Search
Search
Social Work MA/PGDip is the course for you if you're interested in working with people and taking an essential role in protecting children and young people from harm and in supporting people of every age.
Year of entry
2025-26
Location
Coventry University (Coventry)
Study mode
Full-time
Duration
2 years full-time (MA)
18 months full-time (PGDip)
Course code
HLST203
Start date
September 2025
At Coventry University, we continuously review the courses we offer to ensure we reflect industry-relevant emerging best practice and technology. As a result, this course is undergoing continuous improvement assessment and will be launched with a renewed curriculum starting in September 2025. Module content and titles will be updated. Course title, learning outcomes and assessments may also change. We expect our new curriculum to be fully updated by January 2025. Please return to this page to see the final course details.
Social work is a rewarding profession which enables you to work with and support individuals, families and communities of all ages who face difficulties or distress in their lives.
Currently accredited by Social Work England1, our MA/PGDip programmes have been developed in line with government recommendations in response to the demand for a highly skilled workforce.
This course has been accredited1 and recognised by the following bodies:
Regulation of the social work profession is by Social Work England (SWE). These courses have been designed to comply with SWE’s requirements and are currently undergoing re-approval by Social Work England. If there is any change to the approval status we will seek to inform applicants.
On successful completion of the course, you will be eligible to register with Social Work England to practice as a professional Social Worker (additional costs may apply). We also encourage you as students on this course to become members of the British Association of Social Workers (additional costs may apply). Please check with the membership body for details.
As part of the MA course, you will undertake a professional development module which is currently accredited by the Chartered Management Institute. Upon successful completion of the module, you will gain the CMI Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice at no additional cost. Please visit the CMI website for full details. Further details can be found under the module section and on the Professional Development page.
Hear from social worker Joshua Burnall on what it's like working to help children and families day-to-day.
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
Our broad range of knowledge and skill within the team is reflected in our diverse teaching methods. You can expect to experience large group sessions, personal development groups, individual and group tutorial and some online content.
Teaching and learning foregrounds current practice and the courses incorporate the significant involvement of current social work practitioners and people who have used social work services. While on placement, you will work closely with and be fully supported by a qualified social work practitioner.
During year one you can expect to spend approximately 3.5 days per week at the university during term time from September to December, and January to April. The placement between April and July should involve full-time attendance (around 35-37.5 hours per week). In year two, the placement between September and February should involve full-time attendance (around 35-37.5 hours a week).
The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.
As an innovative and enterprising institution, the university may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.
Since COVID-19, we have delivered our courses in a variety of forms, in line with public authority guidance, decisions, or orders and we will continue to adapt our delivery as appropriate. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.
Assessment on the programme mirrors the diverse teaching methods with an approach to meet various skills and competencies as required by the regulation of the programme. This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module.
Assessment methods include:
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.
Each year the university may offer international experiences, and social work students have previously visited Finland and the Netherlands.
Please note that all international experience opportunities may be subject to additional costs, competitive application, availability and meeting applicable visa and travel requirements are therefore not guaranteed2.
Typical offer for 2024/25 entry.
Student | Full-time | Part-time |
---|---|---|
UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man | 2025/26 fees TBC 2024/25 fees - £11,200 (MA) | £7,466 (PGDip) |
Not available |
EU | 2025/26 fees TBC 2024/25 fees - £11,200 (MA) | £7,466 (PGDip) per year with EU Support Bursary** 2025/26 fees TBC 2024/25 fees -£18,600 per year without EU Support Bursary** |
Not available |
International | 2025/26 fees TBC 2024/25 fees -£18,600 |
Not available |
For advice and guidance on tuition fees3 and student loans visit our Postgraduate Finance page.
We offer a range of International scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.
Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them.
The following are additional costs not included in the tuition fees:
The rights of Irish residents to study in the UK are preserved under the Common Travel Area arrangement. If you are an Irish student and meet the residency criteria, you can study in England, pay the same level of tuition fees as English students and utilise the Tuition Fee Loan.
Following the UK's exit from the European Union, we are offering financial support to all eligible EU students who wish to study an undergraduate or a postgraduate degree with us full-time. This bursary will be used to offset the cost of your tuition fees to bring them in line with that of UK students. Students studying a degree with a foundation year with us are not eligible for the bursary.
A Social Work Bursary may be available to eligible home students for each year of study to help with living and travel costs. Read more about the Social Work Bursary.
Our aim is to offer you sector-leading facilities4.
You will benefit from our support designed to help you succeed and our industry-relevant teaching and resources. These include our modern library and computing facilities, dedicated careers advice and Your Students’ Union.
The Jaguar Centre has been specifically designed to provide facilities and services to support our postgraduate students including social spaces, computer suites and separate areas for small group study.
The Hub is the centre of student campus life. It's also home to the Health and Wellbeing Centre, the Spirituality and Faith Centre, the Tank Studio, Student Success Coaches and the Enterprise Hub.
On successful completion of the course you will be able to:
On successful completion of the course, in addition to the outcomes listed for the PGDip, you will be able to:
Graduates from social work qualifying programmes at Coventry University have excellent career prospects in the caring professions, supported by our close links with local employers, who are actively involved in the design, delivery and assessment of the programme.
There remains to be healthy employment rates in the local area for qualified local authority social workers, however past graduates have also gone on to a range of positions in the NHS and voluntary sector.
Past graduates have benefited from particularly helpful working relationships with local employers who make up the West Midlands Teaching Partnership, and especially Coventry City Council, Warwickshire County Council and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.