School of Health Professions interview days – social work

Interview days
School of Health Professions interview days – social work
This page contains all of the information you require prior to your interview for prospective undergraduate students.  
Please note all applicant interviews for 2023 entry will take place through Zoom meetings.  
If you have any queries regarding your interview booking, please contact our Course Enquiries and Interviews Team by emailing interviewtostudy@plymouth.ac.uk.  
In addition, our Admissions Team is here to support you and answer any questions you may have regarding your application. Drop us an email at applications@plymouth.ac.uk. 
Alternatively make a call to the Student Recruitment and Admissions Department to talk to either team using +44 1752 585858
Please ensure you have a form of photo identification with you on your Zoom interview, such as a passport or driving license. We will not be able to complete your interview without this.

Interview pre-work

The following preparation should be completed if you have been invited to interview for the BA (Hons) Social Work course: 
To ensure we can continue to process your application efficiently, we advise that your referee has completed and emailed your second reference form before your interview. Please ensure this comes from your referee’s business/work account. If you are unable to attain a reference before your interview, please continue to make a booking and ask your referee to provide the reference as soon as possible. 
For all interviews, we advise you to think about the reasons why you want to study the course you have applied for, and why you are interested in your chosen career path. 
We suggest that you do some reading and research in advance in regards to the topic ‘what is the role of social workers in modern society?’ Suggested reading includes: 
  • Thompson, N. (2016) The Professional Social Worker: meeting the challenge. Palgrave MacMillian. 
  • www.communitycare.co.uk. This website discusses current social work issues. 
  • The Guardian newspaper ‘society section’.
We advise you to think about your personal commitment to Social Work and its core values. See the relevant links supplied in the message from our Admissions Tutor. 
Take a detailed look at the University of Plymouth’s website, as well as the professional and regulatory body website for social workers, which will provide you with details and links for preparing your application and how to succeed in your interview.
It is mandatory to complete the three health declaration forms prior to your interview. Failure to do so may affect the process of your application. Please complete these forms in full and prior to your chosen interview date and return to applications@plymouth.ac.uk

For your online interview please ensure you have with you:

  • A form of photo identification such as your passport or driving license. We will not be able to complete your interview without this.
  • Pen and paper should you wish to make notes

Our interviewing tutor will send you a link to your zoom meeting by emailing you. Where possible our tutors will contact you 24 hours before your interview. 

Our BA (Hons) Social work interview sessions will run from 08:45 until 16:15 so please ensure that you are available to join the session at 08:45. Your interviewing tutor will send a link to the zoom session via email, and you will receive this at least 24 hours ahead of the interview session.

Our interview sessions will start with a Welcome and Programme introduction, with a group interview to follow.

After the group interview you will then be given an individual interview time slot between 10:00 and 15:30. You will be allocated your time slot following the group interview and will not need to wait on zoom for the full day.

All individual interview lasts for approximately 30 minutes.

You can access Zoom via your web browser. However, if you would prefer to install the programme ahead of your interview, you can do so by visiting the Zoom website.

If you have not used Zoom before, please visit their Help Centre FAQs to familiarise yourself with the software.

After your interview

The decision to offer places is based on your performance in all the above alongside both your references and original application.

If you are successful at interview and are made a conditional offer, as part of your offer you will need to complete a DBS and Occupational Health check. If you do not pass these checks satisfactorily, you will not be able to start a course with us. For more information on how to complete these checks, please visit our Health and Human Sciences - additional checks page.


FAQs

How do I book my interview? 

Upon successful submission of your application, you will be sent an email with a unique link to our online booking system. You can use our online system to select an interview date that best suits your availability.

If you have not received this email, please be sure to check your junk or clutter folders.

What if I need to reschedule my interview after I have booked onto one? 

You can change, move or reschedule your interview at any stage using the online booking system. 

If you are unable to attend any of the dates shown, then please contact our Course Enquiries and Interviews Team by emailing interviewtostudy@plymouth.ac.uk or by calling +44 1752 585858.  

What if I have applied for more than one programme? 

If you have applied for more than the programme listed, you will require an additional interview for the other course, to establish if you are suitable for that programme.

What happens after my interview? 

If you are successful at interview, your offer will be conditional on meeting the academic requirements for the course, satisfactory occupational health and DBS checks. For further information, please visit the Health and Care Professions Council’s website 

Message from the Admissions Tutor

Congratulations on being invited to interview for our BA (Hons) Social Work programme. On this page, we have provided information regarding the tasks we would like you to complete in advance. It is vital that you are prepared and are able to talk about these tasks when you meet us.
During the interview day, we will:
  • Help you to give the best account of your skills, experience and character. This enables us to decide if you will thrive in the University of Plymouth's culture.
  • Explain more about the University, the School of Health Professions and your programme.
  • Enable you to understand as much as you can about the way we work with our students and what it means to become a University of Plymouth student social worker, to develop into a healthcare professional graduate.
The University of Plymouth is required to select applicants using a ‘values based’ approach for pre-registration health and social work professions programmes. This is to ensure we recruit the right students with the right values for the delivery of excellent social work practice to service users and carers.
All aspects of the interview will be aligned with the core values of Social Works’ professional codes and frameworks:
Please ensure you read the interview pre-work below carefully as this provides information on what you need to do before attending your interview and what you need to bring with you on the day.
We look forward to meeting you at your interview and if you should need any help or assistance please do not hesitate to contact us. 
Best wishes,
Dr Sue Cook 
Admissions Tutor for BA (Hons) Social Work and Lecturer in Social Work 
School of Health Professions 

Please make sure you download all of the non-academic requirements documents listed below.

Non-academic requirements documents