Social Care - Kerry
Social care is a profession where people work with those who experience marginalisation or disadvantage or who have special needs. Social care practitioners work in a wide variety of settings with a wide variety of people: children and adolescents in residential care, people with learning or physical disabilities, the homeless, people with alcohol/drug dependency, families in the community, older people or recent immigrants to Ireland. Social care practitioners typically work in a direct person-to-person capacity with service users.
| Award Name | Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | Major |
| Awarding Body | Munster Technological University |
| NFQ Level | Level 8 NFQ |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) | Major | Munster Technological University | Level 8 NFQ |
Duration
4 years (8 Semesters).
Specific Subjects or course requirements
Score the necessary CAO points and meet Leaving Certificate Minimum entry requirements
6 Subjects
Subjects O6/H7 4
Subjects H5 2
Maths Grade 06/H7/F2*
English or Irish Grade O6/H7
*A grade of F2 or higher in foundation level Maths fulfils the Maths entry requirements for this programme.
Garda Vetting Required
Leaving Certificate General Entry Requirements
Minimum entry requirements may be satisfied by the results of more than one Leaving Certificate. The minimum entry requirements may be varied for non-standard applicants and holders of QQI-FET awards.
2nd Chance Maths Exam
Some students who apply for MTU courses may not achieve the required entry standard in Maths through the Leaving Certificate examination. For such applicants, the University offers a second chance to reach the required entry standard through a MTU Maths Exam.
This second chance facility allows applicants (depending on their results in the MTU Maths Exam) to gain entry to courses with an Ordinary Leaving Certificate Maths entry standard and (with a higher level of performance) courses with a Higher Leaving Certificate Maths entry standard.
Common Bonus Points Scale for Higher Level Maths
A bonus of 25 points is awarded to applicants who achieve a grade H6 or above in higher level (HL) Maths.
Formula:
All students presenting H6 or above in HL Maths will have 25 points added to their score for Maths.
The six highest subject points scores will then be counted to achieve a cumulative points score, as is normal practice. The bonus points will only be relevant in cases where the subject HL mathematics (including bonus points) is scored as one of the candidate’s six best subjects for points purposes. Consequently, if HL mathematics (cumulative points score) is not among these six subjects, the bonus points will not be included in the total points score. Bonus points will be awarded irrespective of the year in which the examinations were taken.
Foundation Maths
A minimum grade of F2 in foundation level Maths fulfils the minimum entry requirements in Maths for the following programmes
MT 541 Bachelor of Business
MT 571 BA in Early Childhood Education and Care
MT 574 BA in Social Care
MT 654 HC in Arts in Hospitality Studies
MT 655 HC in Arts in Culinary Studies
MT 941 Bachelor of Business (Honours)
MT 971 BA (Honours) in Early Childhood Education and Care
MT 974 BA (Honours) in Social Care
Maths is not required for entry to:
MT 575 BA in Community Development
MT 572 BA in Early Childhood Education & Care
MT 820 BA (Honours) in Contemporary Applied Art (Ceramics, Glass, Textiles)
MT 821 BA (Honours) in Fine Art
MT 822 BA (Honours) in Photography with New Media
MT 823 BA (Honours) in Visual Communications
MT 931 BA (Honours) in Popular Music - Electric Guitar
MT 932 BA (Honours) in Popular Music - Electric Bass Guitar
MT 933 BA (Honours) on Poplular Music - Keyboards
MT 934 BA (Honours) in Popular Music - Drums
MT 935 BA (Honours) in Popular Music - Voice
MT 936 BA (Honours) in Music
MT 938 BA (Honours) in Musical Theatre
MT 939 BA (Honours in Theatre and Drama Studies
Although not a requirement, if an applicant achieves a minimum grade of F2 in foundation level Maths this grade is recognised for entry and CAO points are awarded as follows: F1 = 20 points, F2 = 12 points.
Full details of minimum entry requirements for courses are outlined in the relevant course webpage. Applicants are advised to check the relevant subjects, tests, portfolios, and dates very carefully. In particular, there are early assessment procedures for some courses.
Leaving Certificate Vocational Progamme LCVP
Holders of the LCVP apply in the normal way through the CAO. Points are awarded on the same basis as for the Leaving Certificate. The link modules ‘subject’ may not be used to meet the minimum entry requirements.
LCVP Grade Points
Distinction 66
Merit 46
Pass 28
Leaving Certificate Applied Programme LCAP
The LCA subjects do not meet the minimum requirements for entry to MTU full-time courses. Holders of Leaving Certificate Applied qualifications may wish to proceed to a FET-QQI course and in turn apply to third level on the basis of their FET-QQI award.
Careers / Further progression
Further Studies
Suitably qualified graduates are eligible to apply to:
• Master of Arts in Social Studies (Advanced Professional Practice) at MTU Kerry North Campus or to research at either master or PhD level.
Career Opportunities
Due to the broad range of areas covered on the programme, there are a wide variety of career opportunities for graduates, in both the public and the voluntary sector. Areas include:
• Residential care
• Outreach
• Alcohol/drug dependency
• Family support
• Community care
• Support of older people
• Juvenile justice
• Community childcare services
• Carers of children with special needs
• Carers of adults with special needs and/or behavioural difficulties
• Outreach and family support services for children and adults living at home
Further information
16
Entry 2024
Early online application (discounted): Fee €30 Closing Date: 20 January 2024 at 5pm
Normal online application: Fee €45 Closing Date: 1 February 2024 at 5pm
Late online application - restrictions apply (see page 3 2024 CAO Handbook): Fee: €60 Closing Date: 1 May 2024 at 5pm
Change of Mind - restrictions apply (see page 3 2024 CAO Handbook): Fee: Nil Closing Date: 1 July 2024 at 5pm
Exceptional online late application (see page 34 of the 2024 CAO Handbook): Fee €60 Closing Date: 22 July 2024 at 5pm
Be sure to complete any action well in advance of closing dates. You should avoid making an application close to a closing date. No extensions to closing dates will be allowed and all application fees are non-refundable.
LATE APPLICATIONS
Late Applications are those which are received after 5pm on 1 February 2024. The closing date for late applications is 5pm on 1 May 2024, subject to the restrictions listed on page 3 of the 2024 CAO Handbook. The online facility for late applications opens on the 5 March 2024 at 12:00 noon - a fee of €60 applies.
Exceptional Late Applications (Exception to the timetable)
The exceptional closing date of 22 July at 5pm applies only to applicants who are registered as an undergraduate student on 1 May 2024 in any year in any one of the participating HEIs (subject to the exclusions listed below). In order to avail of the Exceptional Late Application facility you must have entered the HEI through the CAO system. This is an exceptional late closing date and all steps must be completed by 5pm on 22 July. No changes may be made after this date.
If you did not enter your current course through the CAO system, you must first contact the Admissions Office of the HEI to which you wish to apply and they will inform you if you may submit an application direct to the institution.
Exclusions:
You may submit a late application only for entry to courses other than your existing course. If you wish to repeat the year in the same course you must arrange this within your HEI.
Mary Immaculate College Limerick, Marino Institute of Education, Trinity College Dublin, University of Limerick and Maynooth University have special procedures in place in the case of current or previous students who wish to apply for entry to another course in the same HEI. Such applicants must contact their Admissions Office to determine the application procedure. However, if you are a student in another HEI and you wish to apply to any of these five HEIs, you should apply through CAO.
Refer to page 34 of the 2024 CAO Handbook on how to make an Exceptional Late Application.
Restrictions
As a CAO applicant you may experience one or more of the following restrictions based on your course choices, your category of application, or restrictions imposed by the HEIs that you wish to apply to. Please read the section on 'Restrictions' on page 3 of the 2024 CAO Handbook carefully. This section includes information on:
General Restrictions
1. Making a late application
2. Making changes to your course choices
Restricted Courses
3. Applying for a restricted course
Mature Applicants
4. Mature applicants
Supplementary Admissions Routes
5. Applying for DARE and/or HEAR
This is a four-year honours degree programme. On completion of year 3 of the programme, students achieve a level 7 qualification which is approved by CORU, Ireland's Health and Social Care Professionals regulator.
Social care is a profession where people work with those who experience marginalisation or disadvantage or who have special needs. Social care practitioners work in a wide variety of settings with a wide variety of people: children and adolescents in residential care, people with learning or physical disabilities, the homeless, people with alcohol/drug dependency, families in the community, older people or recent immigrants to Ireland. Social care practitioners typically work in a direct person-to-person capacity with service users.
They will try to provide an environment in which various social, educational and relationship interventions can take place where the service user lives. Work in the sector is usually interdisciplinary. Typically, social care workers, social workers, early childhood care workers and so on work together in teams. This programme is delivered through a blend of lectures, workshops and two full semesters of off-site, supervised practice placement.
In this programme, it is essential that students develop practical working skills in a variety of real-world settings and demonstrate their competence in performing social care roles. To make sure that graduates are fully prepared for the diversity that this job offers, field work visits and placements are an integral part of the programme.
First Year at a Glance:
• Social Care Practice Skills: introduces the professional context of social care work
• Professionalism in Social Care: introduces the fundamental interpersonal, ethical and regulatory dimensions of social care practice
• Sociology and Social Policy: explores the introductory concepts of both disciplines and demonstrates their application to the social care profession
• Creative Arts Interventions: introduces the use of the arts as a significant means of intervention in social care and play-based contexts
• Sociology: introduces key sociological concepts and their application to social care practice
• Law for Social Care: law as it affects the person, the family and society
• Psychology of Normal Development: explores key topics in psychological research and theory on human development across the life span so as to establish a knowledge foundation that will be built upon to ultimately enable an informed, questioning and learning approach to professional social care practice
Question Time
What is the difference between a Social Carer and a Social Worker?
A Social Carer will typically work in a direct person-to-person capacity with clients. He or she will seek to provide a caring, stable environment in which various social, educational and relationship interventions can take place in the day-to-day living space of the client.
The Social Worker’s role is to manage the ‘case’, e.g. arranging the residential child care placement in which a child is placed; coordinating case review meetings; negotiating the termination of a placement; and responding to child protection concerns in a given area. (Social Care Ireland 2011).
Aisling Sharkey
T: +353 (0)66 719 1662
E: aisling.sharkey@mtu.ie
Dr Pat McGarty
T: +353 (0)66 719 1660
E: patrick.mcgarty@mtu.ie