the people most in need. You could work with a range of people, who are facing a range of issues, in a public, private or charitable organisation. You could even work independently. Increasingly, social workers work closely in teams with professionals from other disciplines. Your placements will have given you experience of working both with adults and children, by the end of the course you will have a better idea of the area you are most interested in.

Our course will prepare you for working in a variety of settings, many of which can be as rewarding as they are challenging. You’ll learn to work safely and within the law, and develop a wide range of transferable skills, including case management and communication skills. Examples of settings our graduates work in include the YMCA, learning disability charities, family centres and county or city councils. Different services our graduates are involved in are adult safeguarding, youth offender, adult in needs, children protection, fostering and adoption. Read our graduates' employability case studies for more details.

Our course is full-time, and features presentations and role play as well as more traditional lectures and seminars. We work closely with our SUCI (Service User and Carers Involvement) group. This gives you a chance to discuss with people who have experience and opinions about social care and use their feedback to improve your practice.

All of our students do two practice placements – 70 days in Year 2, and 100 days in Year 3. One of these placement will involve statutory tasks, including legal interventions. Both placements are an invaluable opportunity to learn in the workplace and you will cover a range of topics such as engagement, assessment, interpersonal skills, interventions, safeguarding and the appropriate use of authority.

If you study in Chelmsford, your placements will be anywhere in Essex, including Thurrock and Southend authorities. If you are a Cambridge student, your placements could be anywhere in Cambridgeshire and possibly in Peterborough. We have limited access to statutory placements outside these areas. You cannot choose your placement but rather it is assigned by the university. We will make sure that you get a range of settings to best support your training. It’s likely that you’ll have to travel as part of your placement, so you’ll need your own transport to visit service users in the community, where public transport may not be available.