About subject area content
About
About content
We are a diverse and international community of staff and students. Social Work research at Edinburgh has a permanent legacy across the world and has had significant influence in legislation and policy-making.
We have been teaching social work at the University of Edinburgh for over 100 years
Welcome to Social Work at the University of Edinburgh!
We are a diverse staff team with comprehensive practice and research experience across many aspects of social work in varied local and international contexts. As a team, we work to ensure that our students engage in learning that is both challenging and enjoyable, equipping them to work with those who experience disadvantage and to address contemporary societal issues. We hope you'll join us!
Dr Steve Kirkwood,
Head of Social Work
Our Approach
In Social Work at the University of Edinburgh, we focus on scholarship that tries to make a difference for those who most need support to realise their rights and potential.
We are committed to social justice through challenging injustice and discrimination, and advocating for systems, structures, cultures and practices that promote equity. We value relationships, co-creation and participation, and seek to work collaboratively with those who use services and varied communities as well as colleagues in other institutions, policy and practice, locally and internationally. We aim to learn and enable learning through our teaching and research, doing this with integrity and sensitivity, with an emphasis on ethics and quality.
We encourage ourselves and others to be creative and critical, to value diversity, to be hopeful, and take joy and pleasure from the work we do.
Our practice-based teaching
We work with local and international partners on all our teaching programmes, to ensure that our teaching reflects our commitment to social work values, ethics and social justice. We provide a range of educational opportunities for both intending and qualified social workers, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level (BSc, MSW, MSc by Research, PGCert and PhD), and others who are interested in social issues (MSc, PhD).
Social Work at Edinburgh is deeply rooted in practice. This is reflected in the many contributions made by practitioners andservice users to the content of our programmes, and our practice-based training. We work with a wide range of organisations to offer social work students practice placements. Examples in the past have included: Barnardo’s, the Edinburgh Young Carers Project, City of Edinburgh Council, the Scottish Adoption Association and Royal Edinburgh Hospital.
Our research
100% of our research environment is assessed as 'world leading' (REF 2021)
Our research reflects the wide ranging experience of our staff and postgraduate researchers. Co-creative methods are a key approach to our work and, with the help of our partners, our findings and knowledge exchange makes a difference across the world.
93% of our impact case studies are recognised as 'world leading' and 'internationally excellent' (REF 2021)
Our students
Originally from Nigeria, Oluwatoyin is a practising social worker in the last year of her PhD. She talks about growing her professional confidence and the impact she hopes to make.
Our history - over 100 years of Social Work
We have been providing education for social workers since 1918, with graduates working throughout the world to make a real difference in the communities in which they live. Social Work at The University at Edinburgh celebrated its centenary in 2017/2018.
In recognition this, we have created a centenary website that documents our history. Discover what we've been doing over the last 100 years!
