2019 Undergraduate Courses
  • Students are to follow the requirements of the Handbook for the year they commenced the course.

    However, the subject links below do not contain the subject information for the current year. You can view current subject information through the new Course Handbook.

Bachelor of Social Work | 2019

Testamur Title of Degree:

Bachelor of Social Work

Abbreviation:

BSocWork

UOW Course Code:

347

CRICOS Code:

081143C

Total Credit Points:

192

Duration:

4 years full-time or part-time equivalent

Home Faculty:

Faculty of Social Sciences

Intake Session(s):

Autumn

Delivery Mode:

On-campus

Delivery Campus / UAC Code:

Wollongong / 755340
Shoalhaven / 755341

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

Entry Requirements and Credit Arrangements

Information on academic and English language requirements, as well as eligibility for credit for prior learning, is available from the Course Finder.

Course Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes are statements of learning achievement that are expressed in terms of what the learner is expected to know, understand and be able to do upon completion of a course. Students graduating from this course will be able to demonstrate:

CLO Description
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 subject progression table below. 

Subject Code Subject Name Credit Points Session(s)
Year 1
Autumn Session
PSYC101 Introduction to Behavioural Science 6 Autumn, Summer 2019/2020
SOWK101 Introduction to Social Work 6 Autumn
Plus one of the following subjects:
GEOG121 Human Geography: Life in a Globalising World 6 Autumn
SOC 103 Introduction to Sociology 6 Autumn
POL 150 Government, Power and Political Systems 6 Autumn
HAS 220 Becoming a Social Scientist: Interdisciplinary Competencies 6 Autumn
Or one 6 credit point subject from the General Schedule approved by the Academic Program Director 6 Autumn
Plus one of the following subjects:
AUST101 Australian Studies: Cultures and Identities 6 Autumn
CST 120 Culture and Society 6 Autumn
HAS 130 Social Determinants of Health 6 Autumn
HAS 230 Contemporary Public Health Issues 6 Autumn
INDS150 Introduction to Indigenous Australia 6 Autumn
Or one 6 credit point subject from the General Schedule approved by the Academic Program Director 6 Autumn
Spring Session
HAS 121 Human Development in Social Context 6 Spring
PSYC123 Research Methods and Statistics 6 Spring
SOWK140 Working with Service Users and Carers 6 Spring
Plus one of the following subjects:
CST 130 Cultures in Context 6 Not available in 2019
HAS 202 Introduction to Social Policy 6 Spring
INDS130 Indigenous Knowledge in Global Contexts 6 Spring
GEOG122 Human Geography: Living in a Material World 6 Spring
HAS 131 Introducing Crime and Justice 6 Spring
Or one 6 credit point subject from the General Schedule approved by the Academic Program Director 6 Spring
Year 2
Autumn Session
HAS 200 Social Justice in a World of Inequality 6 Autumn
SOWK237 Social Work and the Law 6 Autumn
SOWK238 Approaches and Skills: Working with Individuals and Families I 6 Autumn
SOWK235 Fields of Practice: Mental Health 6 Autumn
Spring Session
HAS 234 Research Methods in the Social Sciences 6 Spring
SOWK234 Welfare State and Human Services 6 Spring
SOWK236 Approaches and Skills: Group Work 6 Spring
SOWK241 Perspectives on Diversity 6 Spring
Year 3
Autumn Session
SOWK305 Social Work Ethics 6 Autumn
SOWK310 Supervised Professional Practice 1 18 First Offered in 2020
Spring Session
SOWK336 Approaches and Skills: Working with Individuals and Families II 6 Spring
SOWK337 Practice with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 6 Spring
SOWK338 Fields of Practice: Children, Families, and their Well-being 6 Spring
SOWK340 Fields of Practice: Health, Aging and Disability 6 Spring
Year 4
Annual Session
SOWK404 Approaches and Skills: Community Work 6 Annual
SOWK406 Advanced Social Work Practice and Skills 12 Annual
SOWK410 Supervised Professional Practice II 18 Annual
Autumn Session
SOWK442 International Social Work 6 Autumn
Spring Session
SOWK402 Collaborative Research Approaches 6 Spring

 For information regarding timetables, tutorials, and classes please the visit the Timetables and Classes page.

Compulsory Work Placement / Online Components

This course contains a total of 1000 hours over 104 weeks of compulsory work-based placements in the final two years of the course. This course may also contain compulsory components to be completed online.

Honours

Students who have achieved a high level of academic performance in the first three years of the degree may complete the fourth year at honours level. For further information refer to the Bachelor of Social Work (Honours).

Professional Recognition/Accreditation

The Bachelor of Social Work is provisionally accredited by the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW).  It is an entry qualification into the social work profession and has been determined to meet the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards 2012 (ASWEAS).  All graduates of this course have the same standing as graduates from all other AASW accredited courses and are eligible for membership of the AASW, which is required by many employers.

Graduates will also be required to meet the AASW English language requirements for migration and/or employment purposes.

Other Information

For further information please email: ssc@uow.edu.au

Last reviewed: 6 October, 2018