MA Social Work
- Entry year:
- 2025/26
- Start date:
- September
- Study mode:
- Full-time
- Course duration:
- 2 years
- Campus:
- City
About this course
Qualify as a social worker on LJMU's Social Work MA, which is approved by Social Work England and caters for all service users in many settings.
- Develop the necessary knowledge and skills to practice as a qualified social worker in a range of settings
- Bursaries and funding support available for eligible applicants to help cover the cost of the course
- Learn from experienced social work practitioners
- Benefit from two key work placements
- Enjoy a wide range of teaching and assessment techniques
Social Work education at Liverpool John Moores University is provided in collaboration with the Cheshire and Merseyside Social Work Teaching Partnership. Our teaching partnership comprises four Higher Education Institutions, eight Local Authorities, three NHS Trusts and a Voluntary Sector Organisation covering the Liverpool City Region, Warrington Cheshire West and Chester, and West Lancashire.
The Partnership provides well-designed, challenging and sustainable social work education at initial and post-qualifying levels. As practice education is provided in collaboration with the partnership most placements will be drawn from the partnerships geographical footprint.
Our programme will give you the skills, confidence and ability to: work with people in a caring and professional manner, assess situations for change, write concise and coherent reports and make convincing spoken and written presentations of ideas. You will summarise and present data, work individually and as part of a team and produce solutions to problems.
The regulatory body for social work in England is Social Work England. You can read more about its regulatory body role on the Social Work England website.
Upon successful completion of an accredited programme, you are eligible to apply for registration with Social Work England.
MA Social Work at LJMU
Course modules
Discover the building blocks of your programme
Further guidance on modules
Modules are designated core or optional in accordance with professional body requirements, as applicable, and LJMU’s Academic Framework Regulations. Whilst you are required to study core modules, optional modules provide you with an element of choice. Their availability may vary and will be subject to meeting minimum student numbers.
Where changes to modules are necessary these will be communicated as appropriate.
Core modules
Professional accreditation
Our MA Social Work postgraduate degree is approved by Social Work England.
Your Learning Experience
An insight into teaching on your course
Study hours
The MA Social Work degree is a full-time course.
In year one, you will have up to four days on site study per week and one day for independent or virtual learning. You will also go on a 70 day full-time placement. Independent learning hours vary from module to module.
In year two, on site study will normally be reduced to three days per week, with two days for independent or virtual learning. You will also undertake a 100 day full-time placement, with additional time to complete your dissertation.
Please note: students are required to fund travel to and from both mandatory placements.
Teaching methods
You will mainly be taught by registered social work practitioners who are also expert teachers, researchers and writers. Tutors have good practice connections in the local area ensuring that course content is always informed by the latest practice.
Staff use a wide variety of teaching methods. Interactive lectures involve a range of student-centred learning approaches, including small group work, role-play, discussion and case studies. Specialist IT and online resources are also used. Practical sessions involve live enactments to enhance communication and interpersonal skills.
The course benefits from Liverpool's diverse and vibrant culture. The city's excellent art galleries and museums, for example, offer ample opportunities for critical reflection, with the world renowned International Slavery Museum used to explore the roots of oppression. In addition to this, the varied life stages and experiences of the students themselves create a rich learning environment for all.
Applied learning
The course is designed to balance academic learning and the development of social work skills. There is a strong emphasis on integrating practice and theory, with the purpose of producing theoretically informed and highly competent practitioners. The curriculum is mapped against the QAA Benchmark Statement for Social Work, the Professional Standards (Social Work England) and the Professional Capabilities Framework (BASW).
Watch our video where MA Social Work placement co-ordinators and Senior Lecturers Mel and Phil discuss all things placements.
Social work is a complex and demanding profession that requires a particular combination of intellectual ability, analytical skills, and personal qualities such as emotional resilience, empathy and the ability and willingness to use role-based authority when needed (SWRB, 2011).
"The learning journey that was provided by LJMU and the teachers, for me, was second to none. Each lesson was structured, at a pace that was manageable, and each teacher was fully prepared to answer all questions posed, in fact actively encouraged us to question, think outside the box, and clarify back to check for learning."
-Jackie Costello, Graduate
How learning is monitored on your programme
To cater for the wide-ranging content of our courses and the varied learning preferences of our students, we offer a range of assessment methods on each programme.
You will be continually assessed via essays, group and individual presentations, self-assessment questionnaires and practice learning reports. The research paper, completed as part of the dissertation module, offers the chance to make a real impact.
Where you will study
What you can expect from your School
Situated in the City Campus, the School of Nursing and Allied Health works with a wide range of health and social care organisations to design, deliver and evaluate a dynamic suite of postgraduate programmes. In addition to specialist facilities, you will find high quality meeting and seminar rooms and lecture theatres, the Avril Robarts Library, plus a large café, IT facilities and social spaces.
Course tutors
Dr Daz Greenop
- Programme Leader
The most rewarding aspect of my role is one-to-one supervision and tutorial support, particularly when students are struggling with academic work and/or difficult circumstances. It has been a great source of pleasure seeing a number of those who were close to failing or quitting succeed against the odds and become effective practitioners.
The most rewarding aspect of my role is one-to-one supervision and tutorial support, particularly when students are struggling with academic work and/or difficult circumstances. It has been a great source of pleasure seeing a number of those who were close to failing or quitting succeed against the odds and become effective practitioners.
Daz's professional career focuses on delivering and developing services and support for rough sleepers, people with mental health difficulties, palliative care needs and learning disabilities. He achieved this first as an Assistant Psychologist, and then as a Social Worker. He is interested in the broad fields of: health psychology, medical sociology and critical disability studies, particularly issues of self-care, embodiment and personalisation in relation to disability and illness. He has also been involved in several externally funded studies including a number of projects with LJMUs Centre for Dementia Studies.
Career paths
Further your career prospects
LJMU has an excellent employability record with 96% (HESA 2018) of our postgraduates in work or further study six months after graduation. Our applied learning techniques and strong industry connections ensure our students are fully prepared for the workplace on graduation and understand how to apply their knowledge in a real world context.
Social work is an exciting, intellectually stimulating and emotionally challenging career, enabling you to make a positive difference in the community.
This course enables individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds to work as fully qualified social workers, in a range of settings, catering for all service users.
Tuition fees and funding
- Home full-time per year:
- £4,255
Fees
The fees quoted above cover registration, tuition, supervision, assessment and examinations as well as library membership and student IT support with access to printed, multimedia and digital resources including programme-appropriate software and on campus wifi.
Financial Support
There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students. From loans to International Scholarships and subject-specific funding, you’ll find all of the information you need on our specialist postgraduate funding pages. The University offers a range of financial support for students. You'll find all the information you need on our specialist financial support pages including details of the Student Support Fund and other activities to support with the cost of living.
Additional Costs
In addition to fees, students should also keep in mind the cost of:
- Accommodation
- Travel costs and field trips unless paid for by LJMU
- Stationery, IT equipment, professional body membership and graduation gown hire
Bursaries and funding support
Postgraduate applicants who normally live in England* can apply for a Social Work bursary (SWB) from their first year of study. The SWB is administered by Student Services, part of the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Each year, universities are allocated a number of capped places for bursaries. The university nominates selected applicants for a bursary-funded place; LJMU does this based on interview score. Bursaries are paid directly to the university towards the cost of your tuition fees.
There are two types of SWB: Non-income Assessed and Income Assessed.
- For universities outside of London, the Non-income Assessed SWB is worth £3,362.50
- For universities outside of London, the Income Assessed SWB is up to a maximum of £2,721
Other funding support includes the Parental Learning Allowance, Child Care Allowance, and Adult Dependents Allowance, which some applicants may be eligible for.
For full details of eligibility criteria and exclusions, please visit the NHSBSA Social Work bursary web page.
*The SWB is only available to students who normally live in England and who are ordinarily resident there on the first day of the first academic year of their course. If you normally live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland when you are not attending your social work course, you should apply to your own national funding authority for support.
You will not be eligible if a social care employer is giving you: any paid time off to allow you to attend your studies payment of all or part of your tuition fees payment from a practice learning provider for undertaking placement duties for them. In addition, you will not be eligible if you are receiving: funds through the Department for Education (DfE), excluding student loans any other form of support to assist with your social work training funding from a public body, government benefit agencies and bursaries from your Higher Education Institution.
LJMU Alumni Award Fee Discount If you are eligible, we may nominate you for a bursary. Please note that you would not be able to have both the LJMU Alumni Award (20% fee discount) and the bursary, so are advised to contact moneyadvice@ljmu.ac.uk / 0151 231 3513 for further guidance on which may be the most suitable option for you.
Additional costs
Please note that students are required to fund travel to and from both mandatory placements.
Entry requirements
You will need:
Qualification requirements
How to apply
Securing your place at LJMU
UCAS is the official application route for our full-time undergraduate courses. Further information on the UCAS application process can be found here https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/study/undergraduate-students/how-to-apply.
You will apply for this course via UCAS.
LJM Institution code: L51 Course Code: L508
Please take care to ensure you have completed all relevant parts of the UCAS application form as incomplete application forms will not be accepted and we are unable to process amendments.
We shortlist applicants based on current qualifications, predicted grades, references and UCAS personal statements. The assessment process for social work candidates is directed by Social Work England's requirements.
If shortlisted, you will be invited to an assessment day where comprehension and communication skills, commitment to personal and professional values and the potential to develop professional knowledge and skills will be assessed. An interview, written exercise and group-based task form part of the selection process. Service users and carers/or practitioners will be involved in the selection process and involved in the assessment day.
Please note: This course will only run subject to minimum numbers.
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The University reserves the right to withdraw or make alterations to a course and facilities if necessary; this may be because such changes are deemed to be beneficial to students, are minor in nature and unlikely to impact negatively upon students or become necessary due to circumstances beyond the control of the University. Where this does happen, the University operates a policy of consultation, advice and support to all enrolled students affected by the proposed change to their course or module.