MA Social Work

Bangor University has a long established tradition of offering social work education. The fundamental purpose of such programmes is to equip students to take up professional posts within the social work workforce. To achieve this, the 2 year programme of study includes a suite of core academic modules and a requirement of at least 200 days of assessed practice learning over the two years. The programme must satisfy the requirements of Soclal Care Wales’ ‘Framework for the Degree in Social Work in Wales’ (2012), and successful completion of the programme enables students to register as qualified professional social workers. To enable us to deliver a programme of this nature, we work closely with Gwynedd, Ynys Môn and Conwy local authorities, who provide most of the placements for our students.

The modules and practice learning opportunities are designed to provide students with the required knowledge, skills and values to prepare them for practice as newly qualified social workers. They are informed by the QAA Benchmarks for Social Work (QAA 2016), and the National Occupational Standards for Social Work (Social Care Wales 2012).

Key features

Condensed timetable of 2-3 days per week

High level of support

Practice placements arranged for you

Bilingual*

Jobs available at the end of the course starting from approximately £25,000–30,000 per annum

To enable us to deliver a programme of this nature, we work closely with Gwynedd, Ynys Môn and Conwy local authorities, who provide placements to our students. Our partners ask that the students they host have bilingual Welsh / English skills. This requirement is in order to meet the needs of their communities and to comply with the right to a Welsh language service under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011. This means that you need  the ability to follow lectures that are predominantly though the medium of Welsh with bilingual slides and to converse naturally in Welsh with bilingual individuals. However we are not talking about ‘perfect’ Welsh (if there is such a thing!) and our students are able to submit their assessments in their preferred language. If you’re interested in applying for a place on the programme, but unsure if your Welsh is ‘good enough’, please come to talk to us. We can help assess your skills and ensure that you don’t miss out if your skills are good enough, or find out if you could benefit from some support to build on your current skills.

The University has been exploring the possibility of further partnership arrangements with other local authorities, so that we can continue to offer an English medium route on the MA Social Work. However, at this stage we are unable to guarantee placements for non-Welsh speakers will be available.

We regret that we are unable to accept applications from international students for this course. 

Research Opportunities

The School of Social Sciences works in partnership with Gwynedd, Ynys Môn and Conwy Local Authorities to develop, deliver and manage this Social Work programme. Partner local authorities are involved in recruitment, student selection, contributing to teaching and assessment of students. The primary partners also provide practice learning opportunities, along with other employing agencies and ensure that students develop a strong understanding of social work practice in North Wales, alongside their academic development. This is also a good opportunity to identify the future workforce.