Post-Graduate Diploma in Social Work

This 19-month PgDip prepares you to work in a rapidly changing, complex and unpredictable sector, offering the most up-to-the-minute knowledge, skills and practice. It is designed as an entry route to a social work qualification for those with an undergraduate degree in any subject and experience in social work/care. With a focus on applying theory to practice, it combines work-placement experience, practical skills development and academic study. The course equips you with the skills, ethical principles, deep knowledge, critical awareness and reflexivity needed to both develop your existing knowledge and experience, and support you to pursue a career in this challenging and rewarding field.

You may be eligible for a Social Work Bursary administered by the NHS Business Services Authority.

Course accreditation
Our Social Work courses are accredited by Social Work England. This accreditation is needed to practise in the sector.
Facilities and specialist equipment
Access to the Faculty’s range of fully immersive simulation units, moot court, and police custody suite and interview room, preparing you to respond to and manage a range of scenarios.
Industry links
Strong links with local authorities including Luton, Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes and Hertfordshire, giving a wide choice of placement opportunities. The University’s XBX Group (experts by experience) ensure the voices of those with lived experience of social work services are incorporated into all aspects of the course.

Your student experience
Learn the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to be a qualified social worker, working with adults and children in the private, voluntary and independent sectors.
Benefit from intensive, hands-on experience of working in a social work role through placements in a local authority. All placements are under constant development with our employer partners.
Explore the role of social work; its inter-relationship with other disciplines; and the ethical base for practice where initiative must be balanced with accountability.
Develop a deep and systematic understanding of current theoretical and methodological approaches, and acquire the skills necessary for analytical, research-informed practice.
Gain the skills in critical reflexivity and emotional literacy that underpin collaborative social work practice and proactive professional development.
Benefit from classroom and placement activities that develop your collaborative and communication abilities, showing you how they can be applied to complex tasks.

Career opportunities
Approved by Social Work England (SWE), this course opens up a rewarding career path. Successful graduates are eligible to apply to the social work regulator Social Work England for professional registration. Once registered, you can pursue a professional social work career across a range of settings including within local authorities and many private and voluntary agencies throughout the UK.

After completing this PgDip, you also have the option to continue with your postgraduate studies with our part-time MProf Social Work Practice.

Developing academic and professional social work - Use your knowledge and skills to complete a set of tasks, showing you are ready to take on a placement.

Social work law and ethical perspectives on society - Look at the legal, ethical, policy, and social aspects of social work.

Reflective professional social work practice - Apply theoretical approaches in practice and be able to reflect critically on your experience of using them.

Research-informed social work practice - Show you can plan, deliver and improve social work services, and develop strategies for transformation and change.

The course is assessed using a range of methods including formally assessed papers, assignments, case studies, group and individual presentations, research-based work and evidence drawn from learning in the workplace. All unit assessments will draw on your experiences in the workplace in order to embed the integration of theory and practice.

All students qualifying with the Postgraduate Diploma in Social Work are required to meet both the SWE Professional Standards (2020) and the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF) (BASW 2018). In order to ensure this, the course and unit learning outcomes have been carefully designed to meet and are clearly mapped to both the SWE Professional Standards (2020) and the PCF. This information is contained in the course handbook as well as unit information and practice learning documents to ensure that you understand and know what you need to evidence in order to meet these professional requirements.

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

• Social Work England