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The University of Edinburgh: Social Work
| Institution | The University of Edinburgh View institution profile |
|---|---|
| Department | School of Social and Political Science |
| Web | https://www.ed.ac.uk/studying |
| Study type | Research |
Doctor of Philosophy - PhD
Summary
Social work research involves a wide variety of methods and topics, often geared at understanding the experiences of those who are disadvantaged, alongside exploring challenges in social work practice, or contemporary social problems.
While many of our students are qualified social workers, we also have a large number of students who are not, but who study social issues, policy practices or experiences that are related to social work.
Our social work researchers have expertise in a range of domains including:
* mental health
* children and their families
* forced migration and refugees
* criminal justice
We have excellent links with leading professional bodies, policy-making organisations and professional and social work services in statutory and voluntary sectors throughout Scotland, the UK and internationally.
We also have a number of partnerships with agencies and organisations providing social work in the Global South.
The research interests of staff cover the full range of applied social work service specialisms, theoretical issues and research methods. This includes expertise in:
* creative research methods
* evaluation approaches, including advanced quantitative analysis
* discourse analysis
* documentary analysis
* longitudinal research
* narrative and biographical methods
* numerous other types of qualitative methods
Our work is enriched by the perspective of both international students and UK/EU students, including individuals who are experienced professionals studying part-time while working.
| Level | SCQF Level 12 |
|---|---|
| Entry requirements | Entry requirements for individual programmes vary, so please check the details for the specific programme you wish to apply for on the University of Edinburgh website. You will also need to meet the University’s language requirements. |
Summary
Social work research involves a wide variety of methods and topics, often geared at understanding the experiences of those who are disadvantaged, alongside exploring challenges in social work practice, or contemporary social problems.
While many of our students are qualified social workers, we also have a large number of students who are not, but who study social issues, policy practices or experiences that are related to social work.
Our social work researchers have expertise in a range of domains including:
* mental health
* children and their families
* forced migration and refugees
* criminal justice
We have excellent links with leading professional bodies, policy-making organisations and professional and social work services in statutory and voluntary sectors throughout Scotland, the UK and internationally.
We also have a number of partnerships with agencies and organisations providing social work in the Global South.
The research interests of staff cover the full range of applied social work service specialisms, theoretical issues and research methods. This includes expertise in:
* creative research methods
* evaluation approaches, including advanced quantitative analysis
* discourse analysis
* documentary analysis
* longitudinal research
* narrative and biographical methods
* numerous other types of qualitative methods
Our work is enriched by the perspective of both international students and UK/EU students, including individuals who are experienced professionals studying part-time while working.
| Level | SCQF Level 12 |
|---|---|
| Entry requirements | Entry requirements for individual programmes vary, so please check the details for the specific programme you wish to apply for on the University of Edinburgh website. You will also need to meet the University’s language requirements. |
Summary
Our social work researchers lead the field in a range of key social work research domains including mental health, children and their families, forced migration and refugees, and criminal justice. We have excellent links with leading professional bodies, policy-making organisations and professional and social work services in statutory and voluntary sectors throughout Scotland, the UK and internationally.
Specifically, we also have a number of partnerships with agencies and organisations providing social work in the Global South.
The research interests of staff cover the full range of applied service specialisms, theoretical issues and research methods. This includes expertise in:
- longitudinal research
- documentary analysis
- discourse analysis
- narrative and biographical methods
- qualitative enquiry
- evaluation approaches.
Our work is enriched by the perspective of both international students and UK/EU students, including individuals who are experienced professionals studying part-time while working.
| Level | SCQF Level 12 |
|---|---|
| Entry requirements | Entry requirements for individual programmes vary, so please check the details for the specific programme you wish to apply for on the University of Edinburgh website. You will also need to meet the University’s language requirements. |
Summary
Our social work researchers lead the field in a range of key social work research domains including mental health, children and their families, forced migration and refugees, and criminal justice. We have excellent links with leading professional bodies, policy-making organisations and professional and social work services in statutory and voluntary sectors throughout Scotland, the UK and internationally.
Specifically, we also have a number of partnerships with agencies and organisations providing social work in the Global South.
The research interests of staff cover the full range of applied service specialisms, theoretical issues and research methods. This includes expertise in:
- longitudinal research
- documentary analysis
- discourse analysis
- narrative and biographical methods
- qualitative enquiry
- evaluation approaches.
Our work is enriched by the perspective of both international students and UK/EU students, including individuals who are experienced professionals studying part-time while working.
| Level | SCQF Level 12 |
|---|---|
| Entry requirements | Entry requirements for individual programmes vary, so please check the details for the specific programme you wish to apply for on the University of Edinburgh website. You will also need to meet the University’s language requirements. |
Edinburgh. Extraordinary futures await.
The University of Edinburgh is one of the world's top universities, consistently ranked in the world top 50, and placed 27th in the 2025 QS World University Rankings.
Our position as one of Britain’s leading research universities was reaffirmed by the results of the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF). The University of Edinburgh is one of the world’s top research-intensive universities, ranked 4th in the UK for research power (Times Higher Education, Overall Ranking of Institutions), with 90% of our research activity classified as world leading or internationally excellent in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
Our …
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