Choosing a Course

As with all multidisciplinary courses, check the health of the related departments. You'll often he taught by, and use the facilities of, the departments which feed into your course. While it's not a hard and fast rule, it is a generally promising sign if those departments (in this case, those in the social sciences faculty) are in good nick and don't view your course as an extra chore for their teaching staff The only way to really get a feel for that is by asking the right questions at the open day.

There are some sandwich courses and some run work placement schemes, both of which are handy for taking you out of the theory and planting you in the very real, often with voluntary schemes or charities. This is especially useful if you see the degree as a vocational way of entering social work.

That can, of course, be an emotionally draining, as well as rewarding, career, so any way of forewarning yourself can help. Check with the course tutors what the possibilities are, including those for a period of foreign study.

As ever with the courses in this book, look at the specialisations and modules of the course and at the research and publications of those who teach and see if they tally with your own interests. Bigger departments, perhaps with large research budgets, can offer broader choices, but look at the specifics of what's on offer, since smaller institutions may offer exactly the areas you can picture yourself in. And while those bigger departments have the stars - those academics you've seen onNewsnight and look up to - can they spare the time from research and/or book commitments to teach the likes of you?

And take time to think again about your own motivations. If you fancy social policy as a way of getting into social work, consider doing a social work course instead. While this has enormous relevance to such a career, it takes the broader picture, equipping you with the analytical, but perhaps not the practical skills for such a choice.

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