Sociology and social policy & social work

Mark2006

hey ..i'm in sixth year hoping to become a social worker..
i know of the social studies course in tcd, which leads to immediate qualification as a social worker..but incase i don't get the points for social studies i would hope to do sociology and social policy degree in tcd..

i have a question though, if i wanted to go on and do a masters in social work, to become a social worker, would a degree in Sociology and social policy be sufficent for entry?

i know they ask for a degree in "social science" along with work experience, but i am unsure whether Sociology and social policy is considered an equivilant to a social science degree in lets say ucd, ucc or nui maynooth..

anybody able to enlighten me?
sound

baby and crumble

TBH there are loads of routes you can take to the MSW- my degree is in Philosophy and Geography and got in! Granted I had lots of experience working with people with disabilities, and I had to do a 1 year top up course in Social Policy, but in the end, yes, I am 99.9999999% sure the sociology and social policy will allow you to apply for the MSW. ( I never say 100% because I'm not staff on the program!!!) The main thing is that you have a certain knowledge in social policy and sociological concepts.

Make sure you get loads of experience with volunteering/ paid experience in a related field if you're doing the undergrad. Care assistant work is always great, as is anything with SVP or anything like that. If you're into the idea of social work you're prob doing that all anyway. But when applying for the MSW they look for good experience.

I personally think 21/22 is a bit young to be coming out as a fully qualified SW, so I'd be an advocate of the idea of doing a degree in something useful and then doing the MSW.

But hey, you're talking to the person who did the MSW and is now still going in college doing a PhD. :rolleyes:

Lots of luck- the department for both MSW and sociology & soc pol are lovely in TCD. Hope this helps!!!

naasface

Email the course director with your query it's on the TCD website. I'm in the course and it's great! Very interesting if you like that sort of thing. But work hard to get Social Studies as they will be in most of your lectures and you will be sick with jealousy if that's what you really want to do. Also choose course, not college.
http://www.socialwork-socialpolicy.tcd.ie/undergraduate/ba-sociology.php

Best of luck in the LC!

WIZWEB

Yes this degree will be fine for entry into the masters. Another route you could take is transfering onto the SW degree in a later year from the SP course as I've seen several do. We take a lot of the same modules in first year. I qualify from the BSW in a few months

Nice to see more lads getting into this. Not enough of us!

Susie_Q

I finished this degree last year and I can tell you that NO, you cannot go straight into the masters in Social Work. This is because you won't have had to do a placement as part of your degree and experience is an essential requirement for the masters.

naasface

Hey Susie, do you mind me asking what are most of your alumni doing after the degree? I'm in it now and I'm just curious what others are doing with it

WIZWEB

I've several years experience in the field. I also know a couple of people doing the masters in social work. You don't need placement experience as you would do that during the masters. Previous experience or a qualification is social care would help. There are allowances for mature students and those with relevant experience and others. They can be fairly flexible at times. Some of my classmates get huge allowances on essay deadlines and have been well accomadated in getting a place on the course considering their lack of interest or ability;)


Masters Info: (official info )

http://www.socialwork-socialpolicy.tcd.ie/postgraduate/progs/ma-social.php

ForeverLoved

Hey i know this is kind of late but just wondering what the TSM Sociology course entails? Is it difficult and what are the main topics? Any info greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

grainnenih

Hi there I have applied for SocSocPol and if I get it, I'm just wondering what the 1st year timetable is like if I pick Law and French as my optional modules. I'm looking for start and finish times for Mon - Fri if possible.

Thanks !!!!:):)

Bueller

Good news: at least for the first term, you probably won't be in on Fridays at all

Bad news: Law tends to be a double lecture at 9am on Monday