In Year 1 you will have the opportunity to develop core academic knowledge and skills and will study five academic modules:

• Research/dissertation year 1
• Law for professional practice
• Social identity, citizenship and social work practice
• Social Work skills, values and approaches
• Theory and methods module linked to your first professional practice learning placement and an associated academic assignment

The social work regulatory body, the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) 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 this skills development you will be required to undertake a Practice Orientation period with a local organisation. During this period you will be oriented to core processes of referral, assessment, multi disciplinary working – including engagement with service users and you will be assessed on your professional behaviour. 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 Northampton 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 Northampton itself and so students who live outside Northampton 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
• Mental Health

The placement in year one is for 70 days. All students will have a practice tutor and practice educator who is a qualified registered social worker and they might also have a day-to-day supervisor called a practice supervisor.

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 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. Students will undertake learning in relation to work with both children and families and adults and communities and this will be incorporated within a framework which encourages students to adopt a ‘think family’ approach to social work. Teaching and learning will concentrate on cross-cutting issues for practice around risk and protection, whole-family approaches, collaborative working, and strengths based approaches.

Also in this final year you will 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.

The programme welcomes applications from international students who will undertake the same placements as USA students and obtain a detailed understanding of the operation of the English social work system. 

The entry requirement is an upper second-class (2.1) honours degree classification or higher and a minimum of 3 months or 60 days related social care experience (related personal experience will be considered but only alongside practice-based experience). Equivalence is reviewed for international students. Applicants with a 2:2 degree classification may be considered, on a case-by-case basis, if they have further related postgraduate study. We also require GCSE Mathematics and English at grade C or certificated equivalent level two numeracy and literacy qualification.  

If your qualifications differ from those listed here, please contact the central Admissions team for guidance.

Applicants must confirm prior to interview/offer decision making that they have the ability to use basic IT facilities, including word processing, internet browsing and the use of mail, and be asked to specify how these skills have been obtained.

Please note that work experience is not considered in lieu of meeting the academic entry requirements. You will be required to meet the practice element in addition to meeting the academic criteria.

Applicants must show, in the appropriate section of the application form, that they meet or intend to meet, all of the academic criteria.

Their ability to meet the academic criteria should be confirmed in their academic reference.

In addition to this, applicants must provide details, within their personal statement, of their related personal or social care experience and the influence this has had on their commitment to and understanding of, social work. A subsequent practice reference will be required if an offer is made.

Their personal statement should also provide evidence of their ability to write in a clear, coherent and accessible style.

Shortlisted applicants may be required to read a short academic text and complete a written exam on their understanding of general issues related to social work.

Applicants completing this test may then be invited back for an interview. In some instances some applicants will attend the interview before the written exam.

Selected applicants will be required to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and Delcaration of Suitability for Social Work form before registration on the programme.

Where an applicant has disclosed a criminal offence, they will be asked to provide further details on this offence in a letter to the department.

A satisfactory social care practice reference will also be required.

Please note that work experience is not considered in lieu of meeting the academic entry requirements. You will be required to meet the practice element in addition to meeting the academic criteria.

Although all modules on our social work programmes are compulsory, the university APL policy allows us to give credit for learning that has been asssessed and certificated by another HEI. Any applicants wishing to apply for entry to years 2 or 3 of the BA programme, or year 2 of the MA programme, can note this on their UCAS form. Any potential applicants are invited to contact the admissions tutor to discuss their situation in further detail, as each is considered on a case by case basis.

Applications are made online via the University Application Service, EUCLID.

Please follow the instructions carefully and make sure that you have included the following documentation with your application:

• Degree certificates showing award of degree.
• Previous academic transcripts for all past degree programmes.
• A reference in support or your application. The reference should be academic and dated no earlier than one year from the start of study on the LLM programme.
• Evidence of English language proficiency, if required.

If you are currently studying for your degree or you are not in a possession of an English test result you may still apply to the programme. Please note that it is your responsibility to submit the necessary documents.

After your application has been submitted you will be able to track its progress through the University’s applicant hub.

Application processing times will vary however the admissions team will endeavour to process your application within four to six weeks of submission. Please note that missing documentation will delay the application process.

You will be informed as soon as possible of the decision taken. Three outcomes are possible:

• You may be offered a place unconditionally
• You may be offered a conditional place, which means that you must fulfil certain conditions that will be specified in the offer letter. Where a conditional offer is made, it is your responsibility to inform the College Postgraduate Office when you have fulfilled the requirements set out.
• Your application may be unsuccessful. If your application has not been successful, you can request feedback from us or refer to our guidance for unsuccessful applicants, which explains some of the common reasons we why we reach this decision.
  View the University’s guidance for unsuccessful applicants

• The University’s terms and conditions form part of your contract with the University, and you should read them, and our data protection policy, carefully before applying.

  Northampton University admissions terms and conditions