Course summary

Are you a people person? Do you possess patience and perseverance? As a Social Worker, you’ll work with some of the most marginalised groups in society, supporting them to overcome barriers in order to lead a fulfilled life. Why study this subject? Knowing how to work with someone to overcome the challenges they face in life isn’t easy, but this course will give you the insight and understanding to do just that. As a Social Worker you’ll be aware of the impact of social issues including poverty, deprivation and exclusion. Social Workers aim to work in partnership with individuals and families to find solutions to unique problems. They also work towards improving quality of life. As a Social Worker, you’ll work with complex situations and learn to balance tensions between care and control. You’ll also engage in relationship-based practice whilst fulfilling the expectations of your employer. The choice to become a Social Worker shouldn’t be taken lightly. We welcome students who are committed to their future career and determined to make a difference to the lives of others. Why study at Buckinghamshire New University? At BNU you’ll gain experience working with people who might need Social Work support because your study will combine classroom theory with real-life experience, some of which involves working alongside current Social Workers. We also work closely with People with Lived Experience so you can hear first-hand about the impact you could make with individuals and communities. We work with a broad range of partners to offer interesting Social Work placements including Local Authorities, Healthcare Trusts, and organisations from the voluntary and independent sectors, all of which are within a 25-mile radius of our High Wycombe campus. Our MSc Social Work programme is accredited by Social Work England which means you’ll be eligible to apply for registration as a Social Worker in England as soon as you graduate. Our lecturers, all of whom are former Social Work practitioners, have rich experience from which to draw on. Our lecturers will help you make sense of the theoretical elements of your studies by introducing their practice wisdom to lectures. Our tutors remain up to date with the latest sector changes and many of them lead and are involved with external forums, discussing and influencing the future of the sector. We also have course lecturers who are published authors in the field of Social Work. One of the most rewarding elements of studying Social Work is sharing your experience with other students. Some days will be intensely emotional, so it’s important that you have a friendly team around you. We pride ourselves in our ability to get to know all our students, so you’ll be supported by personal tutors in groups of no more than ten. This will help you to get to know us as well as each other. What are my career prospects? We're proud of our consistently high employability rate for our graduates. We have good relationships with local employers who are always impressed with how prepared our graduates are for the transition from University to work. We offer a recruitment event in the final year where you're able to meet with employers to explore the next steps in terms of your first year of newly qualified status. We also encourage you to start networking in your final year placement which is often a springboard to future employment. We recognise that your journey to becoming a Social Worker doesn't simply end with us and we strive to ‘mind the gap’ between your education and new career. Once qualified, you can work within a range of settings including local authorities, hospitals, and voluntary services for drug and alcohol users or youth justice services.