The end of a course which has supplied hundreds of the UK’s social workers over the past three decades will be marked on Monday April 24th at the University of Dundee.

Staff and students in the Department of Social Work will be joined by former colleagues in a farewell to the Master of Social Work (MSW) degree, which has been replaced with a new MSc in Social Work programme.

This year sees the final cohort of MSW students completing their studies, bringing to an end an important chapter in social work education.

"This has been a hugely successful degree programme for the past 25 years, one which has produced many outstanding graduates," said Dr Brenda Gillies, head of the Department of Social Work at the University.

"Throughout that time the MSW programme has adapted to meet the changing demands of the profession but the time has come to bring in a whole new programme which incorporates a new model of learning and which we are sure will be a worthwhile replacement."

Throughout the past twenty-plus years graduates from the Dundee programme have gone on to very successful and effective social work careers with many moving into senior positions in the Scottish Executive, Local Government and voluntary organisations.

In 1984 Dundee University introduced the first Masters programme in Social Work in Scotland. This programme built on the existing successful graduate programme in social work which had existed at Dundee for considerably longer.

The development of the new programme allowed the Department to build on the strengths of the outgoing MSW while embracing an innovative integrated model of learning. The boundaries between academic and practice learning have been broken down to support students to make links from academic learning to practice. The programme is utilising and developing new electronic learning systems, an area in which the University has established a reputation for innovation.

The new programme has already attracted a great deal of interest due to its exciting and innovative design.

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