Why study social work?
Social workers can make a significant difference to people dealing with major problems.
You'll work with individual people and families to help them tackle challenges such as living independently and protecting vulnerable children and adults from harm.
The MA Social Work course at Manchester is for graduates who want to make the move into a social work career.
Through our postgraduate course, you'll learn how to become a highly effective social worker through academic and practical learning.
Social work at Manchester
High-quality placements and rigorous teaching
Study social work at Manchester and you'll gain the knowledge and skills you need to make a difference to the lives of individuals and families, with scope to pursue specialisms in the future.
Our MA will give you a nationally and internationally recognised professional social work qualification, and eligibility to register as a qualified social worker with the Health and Care Professions Council.
You will learn through academic teaching and placements that benefit from our membership of the Greater Manchester Social Work Academy, a government-sponsored Teaching Partnership that fosters close links between employers and universities in Greater Manchester.
Practice learning
You'll undertake placements in a variety of local authority, voluntary or private agency settings.

Teaching and learning
Develop the knowledge you need to succeed as a social worker through blended online and on-campus learning informed by research.

From an MA to social work research
Josh talks about his journey from qualifying as a social worker to exploring his research interests.

From our students
Skills preparation and placements on the Social Work MA
Katherine discusses the academic and practical learning that forms the MA at Manchester.

A degree full of support
Simmy talks about the support on offer to MA Social Work students at Manchester.
Read the blog : Simmy talks about the support on offer to MA Social Work students at Manchester.

MA Social Work: an international perspective
Jack explains what it was like to study at Manchester as an overseas student.
Read the blog : How embracing my stammer helped me to fulfill my dreams.

Course information
For 2023 entry
Find out more about studying social work at Manchester on the course page.
- Social Work (MA)
Making an application
Apply for the MA in Social Work
You will need to apply for this course via UCAS. More information can be found on the MA Social Work course page: Application and selection.
If you have any questions, please email us at pgtaught.socialwork@manchester.ac.uk.
Contact us
Have any questions? Get in touch.
General postgraduate taught enquiries
Email: study@manchester.ac.uk
In the Social work section
In the Social work section
There's more information in this section for you to explore.
Postgraduate information
There's more to discover about becoming a postgraduate on our Faculty and main University websites. Here are some links to get you started.