Course details
How will I study?
Assessment methods include essays, an examination, oral and visual presentations, a viva voce, placement reports, case studies and a 12,000-word dissertation.
All elements of the Social Work MA assessment are mandatory and you must pass them all. It's not possible to miss an aspect of course assessment on the grounds of illness and be awarded the Social Work MA on the basis of marks for the remaining aspects of assessment.
Work placement
You complete 200 practice development days, drawing on our excellent partnerships with local service users, carers and social work, and social care and health agencies:
- 170 days in two social work placements – both the 70-day placement and the 100-day placement are to be undertaken in Sussex local authorities. These are organised through the South Coast Regional Centre for Social Work Education (SCRC). Find out more about this pioneering social work education partnership.
- 30 days of Practice Development Workshops delivered by experienced practitioners, academic faculty and experts by experience (service users and carers).
These specialist placement and learning pathways give you experience of child and family as well as adult social work.
How are students supported in their learning? – Dr Reima Ana Maglajlic
Modules
Year 1
Core modules
Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.
- Research Methods and Dissertation
- Social Work Practice 1
- Theory, Methods and Values in Practice 1
- Human Development and Social Relationships
- Law and Social Policy
- Social Adversity, Risk and Resilience
Year 2
Core modules
Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.
- Organisations and Inter-professional Practice
- Social Work Practice 2
- Theory, Methods and Values in Practice 2
Please note
If you’re receiving – or applying for – USA federal Direct Loan funds, you can’t undertake your placement/internship in the USA. Find out more about American Student Loans and Federal Student Aid
Life as a Masters student
Postgraduate students work together in a social work seminar.
A member of faculty presents a social work lecture.
Social work students enjoy a session at the Keep, a world-class centre for archives close to the Sussex campus.
Students attend a social work seminar.
Placements are an integral part of many social work courses at Sussex.
A social work seminar at Sussex.
Our experts
Social Work MA students benefit from the range of expertise at Sussex – Dr Reima Ana Maglajlic
Dr Henglien Chen
Lecturer in Social Work
Research interests
ageing care policy and practice: cross country comparison, ageing care service provisions, ageing care workforce, family carer for older people, gerontology social work
Dr Kristine Hickle
Senior Lecturer in Social Work and Social Care
Research interests
childhood and youth, Groups, groupwork, human trafficking, sexual violence, Social work, Trauma
Prof Michelle Lefevre
Professor of Social Work
Research interests
child protection, child well-being, Communication, psychoanalysis, Social work
Mr Barry Luckock
Senior Lecturer in Social Work & SocialPolicy
Research interests
Social work
Dr Reima Ana Maglajlic
Senior Lecturer In Social Work And Social Care
Research interests
Mental Health, Participatory Design, participatory methods, radical social work, Social rights and social justice, social welfare reform, social work and political conflict, social work and social development
Dr Tish Marrable
Senior Lecturer in Social Work and Social Care
Research interests
Autism and Social Care, Bereavement, Death and Dying, disability, Shamanic practice
Dr David Orr
Senior Lecturer in Social Work
Research interests
adult protection, adult safeguarding, Andean studies, anthropology of the Andes, Dementia, ethnography, Global Mental Health, medical anthropology, medical humanities, Mental Health
Prof Elaine Sharland
Professor of Social Work Research
Research interests
child well-being, childhood and youth, Knowledge generation - Co-Creation, Research design and methodology, risk, Social work
Prof Rachel Thomson
Professor of Childhood & Youth Studies
Research interests
Social behaviour, Sociology
Prof Charles Watters
Professor of Wellbeing and Social Care
Research interests
Asylum seeking, Children and migration, medical anthropology, Mental Health and Well-Being, Refugees and asylum, Social work, well-being
Dr Russell Whiting
Senior Lecturer in Social Work and Care
Research interests
Alternative Spiritualities/New Religious Movements, Church History & History Of Theology, Modern British history, Social work
Course enquiries
+44 (0)1273 872595
eswenquiries@sussex.ac.uk
Find out about the Department of Social Work and Social Care
Research Methods and Dissertation
- 60 credits
- All Year Teaching, Year 1 credits
The Research Methods and Dissertation module comprises two parts:
- a workshop sequence which introduces you to the idea of research-mindedness in social work and research methods for evidence-informed practice and guides your planning of a research proposal which includes the use of a rapid evidence review methodology
- a supervision framework, which provides academic guidance and personal support during the process of approval of title and Dissertation preparation.
The aim of the module as a whole is to enable you to:
- develop and demonstrate research-mindedness in social work through the acquisition of an informed awareness and critical understanding of relevant social research methodologies and methods
- define appropriate research questions, plan how to explore and analyse them in practice, reflect upon and debate ethical issues arising in social work research and the criteria used for resolving them and design a feasible research proposal that will guide Dissertation work
- learn about and make use of one review methodology, that of rapid evidence review
- use that methodology to produce a coherent report and analysis of data addressing the research questions selected and reaching conclusions that demonstrate sound judgement about the quality of the evidence and its relevance and validity for social work practice and policy.
You are able to choose your own Dissertation topic but it must be directly relevant to social work as a profession and/or discipline.
Social Work Practice 1
- 0 credits
- Autumn & Spring Teaching, Year 1 credits
The Social Work Practice 1 placement provides the opportunity to gain required experience of direct practice and learning in the social work role in one social work practice setting and to reflect critically on this experience. The social work practice teaching and supervision enables you to maximise your learning from both personal experience, theoretical literature and empirical research relevant to the practice setting
This will include opportunities for skills teaching and development including the opportunity to develop competence and values in practice towards the standard required for registration as a qualified social work practitioner. Your practice will be informed and developed according to the principles of valuing diversity and equalities awareness that underpin ethical and effective social work. This module will give you the opportunity to understand and experience the inter-professional context of partnership working in social work practice.
Theory, Methods and Values in Practice 1
- 30 credits
- Autumn & Spring Teaching, Year 1 credits
This module examines the nature of the contemporary social work role and task. It draws in particular upon psycho-social and ecological perspectives to explore in detail the relationship between individuals experiencing difficulties and their social and economic environments.
You will have the opportunity to consider the process of identity formation for people who use services and the relationship between this and the external environments in which difficulties arise. You will increase your own self awareness and explore the ways in which they can build effective relationships with people who use services, utilising a strengths based approach to effect change in a variety of circumstances. You will also critically examine the nature and role of contemporary social work including an exploration of power, oppression and policy formation and implementation, and obtain a clear appreciation of the complexities and ambiguities of the contexts in which social work takes place. A consideration of social work values and ethics runs throughout this module and will be integrated into the teaching as will a focus upon developing a research minded approach to your work. You will also examine recent changes to social work practice and current themes, including risk, working in partnership, user involvement.
Human Development and Social Relationships
- 15 credits
- Autumn Semester, Year 1 credits
The aim of this module is to provide an overview of key theories of human growth and development in the context of social relationships. In particular the module will: critically examine developmental and socio-cultural concepts, such as attachment, resilience, loss and change, identity and self in relation to their relevance to social work policy and practice, explore the social, political and professional contexts in which developmental pathways and social relationships are established, maintained and changed, especially in respect of the influence of class, 'race', gender, sexuality and disablement, consider these issues of selfhood in relation to others across the human life-course from conception to death.
Law and Social Policy
- 15 credits
- Autumn Semester, Year 1 credits
This module introduces the statutory and policy contexts of ethical social work practice. It provides the opportunity to: acquire knowledge about, and critically examine, the legal rules underpinning social work practice, acquire knowledge about and critically examine the policy and organisational context of social work, explore the contested and ambiguous dynamics of power and discrimination through which the values and ethics of social work are applied or negotiated within legal and policy frameworks, critically reflect on the process by which lawful, ethical and evidence-based judgements and decisions are made in social work practice in respect of questions of vulnerability, need, harm, risk, safety, protection and care.
Social Adversity, Risk and Resilience
- 15 credits
- Autumn Semester, Year 1 credits
In this module, you develop your understanding of the impact of various forms of social adversity on personal well-being and social relationships, within diverse family and cultural settings, and across the life course.
Social adversity includes relationships of inequality and poverty, neglect and abuse and other forms of oppression and discrimination that harm, subordinate or marginalise people, undermining their human rights, social citizenship and wider well-being.
Taking a life-course perspective, you're encouraged to explore the ways in which mental and physical health, well-being and social opportunity are harmed by experiences of discrimination, abuse and neglect within parenting, care-giving and other social relationships across the life course.
As part of the module, you critically consider approaches to understanding and assessing the causes and likely consequences of harmful relationships, with an emphasis on supporting resilient responses to risk and harm and in maximising life opportunities.
You pay particular attention to how social workers can make sense of the causes and consequences of common forms of harmful behaviour, including violence and substance misuse, within the wider social and cultural context.
This understanding is designed to enhance capability in child and adult safeguarding and protection, which is at the heart of much of contemporary social work practice.
Organisations and Inter-professional Practice
- 15 credits
- Autumn & Spring Teaching, Year 2 credits
In this module, you examine theory and research to help prepare you for the contemporary organisational settings you will work in, and inter-professional working relationships you will form.
You will develop an understanding of how core social work roles and tasks are undertaken effectively in an inter-agency context, where coordinated professional responses are required. You also go on an organisational observation.
You are trained to meet the professional capability standards set out in The College of Social Work Professional Capabilities Framework.
You learn to:
- adapt to changing contexts that shape practice
- operate effectively within own organisational frameworks
- contribute to the development of services and organisations
- operate effectively within multi-agency and inter-professional settings.
Social Work Practice 2
- 0 credits
- Autumn & Spring Teaching, Year 2 credits
This module is directly linked with the second practice placement (SWP2). It provides the opportunity for the further consolidation and extension of knowledge and understanding of social work roles and tasks and the development of skill and competence in social work practice. In line with GSSC and CWDC policy it enables practice to become increasingly specialised in the chosen setting.
The placement provides: the opportunity to gain additional experience of direct practice and learning in the social work role in a social work practice setting that differs from Social Work Practice 1, and to reflect critically on this experience; social work practice teaching and supervision that enables maximisation of learning from both personal experience, theoretical literature and empirical research relevant to the practice setting. This will include opportunities for skills teaching and development; the opportunity to further develop competence and values in practice towards the standard required for registration as a qualified social work practitioner; the chance to further inform practice with the principles of valuing diversity and equalities awareness that underpin ethical and effective social work by doing so in a second practice setting and with a different group of people using the service; the opportunity to understand and experience the inter-professional context of partnership working in social work practice in that second setting.
Theory, Methods and Values in Practice 2
- 30 credits
- Autumn & Spring Teaching, Year 2 credits
This module is directly linked with the first practice placement (SWP1). The focus here is on the nature of the contemporary social work role and tasks. Drawing in particular on psycho-social and ecological perspectives it will enable students to:
- consider the process of identity formation for people who use services and the relationship between this and the external environments in which difficulties arise
- increase their own self awareness and explore the ways in which they can build effective relationships with people who use services, utilising a strengths based approach to assess needs and effect change in a variety of circumstances
- critically examine the nature and role of contemporary social work including an exploration of power, oppression and policy formation and implementation
- obtain a clear appreciation of the complexities and ambiguities of the contexts in which social work takes place.