Social Work

Description

This is a broad-based course which benefits from a wide range of staff specialisms. All qualifying programmes like Brunel which were approved by the GSCC have automatically received transitional approval from the HCPC (Health & Care Professions Council).

Our degree in Social Work is delivered in partnership with a number statutory and voluntary agencies alongside service users and carers group BEC (Brunel Experts by Experience Committee) and our Alumni group of past students. The BA is awarded via either the 3-year full-time route or the 6-year part-time route.

The professional and academic elements of the course are closely integrated throughout. Seminars, tutorials and formal classes are integrated with professional practice, and theory is applied through the analysis of social issues and problems.

You must be able to attend university and your placement. The programme is generally delivered between the hours of 9am and 5pm each day but can extend beyond these times.

Candidates must demonstrate the capacity to undertake the academic demands of the course and have relevant work based experience.

Aims

This BA (Hons) Social Work degree programme aims to provide high quality undergraduate social work education and training to equip students with a beginning capability to work in any agency employing social workers in the United Kingdom. It also confers eligibility to apply to the Health and Care Professions Council for registration as a social worker upon successful completion of the prescribed programme of study. Although the statutory sector is the major employer, increasingly social workers are being recruited into the voluntary and private sectors, whether as commissioners or providers of services and whether in field, residential or day services. The programme seeks to encourage the personal responsibility of students to function as independent learners and to develop a critical and reflective appreciation of the role of social work in society.

The curriculum provides teaching in both academic and practice elements, which at Brunel University London are fully integrated. It is designed to ensure that learning occurs in an incremental way, with learning outcomes that develop across levels enabling students to demonstrate progression in professional knowledge, skills and values through three years of study. Specifically, the programme aims to:

• prepare students for critical and reflective professional practice according to the HCPC’s approval standards of education, and The College of Social Work’s Professional Capabilities Framework;

• equip students to practise ethical, innovative and effective social work practice that actively promotes social justice in a diverse society;

• integrate learning in academic and practice elements of the programme so that students have a holistic understanding of social work in variety of professional contexts;

• enable students to identify, understand and critically appraise evidence and research which can inform social work practice;

• enable graduates to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council and apply for membership of The College of Social Work (TCSW) and the British Association of Social Workers (BASW).

Detailed Course Facts

• GBP 9000 Year (EEA)
• GBP 16000 Year (Non-EEA)

UK/EU students: £9,000 full-time; £6,750 part-time ; £1,000 placement year

International students: £16,000 full-time

• English

Course Content

Typical Modules

Year 1

• Introduction to Academic and Professional Practice

• Social Work Themes, Roles & Contemporary Practice

• Human Behaviour and Development

• Social Policy & Sociology

• Introduction to Social Work Law

• Service Users, Carers and Providers

• Critical Reflection and Skills Development 1

Year 2

• Reflective Practice

• Theories for Social Work Practice

• Social Policy for Social Work

• Social Work Law in Context

• Values & Contemporary Issues (options)

• Practice seminars

• Critical Reflection and Skills Development 2

• Level 2 Placement (70 days)

Year 3

• Social Research Methods

• Level 3 Professional Pathways:

  Social Work with Children & Families OR Social Work with Adults

• Level 3 Electives:

  Family Work OR Groups & Communities OR Social Support, Personalisation & Networking

• Critical Reflection and Skills Development 3

• Level 3 Practice Learning (100 days)

Your placements could involve work in the following areas:

• Children and families

• Mental health work

• Older people

• Illness and disability

• Addiction/substance misuse

• Homelessness

• Residential work

English Language Requirements

IELTS band : 7 CAE score : 60(Grade C)

To study at this university, you have to speak English. We advice you to

Requirements

• GCE A-level BBB (General Studies not accepted for this subject at all)
• BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma DDD in a related subject.
• International Baccalaureate Diploma 32 points
• Access to Higher EducationDiploma Complete and pass a related subject Access course with 45 credits at level 3 and 15 credits at level 2 with Merits in all units. Applicants aged 21+ are considered on an individual basis.

GCSE Mathematics grade C and GCSE English grade C are also required.

For BA Social Work we would also consider applicants who are taking: Functional Skills Level 2 in Application of Communication and Application of Number, Key Skills Level 2 in Application of Communication and Application of Number, 12 credits in GCSE English and Maths equivalent units from Access an course, IELTS: Overall grade 7 (min 6.5 in all areas). International GCSE Grade C Maths and English qualifications are also accepted.

Work Experience

No work experience is required.

Related Scholarships*

• Academic Excellence Scholarship

  "The Academic Excellence Scholarship can provide up to a 50 % reduction in tuition per semester. These scholarships will be renewed if the student maintains superior academic performance during each semester of their 3-year Bachelor programme. The scholarship will be directly applied to the student’s tuition fees."

• Access Bursary

  Bursary for UK students all subjects where the variable tuition fee rate is payable.

• Alumni Bursary

  Alumni Bursary for UK Undergraduate students

* The scholarships shown on this page are suggestions first and foremost. They could be offered by other organisations than Brunel University.

Funding

Brunel offers bursaries and scholarships to a wide range of students from different backgrounds and with different talents.

Please note that all information on this page is valid for 2010 entry only. 2011 entry information will be added as soon as it is available.

Brunel Bursaries

A Brunel bursary is a non-repayable sum of money awarded by the University to supplement the Government´s Maintenance Grant. It is designed for undergraduate students from lower-income households.

For 2010 entry, Brunel offers:

• £1,000 per year of study to all undergraduate students entitled to receive a full Maintenance Grant;
• £500 a year to undergraduate students eligible for a partial Maintenance Grant and whose annual household income is between £25,001 and £35,000.

Bursaries are paid automatically to eligible students, in termly instalments - you do not need to make a specific application, but you must indicate on your UCAS form that you consent to financial information being shared with the University.

Brunel Academic Scholarships

Four Scholarship schemes are currently available to new full-time undergraduates at Brunel. Applicants cannot receive more than one Scholarship - you will be awarded the most financially beneficial Scholarship for which you are eligible.

Regional Partnership and Alumni Scholarships

Please note that details and rates are subject to change for 2011 entry.

Brunel's Regional Partnership Scholarships are non-repayable cash awards of up to £3,000, paid each year to up to 25 undergraduate students on the basis of high academic achievement. Brunel Alumni Scholarships (funded by alumni donations) are non-repayable* cash awards of £6,000, paid each year on the same basis as Regional Partnership Scholarships to the five applicants who achieve the highest number of UCAS tariff points.

Eligible students for both Scholarships must have attended a maintained school or college (not an independent or private school) in one of the six boroughs with whom the University operates Widening Participation partnerships - Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow.

You must also meet one or more of the following under-represented criteria:

• You have a disability, including dyslexia (ie you are eligible to apply for the Disabled Student´s Allowance at the time of scholarship allocation in the August of your year of entry);
• You are a care-leaver (ie you have been in care for a minimum of 13 weeks including at the time of your 16th birthday and have declared this on your UCAS form);
• You come from a low-income or low socio-economic background (ie you are entitled to a full Government Maintenance Grant or Special Support grant).

Students who meet the above criteria and who achieve a minimum of 360 UCAS tariff points will be considered for a Regional Partnership Scholarship of up to £3,000 per year or an Alumni Scholarship of £6,000 per year. All applicants attending a partnership school or college who make Brunel their firm choice will be invited to complete an online application in the spring of their year of entry. Only those students who complete the application will be considered for a scholarship.

Brunel Urban Scholarships

Brunel Urban Scholarships are non-repayable cash awards of up to £3,000 per year for students who have attended the Urban Scholars programme at Brunel University for a minimum of two years, who achieve academic excellence and who meet the criteria for obtaining UK fee and maintenance support. Details are sent directly to eligible students.

Brunel Mathematics Scholarships

The Department of Mathematical Sciences offers up to 10 scholarships annually for UK students admitted to one of the undergraduate Mathematics degree programmes (Mathematics, Financial Mathematics, Mathematics and Computing, Mathematics with Computer Science, Mathematical and Management Studies or Mathematics and Statistics with Management). To qualify for a scholarship, students must achieve at least grades AAB at A-level, with grade A in Mathematics or Further Mathematics. Students who achieve 35 points from the International Baccalaureate Diploma, including grade 7 in Higher Level Mathematics, will also be eligible.

Successful applicants will receive £500 in each year of study (except in a placement year), subject to the recipient maintaining at least an upper second class honours standard of academic performance.

Brunel International Scholarships

Scholarships are available to all full international fee paying students who have an offer for a place in the first year of a full-time course at Brunel.

Extra-curricular scholarships and awards

Music Awards

A number of awards are made each year to singers and instrumentalists from any part of the University who are not studying music performance as part of their academic course. Recipients may have all or part of the cost of their music tuition covered while they are studying at Brunel. The University Arts Centre administers the awards through an annual audition system, and you can apply once you have received an offer from Brunel.

The number of awards made each year will vary according to the standard of the applicants and how many students are currently holding full and partial awards, but there will be no fewer than four new awards made each academic year.

Sports Scholarships

The Brunel Sports Scholarship, supported in part by the Borough Road Scholarship Fund, is designed to benefit elite performance athletes by supporting their academic study and sporting commitments simultaneously. The package includes a financial award, free use of our world-class sports facilities and assistance with competition expenses.

Anyone who has fulfilled the conditions of a course and subsequently been given a confirmed place at Brunel can apply, and all applicants must be able to demonstrate sporting achievement at Junior International level or equivalent in one of the 20 Sport England Priority Sports.