Master of Social Work (MSW) Master of Social Work - MSW

Social Work research at Edinburgh has a permanent legacy across the world and has had significant influence in legislation and policy-making. 

The Master of Social Work (MSW)/Diploma in Social Work is a postgraduate qualification for anyone wishing to practise as a qualified social worker. Students come from all over the world to this programme, and go on to practise in diverse settings in social work practice, training, research, as well as in the government, public, private and voluntary sectors.

You will gain a fundamental understanding of the theory and practice that underpins all work in the field, splitting your time between theoretical learning on campus and practical work in various learning environments.

The University of Edinburgh is approved by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) to deliver this programme, which complies with the Scottish Requirements for Social Work Training and facilitates students to meet the Standards in Social Work Education (SISWE). Students admitted to the programme must register with the SSSC as student social workers at the start of the programme.

Our research

Our approach to social work is a critically constructive one. Social work is concerned with ‘the social’ and with social explanations for problems faced by individuals, families, communities and society as a whole. 

C. Wright Mills, writing in 1959, made an important distinction between ‘personal troubles’ and ‘public issues’, arguing that problems we often think of as personal (for example, unemployment or criminalisation) are public issues which are encountered in the private sphere. 

Social work is about understanding and helping to address individual problems in their wider social contexts, locating the ways in which the public and the private spheres interact.

The research areas of staff members within the team include:

* children’s rights

* children and young people with experience of state care

* criminal justice systems and practices and social work

* family and parental rights

* refugees and asylum seekers

* mental health and social work

* violence against children

* violence against women

* welfare systems and practices

Although this is a postgraduate programme, you must apply through the UCAS undergraduate process.

You can find full details of this programme and how to apply at:

https://www.ucas.com/explore/courses/b8326d63-e5d2-9997-7864-cf277dee70d3/master-of-social-work-msw-postgraduate-entry?studyYear=2027