Subject overview

Programmes

• PhD in Social Work and Social Care
• DSW in Doctor of Social Work

The School of Education and Social Work provides a vibrant interdisciplinary research community. Our core research themes are pedagogy of professional education, policy and practice across the life-course, and professional knowledges and methodologies. 

Full-time or part-time research student registration is possible. Sussex particularly welcomes applications from those with an existing professional interest in social work who may wish to combine their studies with continuing work in relevant agencies. 

For full-time research students we provide access to computing facilities supplementing those available through University IT Services. There are also research student workrooms, equipped with some PCs. 

PhD in Social Work and Social Care 
(+3): 2-4 years full time/3-6 years part time 
(1+3): 2-5 years full time/5-8 years part time

This degree provides you with the support and resources necessary to complete an original and substantial piece of research, usually but not invariably with a significant empirical component. 

You are normally required to take modules offered within the MSc in Social Research Methods (+3 PhD), or to complete the MSc as the first year of the 1+3 PhD. The MSc modules are supplemented by social work-specific inputs, including individual tutorial support, open research seminars and student self-support groups. 

Social Work and Social Care PhD research at Sussex has ESRC recognition. 

Assessment and progression 

The research proposal developed in the first year of the PhD is reviewed by academic faculty before permission to undertake fieldwork is granted. Annual reviews of progress and training needs are conducted. The research is written up as an 80,000-word thesis, judged by an internal and an external examiner. Their examination includes an oral defence. 

Recent PhD thesis titles 

Sexuality and the asylum process: the perspectives of lesbians seeking asylum in the UK 

What is the experience of establishing an independent practice within the contemporary social care field in England? 

Doctor of Social Work (DSW)
Normally 5 years of part-time study with a minimum registration of 4 years

The part-time DSW is at a level equivalent to the traditional PhD. It suits mid-career professionals in social work, social care or related fields such as health, criminal justice, substance misuse, or youth and community work wanting to take a research-oriented approach to their professional concerns and interests. People who move from practice into Higher Education also find this doctoral degree provides a bridge into a research environment. 

Structured through weekend workshops, the course provides the opportunity for you to be part of a diverse cohort, benefiting from the experience of colleagues engaged in critical issues and seeking solutions to problems in their professional practice. 

The DSW is provided jointly with the Doctor of Education (EdD). It is distinguished from the traditional doctoral route (PhD) by including a structured taught research training module in Years 1 and 2, designed for part-time professional students. 

During the first two phases of the degree, there are six weekend workshops per year. 

Facilitated by leading academics in their field, these workshops provide a lively intellectual environment in which to develop and hone your research skills. There is a strong emphasis on participatory and collaborative working, sharing and benefiting from each other’s professional experience. 

In Phase 3, you will work with your supervisor on the preparation of your thesis. This normally takes between two and four years. During this phase, you will meet with your peers once a term to maintain the momentum of co-operative and interprofessional learning. Communication between workshops is sustained through a virtual learning environment. 

Course structure and assessment

Year 1: six weekend workshops (Friday evenings and Saturdays over three terms) during which you work in a group to develop research skills. There are two supervised assessed projects designed to develop research skills in context: a critical review of research (8,000 words) and a small-scale research project (10,000 words). 

Year 2: developing critical perspectives. Six weekend workshops (Friday evenings and Saturdays over three terms) designed to raise awareness of significant theoretical and methodological positions. You undertake a critical analytical study of an area related to practice and are assigned a supervisor to help shape this project (18,000-20,000 words). 

Successful completion of Years 1 and 2 entitles those participants not continuing to complete the doctorate to be awarded the Postgraduate Certificate (following Year 1) or Masters (following Years 1 and 2) in Social Work Research and Evaluation. You will need to pass each assignment and demonstrate that you can work to a good doctoral standard in order to progress to the final phase of the degree. This involves doing research, written up as a 50,000- word thesis, to be judged by an internal and an external examiner for the award of the degree of Doctor of Social Work (DSW). This examination includes an oral defence. 

Years 3, 4 and 5: research component. A research-based dissertation, normally completed over nine terms with a minimum of six terms (35,000-45,000 words). Working mainly with an individual supervisor, doctoral candidates in Years 3, 4 and 5 also meet on three Saturdays per year to sustain the peer networks and informal learning opportunities established in Years 1 and 2. 

Recent DSW dissertation titles

Becoming effective communicators with children in social work practice: who you are, not just what you know and do 

Border crossings: investigating the comparability of case management in a service for older people in Berlin 

The faithful few: what can social work learn from the stories of African-Caribbean Christian elders? 

Entry requirements

DSW in Doctor of Social Work

UK entrance requirements

A first- or second-class undergraduate honours degree and a Masters degree in a social science discipline; additionally successful applicants will need at least three years of relevant professional experience.

Overseas entrance requirements

If you are an international student and wish to find out if you have the necessary qualifications for this degree, please refer to Overseas qualifications.

English language requirements

IELTS 7.0, with not less than 6.5 in each section. Internet TOEFL with 95 overall, with at least 22 in Listening, 23 in Reading, 23 in Speaking and 24 in Writing.

For more information, refer to English language requirements.

Additional admissions information

Applicants may be considered for admission with advanced standing to the second year of the degree if they have successfully completed appropriate modules on research design and methodology, as part of a comparable doctoral
degree or on a Masters-level research degree associated with doctoral studies (eg the MSc in Social Research Methods). Such admission will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

PhD in Social Work and Social Care

UK entrance requirements

A Masters degree (normally with a dissertation at grade B+ or equivalent) in either Social Research Methods or in a relevant discipline which includes significant research methods training.

Overseas entrance requirements

If you are an international student and wish to find out if you have the necessary qualifications for this degree, please refer to Overseas qualifications.

English language requirements

IELTS 7.0, with not less than 6.5 in each section. Internet TOEFL with 95 overall, with at least 22 in Listening, 23 in Reading, 23 in Speaking and 24 in Writing.

For more information, refer to English language requirements.

Additional admissions information

Research students come from a wide variety of contexts and backgrounds, including social work practice and management, social and health care policy and practice fields, criminal justice, youth and community services, and Higher Education. Those undertaking part-time doctoral research are often in current employment in professional practice.

Related subjects

• Gender studies
• Psychology
• Sociology

Fees and funding

Fees

DSW in Doctor of Social Work

Home UK/EU students: £3,100¹
Channel Island and Isle of Man students: £2,950²
Overseas students: £6,625³

¹ The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
² The fee shown is for the academic year 2012.
³ The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.

PhD in Social Work and Social Care

Home UK/EU students: £3,900¹
Channel Island and Isle of Man students: £3,900²
Overseas students: £13,000³

¹ The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
² The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
³ The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.

Funding

The funding sources listed below are for the subject area you are viewing and may not apply to all degrees listed within it. Please check the description of the individual funding source to make sure it is relevant to your chosen degree.

Faculty interests

Research interests are briefly described below. For more detailed information, visit the Department of Social Work and Social Care.  

Childhood and youth studies

Professor Robin Banerjee Social and emotional development of pupils, self-conscious cognition and emotion, self-presentational behaviour.

Dr Janet Boddy Parents and families, parent and child health and well-being, parenting and family support, children in or at the edges of care, social pedagogy, crossnational research.

Professor Penny Jane Burke Widening access to and participation in Higher Education; critical and feminist pedagogies; gender and identity formations; challenging inequalities in higher education; participatory methodologies.

Dr Rachel Burr Social work, child rights, international aid, international social work, ethnographic-based research methods, Vietnam. 

Dr Anne-Meike Fechter Indonesia, South East Asia; corporate expatriates, transnationalism, development practitioners.

Cath Holmström Admissions and selection for social work education, experiences of younger students on qualifying social work courses. 

Barry Luckock Social policy and social work with children, social work practice and education, adoption, fostering and permanency planning. 

Dr Tish Marrable Children with ‘additional needs’, interprofessional working and professional supervision in integrated teams. 

Dr Sevasti-Melissa Nolas Participation and inclusion of socially marginalised children and young people, supporting community learning. 

Professor Rachel Thomson Childhood and youth studies, young people’s transitions to adulthood, sexuality and sex education.

Dr Jo Westbrook Learning to read, comprehension, wider reading, teacher education in the UK and developing countries, action research.

Dr Benjamin Zeitlyn Access to education, dropout, development, migration, transnationalism, childhoods, ethnic minorities, Islam.

Social work

Professor Suzy Braye Social work practice and the law, policy implementation and professional practice, community care provision. 

Dr Lisa (Henglien) Chen Social gerontology, care policies and services for older people and family carers; long-term care resources. 

Cath Holmström Admissions and selection for social work education, experiences of younger students on qualifying social work courses. 

Sharon Lambley Policy-evaluation research; research into management and leadership within health, social care and Higher Education. 

Dr Michelle Lefevre Social work communication and direct work with children and young people, children with complex care needs. 

Barry Luckock Social policy and social work with children, social work practice and education, adoption, fostering and permanency planning. 

Dr Tish Marrable Children with ‘additional needs’, interprofessional working and professional supervision in integrated teams. 

Dr Sevasti-Melissa Nolas Participation and inclusion of socially marginalised children and young people, supporting community learning. 

Dr David Orr Mental health and mental illness; education in health and social care, and culturally sensitive care; transcultural psychiatry. 

Dr Elaine Sharland Developing research methodologies and capacity in social work and social care, research ethics. 

Professor Imogen Taylor Pedagogic research in Higher Education: learning for professional practice in social work and related professions. 

Dr Russell Whiting Religion and spirituality in social work practice and education, professional values and ethics, history of social work. 

Careers and perspectives

Our graduates have gone on to work across the public and independent sectors as professional practitioners, managers, policy makers, consultants, or researchers. 

School and contacts