MA Social Work (Qualified Status)
Course details
Year of entry
2026
Duration
2 YRS (FT)
Institution Code
G53
Location
Wrexham
Course Highlights
Benefit
from skills days with simulation activities, including our purpose-built Ty Dysgu.
Thrive
in an experimental environment for developing the knowledge and skills needed in social work.
Strong
links to employability through evidence-based approaches, experimental learning and practical skills.
Why choose this course?
The MA Social Work degree provides both an academic and professional qualification, enabling you to qualify as a registered social worker while also opening pathways to specialist therapeutic training and doctoral-level research.
This programme offers a distinctive and highly effective learning environment through close collaboration with Outside In, Wrexham’s service user and carer organisation. By learning directly from people with lived experience of social work, including those who receive services and those who care for others, you are supported to “complete the circle” of learning and develop a deeper, more reflective understanding of professional practice.
Participation and co-production sit at the heart of the programme and form its key unique selling point. Building on the University’s multiple award-winning Outside In initiative and a current PhD focused on participatory research with co-researchers from Outside In, the MA Social Work at Wrexham is widely regarded as sector-leading. The programme uses innovative methodological and participatory approaches that actively engage students and prepare them for contemporary social work practice.
Key course features
By choosing the MA Social Work at Wrexham, you will benefit from:
- Skills-focused learning, including dedicated skills days and simulation-based activities using our purpose-built learning house, Ty Dysgu.
- Two substantial practice placements in both statutory and non-statutory settings, working with different service user groups to gain wide-ranging real-world experience.
- An experiential learning environment designed to help you develop the knowledge, confidence and professional skills required to practise effectively in the dynamic field of social work.
- Teaching by experienced social work academics with extensive professional practice and/or research expertise.
- Research-active staff who are subject specialists across a wide range of social work areas, including learning disabilities, trauma-informed practice, creative social work methods, child protection and intuition in social work, women’s experiences of stalking, and poverty and social policy in Wales.
- Expert input from Visiting Professor Dr Neil Thompson, an internationally recognised leader in social work and social care. Dr Thompson has published over 50 books and holds a Lifetime Achievement Award from BASW Cymru. He is also a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, the Chartered Management Institute, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the Royal Society of Arts, and the Institute of Welsh Affairs.
- A strong employability focus, demonstrated through evidence-based teaching, experiential learning, and the development of practical skills aligned with professional standards.
- High-quality placement support and supervision from qualified social workers, supported by strong regional partnerships with employers and workforce development teams across North Wales.
What you will study
Year 1 (Level 6)
- Creative Coproduction (30 credits – Core). An in-depth exploration of the principles and practices of co-production as both a philosophy and a guide for professional social work practice.
- Legal knowledge within social work contexts (30 credits – Core). This module develops your understanding of the legal and policy frameworks that underpin social work practice in Wales.
- Understanding evidence for social work (30 credits – Core). You will explore how theory and research evidence inform social work practice and support critical reflection on effectiveness.
- Practice Placement 1* (700 hours – Core)
Year 2 (Level 7)
- Safeguarding Children, Adults and Their Families (30 credits – Core). An in-depth examination of safeguarding policy, practice and lived experience within the Welsh social work context.
- Social Work Dissertation (60 credits – Core). An extended piece of independent academic work involving primary or secondary research in an area relevant to social work practice.
- Practice Placement 2* (700 hours – Core)
NB: Placement arrangements
The programme works closely with three local authorities in North Wales, providing access to a wide range of high-quality, well-supported practice placements. Practice learning opportunities (PLOs) are offered within Wrexham, Flintshire and Denbighshire local authorities.
Students complete a total of 1,400 placement hours, equivalent to 200 days, spread evenly across the two years of the programme (700 hours per year).
Teaching & Assessment
The programme is delivered through a blend of academic and practice-focused learning activities designed to support your professional development. These include formal lectures, interactive workshops, one-to-one tutorials, sessions with Outside In (Wrexham’s service-user and carer organisation), and contributions from visiting speakers from a range of local and national social work agencies.
The key employment-focused objective of the programme is to enable you, on successful completion, to practise as a qualified social worker in Wales.
Teaching and Learning
We offer workshops and support sessions in areas such as academic writing, effective note-making and preparing for assignments.
Students can book appointments with academic skills tutors dedicated to helping deal with the practicalities of university work. Our student support section has more information on the help available.
In terms of particular needs, the University’s Inclusion Services can provide appropriate guidance and support should any students require reasonable adjustments to be made because of a recognised prevailing disability, medical condition, or specific learning difference.
Career prospects
The key employment-focused objective of the programme is to enable students, on successful completion of the award, to practice as qualified social workers in Wales.
Fees & funding
You do not have to pay your tuition fees upfront.
The fees you pay and the support available will depend on a number of different factors. Full information can be found on our fees & finance pages. You will also find information about what your fees include in the fee FAQs.
All fees are subject to any changes in government policy, view our postgraduate fees.
Subject to validation
Courses shown as “subject to validation” are new courses which are in development and the details of these courses are in the process of being finalised through the approval cycle, known as the ‘validation’ process. As soon as the programmes are validated the details of the course will be confirmed. The majority of new courses that are still ‘subject to validation’ are approved by the validation process; however, this is not guaranteed and should the course not go ahead as planned, or be significantly amended, you will be informed by the university and assistance will be provided to those who have been offered a place to find a suitable alternative course either at Wrexham University or at another provider.