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MA Social Work (Postgraduate Entry)

Course details
  • MA (PG)
  • 2 Years
  • Full-time
  • 22/09/2025
  • Undergraduate
Course location
Main Site

Course summary

Our MA Social Work course will help you become a highly effective social worker through a combination of teaching and practice placements.

Our course meets the requirements of the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF) for social work practice in England, the Knowledge and Skills Statements for children, adult and mental health social workers, and the regulatory requirements of Social Work England.

You will be eligible to apply to register as a qualified social worker with Social Work England upon completion of the course. Our generic qualification enables you to work in all areas of social work practice.

You will benefit from particularly high quality placements and greater input from practising social workers through our membership of the Greater Manchester Social Work Academy, a government-sponsored Teaching Partnership that ensures close links between local employers and universities across Greater Manchester.

You will learn in small cohorts with a supportive and inclusive teaching ethos and benefit from innovative and effective teaching and learning methods, including the use of simulation suites to improve your practice skills.

Each student is allocated an individual Academic Adviser who offers academic and pastoral support across the two years of the programme.

Overseas students will, in addition to the support above, receive support from the language centre and our well established international student services. The course proactively supports overseas students.

You will have the opportunity to work on an MA dissertation in a social work area you are most interested in with support from an allocated individual supervisor

Both placements and taught elements will help you learn how to work with a variety of user groups in a range of settings

How to apply

Apply by
29 January

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Course code:
L508
Institution code:
M20
Campus name:
Main Site
Campus Code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

UCAS Tariff - Not accepted

A level - Not accepted

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016) - Not accepted

Access to HE Diploma - Not accepted

Scottish Higher - Not accepted

GCSE/National 4/National 5

You must also have GCSE English grade C/4 by the start of the course.

We normally require you to have an Upper Second class honours degree or above. This can be in any subject area. Relevant employment and/or personal experience within a health or social care setting is highly desirable.

If you have a Lower Second classification degree, your application will be considered on a case-by-case basis depending on your experience.

You must also have GCSE English grade C/4 by the start of the course.

We do not accept other Level 2 qualifications as equivalent to GCSE English (eg Functional Skills) and will only consider specific international qualifications as equivalents.

Additional entry requirements

Admission tests
Criminal records declaration (DBS/Disclosure Scotland)
Health checks
Interview
Institutions Own Test (IOT)
Own Test. Applicants are required to undertake a short written test and on-line Numerical Assessment test as part of the interview day.

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)77.0 overall with no element below 6.5
International students must demonstrate English proficiency through a secure and approved testing system. We ask for English language proof if you are from non-majority English speaking countries (a list of majority English speaking countries, as defined by the UK Home Office, can be found here ). Specifically, we require a minimum of: - IELTS overall score of 7 or above with no element below 6.5, or - TOEFL minimum of 600 (paper-based); 250 (computer-based); 100 (internet-based), or - GCSE English grade C (a Grade 4 in the newly reformed GCSEs in England) or above, or - evidence of equivalent learning that is accepted by the University.

Requirements for your country https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/international/country-specific-information/

Contextual admissions

Universities and colleges consider more than grades when assessing applications and may make offers based on a range of criteria. Learn more about contextual offers.

We operate contextual admissions meaning many applicants receive an offer and are admitted at least one grade below standard entry requirements. Entry requirements for applicants meeting contextual admissions criteria are listed next to the standard entry requirements on course profiles.

Historical entry grades data BETA

This section shows the range of grades students (with UK A-Levels or Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diplomas) who received offers were previously accepted with (learn more). It is designed to support your research but does not guarantee whether you will or won't get a place. Admissions teams consider various factors, including interviews, subject requirements, and entrance tests. Check all course entry requirements for eligibility.

Not enough data available

We are unable to show previous accepted grades for this course. This could be because the course is new, it's a postgraduate course, there isn't enough historical data, or the provider has opted out of sharing their entry grades data for this course - learn more.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

No fee information has been provided for this course

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.

Additional fee information

Fees for entry in 2025 have not yet been set. For entry in 2024 the tuition fees were £9,250 per annum for home students, and are expected to increase slightly for 2025 entry.

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