MA Social Work Timetable (LJMU)

Hey,

I completed the MA social work course at LJMU from 2012-2014, so it might have changed quite a bit since then. However, I can't imagine the general hours per week will have changed too much, as there's still a lot to learn!

Monday: 9:30am to 4:30pm
Tuesday: 9:30am to 4:30pm
Wednesday - Off
Thursday: 9:30am to 4:30pm
Friday: 9:30am to 12:30pm (split into groups 1 and 2, with each group only coming in for 90 minutes [9:30am-11am or 11am-12:30pm])

Monday and Tuesday was for the 'larger' modules, which would take up the entire day. Thursday was divided into a Law module in the morning, and a poverty and social exclusion module in the afternoon. Friday was a seminar for the law module, which would be more interactive and discussion-based.

They sound like long hours, and they are slightly exhausting, but keep in mind you do get regular 15/20 minute breaks for every hour of work you do. They are really generous when it comes to giving you a break and not impeding on lunch hours etc. Also, just because a lecture is scheduled to end at 4:30pm doesn't mean it did. The latest I can recall finishing was around 4:10pm, and on some days they would even let us go as early as 2:30pm if we got through it faster than anticipated.

I'm not sure how different the timetable is now, but hopefully that gives you a basic idea of what to expect.

Martin.

Thank you so much, this was really helpful! How often were you on placement ?

Hi,

This is not specifically a timetable question by I was wondering if either of you had any advise regarding the interview process for the MA social work at LJMU? I have an interview next week and was feeling quite confident but as time has gone on I am becoming less and less.

Thanks

Placement was from mid-January to mid-June, with most weeks being Monday to Friday (i.e. 5 days per week). However, you also have 5 recall days during the placement, which would typically be the last Friday of each month. On those weeks, you'll only be in Monday-Thursday.

You don't get any half term/study week whilst on placement, so you'll be there unless it's a scheduled recall day or a bank holiday.

Edit: Although, I should note that this was before the placement days dropped to 170. I was required to do 200 days of training (2 100 day placements), so this outline won't strictly apply to you during your first year when you only do 70 days on placement.

Hi Martin

I'm Alice, ive seen you graduated from LJMU and was wondering about graduate prospects.

I have been offered a place at LJMU and birmingham for september. I would rather be in Liverpool but Birmingham is the better uni. Do you think this is significant or does LJMU have good job prosepcts also? Are employers more focused on the individual and their skills? I've read its important to complete a statuatory placement, what are the chances of being offered one at LJMU?

Thank you

Hey,

I am not entirely familiar with the influence that league tables have on social work recruitment, so people may have different opinions beyond my anecdotal evidence. However, I haven't witnessed any hierarchy within recruitment procedures, based on the University you graduate from. I understand that it is something which is a big issue in other careers, such as Medicine and Law, but social work doesn't really have the capability to develop a similar approach, simply because it is rather restricted in the institutions which offer it. Quite a few of the 'reputable' red-brick universities simply don't offer social work training, so employers are required to rely on individual skills and knowledge rather than adopt that hierarchical approach. It is also tightly monitored and regulated by the HCPC, so every course is relatively uniformed when meeting the necessary professional requirements and standards. That may be subject to challenge by others, but that's my own personal experience.

The employment prospects from LJMU are fantastic too, from what I have experienced. I was fortunate to be friends with quite a large group of people during my time on the course, and all of them are in professional practice today within a statutory setting (bar one who is on maternity leave).

As for statutory placements, there was certainly no shortage of them when I was there. LJMU is perfectly placed within a variety of local authorities across Merseyside, Cheshire, and even beyond. Therefore, the pool of providers it can utilise to arrange statutory placements is really good. I don't know how this compares to Birmingham, so may be worth checking with them, but there's definitely no shortage of them at LJMU. I was fortunate enough to train on the Wirral, so they even go out of their way to ensure that your placement is as near to your term-time address as possible to make things easier for you. They're also very accommodating over health and illness, disabilities, family commitments etc.