You are warmly welcome to the MA Social Work course at Canterbury Christ Church University. Social work is an inspiring and rewarding profession and we are very pleased that you have decided to join us here, where you would be part of a local, national, and international community of social work. We can assure you of our support through your journey from academic and professional learning to qualified practice.

Akudo Amadiegwu
Course Director

Your Teaching Timetable

Teaching for your course will begin w.c 21 September 2026.

To help you plan your first few weeks, you can view an overview of the teaching activities for your course.

View your first trimester teaching timetable.

On a mobile device, click the arrow next to “Search” at the top right of the page to view your timetable.

If your course is taught in groups, the overview will show activities for all groups. You will only need to attend sessions for your allocated group.

Once teaching begins, your individual timetable and group allocation will be available in MyTimetable provided you have completed online registration and created your computing account.

Your Semester 1 Modules

 Foundations of Social Work Practice

 Sociology, Society and Social Work

Key dates

Academic Calendar: Semesters with Professional Learning Block

View key dates for this Academic Calendar for 2026-27 including when teaching starts and finishes and when you break for holidays.

Welcome

We hope that this is the beginning of a long association with Canterbury Christ Church University, which will continue after you have completed this course.

We look forward to meeting you during Welcome Week where we have planned activities to prepare you for your social work journey. You will meet your module leads and Personal Academic Tutors who would support you on your learning journey.

Getting started

Your Course

We have a range of teaching and learning opportunities including lectures, seminars, workshops and immersive learning which include Skills Days and Hydra* You would also be going on your 70 Day practice placement in your 1st year.

The first few weeks include a mix of taught sessions and independent learning opportunities including seminars and Skills Days.

Blackboard

We use a Virtual Learning Environment called Blackboard and this is where you would find your module information, handbooks, recordings of lectures, assessment submissions portals and reading lists.

Learning Skills Hub

We recommend that you take some time to familiarise yourself with the Learning Skills Hub in preparation for the course. You may find it helpful to work through modules on time management, introduction to referencing, academic integrity and plagiarism, generative AI guidance, and language skills.

Engaging with these resources ahead of your studies will help you build a strong foundation for your academic work.

Occupational Health, DBS Clearance & Declaration of Suitability

Please ensure that you engage with all Occupational Health, DBS or Placement planning activities required by the Admissions Team. Failure to complete this by the time you register on the course may result in you not being able to proceed with your studies.

We are proud to be an inclusive University that supports a diverse community of students. Please note that if you have a disability or would like to learn more about the support that we can offer to students, please visit the Disability and Mental Health website.

Occupational Health

Students need to obtain Occupational Health clearance to ensure they are fit to practice. You will be prompted via your ‘MyRecord’ to complete a clearance check and directed to an online health questionnaire.

You are not required to attend an Occupational Health vaccination appointment as a Social Work student.

Please note, as a Social Work student you will not be supplied with uniform by the university.

For enquiries about your occupational health clearance please email cccustudents@ohworks.co.uk or phone 01227 286288

Support & Wellbeing

We are proud to be an inclusive University that supports a diverse community of students. Please note that if you have a disability or would like to learn more about the support that we can offer to students, please visit the Disability and Mental Health website.

Your Must Do Tasks

There are some key tasks you'll need to complete to make sure you are ready to become a CCCU student. 

Some of these can't be completed until you have been invited to register but your Occupational Health and DBS check can be completed prior to this. You will be prompted via My Record to complete these so make sure you are checking your personal email regularly for this. Please complete these checks as soon as possible 

Registration invitations are sent towards the end of August. We'll send yours to the email address you used when you applied, so please check this inbox regularly to make sure you don't miss any important information.

Pre-course reading

To get started, please have a look at the websites of Social Work England (SWE) and the British Association of Social Work (BASW) which will give you some interesting insights into the social work role, standards, and requirements in practice.

Top Tip Guide for Social Work Students

You can also read BASW England Student and NQSW Group’s ‘Top Tip Guide for Student Social Workers,’ the only one of its kind to be written by, and for, students and experts by experience. Packed with study resources, direct work tools and reflections, this is an invaluable guide to support learning at university: Layout 1 (basw.co.uk)

Recommended Reading List:

  • Adams, R. (2010) The Short Guide to Social Work. Bristol: The Policy Press.
  • Barrington, F. (2015) Known to Social Services. East Longmeadow: Faraxa Publishing.
  • Doel, M. (2012) Social Work: The Basics. London: Routledge.
  • Hilton, S. (2015) More Human: Designing a World Where People Come First. London: Penguin Random House.
  • Horner, N. (2012) What is Social Work? Contexts and Perspectives. 4th ed. Exeter: Learning Matters.
  • Howe, D., and Hill, D. (2024) A brief introduction to social work theory. London: Bloomsbury.
  • Jones, O. (2011) Chavs: The demonization of the Working Class. London: Verso.
  • Palattiyil, G., Sidhva, D and Chakrabarti, M. (2016) Social Work in a Global Context: Issues and Challenges. Abingdon: Routledge.
  • Parker, J. and Bradley, G. (2014) Social Work Practice 4th ed. London: Sage.
  • Pierson, J. (2010) Tackling Social Exclusion. 2nd edn. Abingdon: Routledge.
  • Sissay, L. (2019) My Name is Why, Edinburgh: Canongate Books.
  • Thompson, N. (2015) Understanding Social Work 4th ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

International student success programme

International students: don't miss out! Make sure you register for our international student success programme which provides practical advice on preparing to live and study in the UK.

Contact details

Have a question?

Speak to our friendly team for support.