Bachelor of Social Work

Overview

Social workers assist people to develop their capacity and strengths to solve problems and issues in their daily lives. They explore and address social issues confronting communities to change and improve the lives of citizens by using research and evaluation skills, social policy analysis, social planning, and community development strategies.

Social Work students engage in social science subjects to develop a sound understanding of human behaviour and society. The topics are predominantly taught in the first year. The latter part of the course focuses on professional subjects. Professional experience, two placements of 500 hours in human service organisations, is compulsory and integrated into the last two years of the degree. Please refer to the information in Course Finder for Australian Residents and International Students in relation to record checks.

Students will be required to make themselves available for professional experiences at specified locations at negotiated times. It is an expectation that students who participate in these courses are capable of meeting the demands of travelling to and from professional experience locations. Some agencies may require that students hold a driver’s licence.

The first two years of the degree is also available at the Shoalhaven Campus. Further information can be obtained by contacting the Faculty of Social Sciences.

Entry Requirements

Academic requirements and English requirements are available from the Course Finder.

Course Learning Outcomes

Students graduating from the Bachelor of Social Work will be able to:

1. Analyse the practices, responsibilities and commitments of the social work profession and your location within it.
2. Articulate social work values and ethics and utilise them to make judgments and decisions within the complexity of practice.
3. Demonstrate the purposeful use of skills and knowledge within a range of social work methods of intervention.
4. Use theories from social science disciplines to analyse human behaviour, social policy and social issues, in Australia and internationally.
5. Recognise different value systems and ethical frameworks, including your own, ascertain the moral complexities of your decisions and judgments and acknowledge the consequences of them.
6. Evaluate existing research to inform practice and undertake and disseminate ethical research informed by practice.
7. Demonstrate effective communication and interpersonal skills to build respectful relationships in a range of cultural and professional settings.
8. Evaluate their own professional practice, identify learning needs and strategies for extending their repertoire of knowledge and skills.
9. Work effectively within and between organizations and social service systems, formulating proposals for change where appropriate.
10. Work collaboratively and respectively across the boundaries of unavoidable dependencies, cultural differences and inequalities in Australia and internationally.
11. Demonstrate deliberate and informed participation in the civic life of the community through, for example, service learning, supervised professional practice, co-curricular activities and/or community activism.
12. Articulate ideas using a wide range of techniques effective with different audiences including experts and non-experts.

Course Structure

The Bachelor of Social Work requires the successful completion of 192 credit points of subjects in accordance with the course structure and recommended subject progression table below.

 * Subject information is available from the 2016 Subject Descriptions

Credit Arrangements

Credit and articulation arrangements are available from the Course Finder. Refer to UOW's credit arrangements for information on how to apply for credit.

PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION/ACCREDITATION

The Bachelor of Social Work is accredited by the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW).  Graduates of this course will be eligible for membership of the AASW which is required by many employers.

Other Information

Further information is available at:
UOW Course Finder
Email: ssc@uow.edu.au