MA Social Work

To be accepted onto the programme you must: 

• Have (or expect to be awarded) a first or an upper second-class honours degree or lower second class honours plus a postgraduate degree (such as an MA or MSc) or PGCE or appropriate professional qualification equivalent to a first degree
• Have a Grade C or above in GCSE English or certified equivalent. Please view our list of accepted UK GCSE equivalencies.
• Have a minimum of 12 months' full-time (or part-time equivalent) relevant voluntary or paid work experience (normally within the last two years), of which a minimum of 6 months' full-time experience must have been gained by the time of application and a further 6 months' full-time experience by the start of the degree. Please make sure you read our work experience guide for more information about the experience that we accept.
• Have the understanding and personal, intellectual, and professional qualities to become a social worker and can demonstrate this through relevant social work experience.
• It is a requirement of entry onto the course that students possess an enhanced check by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Therefore, any offer of a place will be conditional on a satisfactory DBS enhanced disclosure, which students are required to pay for

You should also be able to demonstrate that you can communicate clearly and accurately in spoken and written English. 

Where required, our Admissions Office will direct you to acceptable equivalency tests for those who do not meet the required grades or levels. 

Please note that, due to the volume of applications we receive, applicants who do not meet the entry requirements will not be considered.

International qualifications

We accept a wide range of international qualifications. Find out more about the qualifications we accept from around the world.

If English isn’t your first language, you will need an IELTS score (or equivalent English language qualification) of 6.5 with a 6.5 in writing and no element lower than 6.0 to study this programme. If you need assistance with your English language, we offer a range of courses that can help prepare you for postgraduate-level study.

Annual tuition fees

These are the fees for students starting their programme in the 2023/2024 academic year.

• Home - full-time: £9720
• International - full-time: £21260

If your fees are not listed here, please check our postgraduate fees guidance or contact the Fees Office, who can also advise you about how to pay your fees.

It’s not currently possible for international students to study part-time under a student visa. If you think you might be eligible to study part-time while being on another visa type, please contact our Admissions Team for more information.

If you are looking to pay your fees please see our guide to making a payment.

Additional costs

In addition to your tuition fees, you'll be responsible for any additional costs associated with your course, such as buying stationery and paying for photocopying. You can find out more about what you need to budget for on our study costs page.

There may also be specific additional costs associated with your programme. This can include things like paying for field trips or specialist materials for your assignments. Please check the programme specification for more information.

Funding opportunities

Find out more about postgraduate fees and explore funding opportunities. If you're applying for funding, you may be subject to an application deadline.

Scholarships

NHS Social Work postgraduate bursary

The Department of Social Therapeutic and Community Studies expect to be provided with a number of postgraduate bursaries for MA Social Work students starting their studies in 2020/21.

Students will be nominated by Goldsmiths using the criteria listed below. However, it is important to understand that prospective students will have to meet NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) eligibility criteria to be awarded a bursary.

Goldsmiths nomination criteria

Students will be nominated if they pass all stages of the selection process, indicating they have met entry level of the PCF (Professional Capabilities Framework) outcomes.

We will then rank applicants who have accepted Goldsmiths as their firm choice based on their overall selection score. The bursary nomination list is generally drawn up in March. Therefore, we strongly advise you to apply to the programme through UCAS before 26 January 2022.

For those applicants who apply after the 26 January 2022 UCAS deadline, they must accept an offer to study on the MA Social Work Programme at Goldsmiths by the date the NHSBSA nomination list is completed (usually in early June) in order to be considered for a bursary nomination. Those applying after June will be placed on a ‘waiting list’ for bursary nomination.

Notification of nomination for a NHSBA Social Work postgraduate bursary will be sent out to applicants shortly after universities are informed of their annual allocation. Please note that nomination does not guarantee a bursary.

Goldsmiths bursary nomination list will be sent to NHSBSA, before the course commences with payments being made to eligible students once their enrolment and attendance has been confirmed.

External bursaries

In addition, some of our stakeholder agencies advertise bursaries for students who are going into the second year of an MA and intend to work with children and their families upon qualifying. The exact terms of bursaries differ between local authorities. They usually offer funding for one year and a statutory placement in that local authority.

In return, the student must take up employment with that local authority when he or she qualifies and stay with the local authority for a specified length of time (usually one or two years). Recently bursaries have been offered by, for example, London Borough of Southwark in the South East London area.

They are open to competition and usually require a written application by the student, a reference from the student's tutor, and an interview. When these bursary opportunities become available we circulate details to our students. 

All students are eligible for a fixed contribution towards practice learning opportunity related expenses. 

We strongly recommend that you investigate funding prior to applying to ensure that you do not miss any deadlines for funding applications.

Aziz Foundation Scholarship

This programme is eligible for an Aziz Foundation scholarship. Find out more about how to apply.

Applications for this programme are taken through UCAS. 

Our institution code is G56 and our institution name is GOLD. The course code is L508.

When to apply

This is a popular programme, so we encourage you to apply early, in the autumn/winter of the year before you wish to study. We do not accept deferred entry. 

You may not hear from us regarding the progress of your application for several weeks. Applications received after the UCAS deadline of 26 January may not be considered. 

Making your application

In your application you'll need to tell us about your academic qualifications and your work experience. 

It is vitally important that you enter full details of your social work-related work experience (both paid and voluntary) in the 'Employment' section of the UCAS form. Please include the name of the organisation you worked for, the exact length of your experience, and how many hours per week you worked (eg 'March 2014 to Oct 2015, 3 hours each week').

You should then expand on this experience in the personal statement section of the form. Please explain clearly: 

• What role you held
• How long you held the position for
• What time commitment was involved 
• Who the service user group was
• The name of the organisation you were working for 

For example: 'Volunteer Advocate, April 2012 to September 2014, 3 hours per week, X advocacy service for disabled people'.

If you don't provide this information your application won't be considered.

It's also important that you explain what you've learned from your work experience, and how this has contributed to your understanding of social work roles and tasks. You should also reflect on what you've learned about yourself and the service user group(s) that you have worked with. Please make sure your personal statement is well written and demonstrates your academic ability.

Please make sure you read our work experience guide for more information about the experience that we accept. 

Before submitting your application you’ll need to have: 

• Details of your academic qualifications
• The email address of your referee who we can request a reference from, or alternatively a copy of your academic reference
• Copies of your educational transcripts or certificates (including official translations where original documents are not in English) – you need to provide these within 14 days of being requested
• A personal statement – this can either be uploaded as a Word Document or PDF, or completed online. Please see our guidance on writing a postgraduate statement

You'll be able to save your progress at any point and return to your application by logging in using your username/email and password.

Selection process

If you meet the entry requirements you'll be invited to a selection day where you'll complete a written test, an individual interview, and a group discussion.

There are six stages to the selection of students: 

1. When your application is received at the Goldsmiths Admissions Office, we will check that you meet the minimum entry requirements and have provided all the required information, including a reference(s). You are also required to provide scanned copies of your qualifications (alongside official translations where original documents are not in English) within 14 days of being requested. If you have not met the entry requirements your application will be rejected at this stage. If you have not provided all the required information your application may also be rejected.
2. The second stage is a written test at Goldsmiths. The written test is based on a text on a social work-related topic or area of practice. You will be required to reflect on a text in relation to social work. The purpose of the written test is to provide evidence of: your ability to communicate clearly in written English; your commitment to core social work values and your capacity for critical reflection. Your test paper is then assessed and on the basis of this assessment we will decide whether to invite you to progress to the next stage of the assessment process.
3. The third stage involves a role play, an individual interview and a group discussion.
   You will be informed when you arrive at Goldsmiths for your interview as to what is required from you for the role play.  The individual interview will consist of a reflective critical discussion on your role play performance.  The individual interview is usually led by a panel which may include a member of the social work teaching team, a social work practitioner from one of our stakeholder agencies, and/or a service user from our Service User and Carer Steering Group. The interview will cover a number of areas (your understanding of the social work role, your interpersonal skills and your ability to reflect on your experience, values and motivation for a career in social work) and each of your answers will be rated or scored. The interview will last about 20 minutes.
   For the group exercise you will be given a question on a topic that is relevant to social work and will be asked to discuss this for 20 minutes in a group. The aim of this is to assess your spoken English, your ability to express your own views and to respond appropriately to the expressed views of others, as well as your awareness of your values.
   
   Where applicants live outside the UK and are unable to attend for selection in person, it may be possible to conduct written tests via the internet and an interview and role play via Skype.
   Following this a decision whether to offer you a place on the course will be made based on your total score from the written test, the role play, individual interview and the group discussion. You will receive a letter from the Admissions Office advising you of the outcome of the interview. If an offer is made the letter will state whether this is a conditional or unconditional offer e.g. conditional on exam results. Please note that there may be a delay before you receive this letter. We are not able to tell you about our decision either at the interview or afterwards over the telephone.
   As part of the selection process, you will be required to complete of a self-declaration form regarding suitability for practice which encompasses offending, health and work disciplinary history.
   
   
   After this happens there are a further three main stages:
   
   
4. It is a requirement of entry onto the course that students possess an enhanced check by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Therefore, any offer of a place will be conditional on a satisfactory DBS enhanced disclosure, which students are required to pay for (£56 as of September 2015).
5. It is a requirement of entry onto the course that students possess a satisfactory medical check. Therefore, any offer of a place will be conditional on demonstrating that you are physically and mentally fit to train as a social worker. You will therefore have to complete a health declaration form.
6. You will need to demonstrate that you have satisfied any conditions of your offer e.g. by providing Admissions with your exam certificate(s), transcript and any other written information Admissions may request. If you have not demonstrated that you have satisfied the condition(s) of your offer by 1 September, your offer of a place on the course may be withdrawn.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Enhanced Disclosure

Certain types of criminal convictions and cautions may have implications for entry to study Social Work as well as practice placements and subsequent employment. Applicants will be invited to disclose any charges pending, any convictions and cautions and to complete a Declaration of Suitability for Social Work form. If you disclose a criminal record at interview, we will need to consult our stakeholder group on whether you are suitable to join the course. This process is likely to delay our decision on whether to offer you a place on the course by several weeks. 

Fitness to train

Applicants to social work programmes are asked to disclose any criminal record, disciplinary record, significant periods of time off work and significant health problems in writing after interview. If we wish to make an applicant an offer of a place on the course, an anonymised version of the applicant’s written disclosure will be reviewed by a panel which considers the applicant’s suitability for social work training. This process is additional to normal ‘fitness to train’ processes.

Find out more about applying.