Bachelor of Social Work and Social Planning

The Bachelor of Social Work and Social Planning program of study requires four years of full-time study (or equivalent part-time). 

The Honours degree of the Bachelor of Social Work and Social Planning can be completed by taking an alternative Fourth Year Program. Enrolment in the honours program may be offered to a student who meets certain academic criteria and subject to the school/department being able to provide appropriate resources and staff to supervise the program of study.
The course is offered by the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences.

• Admission requirements
• Course aims
• Learning outcomes
• Program of study
• Honours
  

Admission requirements

The minimum requirements for consideration for entry to all undergraduate courses are specified in detail in the University Entry Requirements. 

Course aims

The Bachelor of Social Work and Social Planning aims to:

• Prepare students for professional work as a social worker and social planner in a range of settings (i.e. local government, state and national government, not for profit, community based environment groups, and private organisations)
• Graduate students that have a core body of knowledge, skills, values and methods in social work and social planning in preparation for a range of career opportunities and in their role as global citizens
• Graduate students with a sound understanding of the multiple cultural and institutional contexts and challenges of practice
•  Develop in graduates of this degree, the values and skills for effective relations between people, organisations and professions in public service
• Graduate students with knowledge of the colonial history of Australia and its long term effects on Indigenous Australians, especially in relation to social work.

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes which The Bachelor of Social Work and Social Planning aims to produce and develop in graduates are:

• an understanding of Australian social, political and welfare systems and institutions in a global context
• an understanding of Australian social issues, change and challenges in their global and historical context
• an understanding of identity, agency and self in culturally diverse contexts
• an understanding of dominant and alternative paradigms of international social work and social planning
• skills in the ability to analyse complexity and understand the implications for practice
• leading edge abilities in a range of methods, techniques and applications of social work and social planning
• skills in community participation and engagement in a variety of settings
• collaborative skills and abilities to lead integrative social planning practices
• high order communication skills (written and oral)
• critical independent thinking skills and abilities to apply research to a study of social dilemmas
• a sound values and human rights base to practice
• a commitment to life learning and reflexive practice
• qualities to enable graduates to be eligible for membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers.

Program of study

To qualify for the degrees of Bachelor of Social Work and Social Planning, a student must complete 144 units with a grade of P or NGP or better in each topic, according to the program of study below.

Not all topics are necessarily available in a given year.

Except with permission of the Faculty Board the course must be completed within 10 consecutive years.

The award of a grade of Fail (F) in the same topic on more than one occasion may constitute prima facie evidence of unsatisfactory progress for the purposes of the University&##39;s policy on Student Progress.

Core - Year 1 topics

Semester 1

POLI1003  Australian Politics: A Comparative Study  (4.5 units)
SOAD1006  Social Planning Theory  (4.5 units)
SOCI1001  Introduction to Sociology  (4.5 units)
PSYC1101  Psychology 1A  (4.5 units)

Semester 2

GEOG1002  Cities as Human Environments  (4.5 units)  
SOAD1007  Statistics and Methods  (4.5 units)
SOAD1008  Reasons for Social Work  (4.5 units)
SOAD1009  Critical Thinking and Communication  (4.5 units)

Core - Year 2 topics

  

Semester 1

SOAD2002  Human Social Development  (4.5 units)
SOAD2006  Community Development  (4.5 units)
SOAD2007  Social Policy Practice  (4.5 units)

AND choose either:

POLI2020  Australian Indigenous Politics  (4.5 units) OR
WMST2016  Indigenous Women&##39;s Voices: Race, Gender and Colonialism  (4.5 units)

Semester 2

SOAD2003  Organisations and Groups  (4.5 units)
SOAD2005  Practice with Individuals  (4.5 units)
SOAD2008  Identity, Self and Agency  (4.5 units)
BUSN2022  The Australian Economy  (4.5 units)

Core - Year 3 topics

  

Semester 1

SOAD3006  Practice Research  (4.5 units)
SOAD3103  Social Work with Diverse Populations  (4.5 units)
SOAD3104  Social Work and Reflective Practice A  (4.5 units)

Select one of the following topics:

POLI2025  The Politics of the Australian Welfare State  (4.5 units)
SOAD2004  Social & Urban Planning  (4.5 units)
SOAD3004  Integrative Social Planning  (4.5 units)

Semester 2

GEOG2722  Society and Space  (4.5 units)
SOAD3005  Access and Equity: Social Issues in Public Policy  (4.5 units)
SOAD3008  Loss and Grief in Social Work Practice  (4.5 units)
SOAD3102  Field Education 1  (4.5 units)

Core - Year 4 topics

  

Semester 1

SOAD4007  Field Education 2  (4.5 units)
SOAD4001  Social Work and Human Rights  (4.5 units)
SOCI2003  Shaping the Future: Social Change in the New Century  (4.5 units)
SOAD4004  Working with Children and Families  (4.5 units)

Semester 2

SOAD4005  Mental Health Across the Lifecourse  (4.5 units)
SOAD4002  Social Work and Reflective Practice B  (4.5 units)
SOAD4003  Social Work/Social Planning and the Environment  (4.5 units)
SOAD4008  Integrity in Social Work Practice B  (4.5 units)

Honours Fourth Year Program

Honour - Year 4 topics

SOAD4002  Social Work and Reflective Practice B  (4.5 units)
SOAD4004  Working with Children and Families  (4.5 units)
SOAD4007  Field Education 2  (4.5 units)
SOAD4008  Integrity in Social Work Practice B  (4.5 units)
SOAD7010  Social Work Honours Thesis (9 units)  
SOAD7010A  Social Work Honours Thesis (4.5/9 units)  
SOAD7010B  Social Work Honours Thesis (4.5/9 units)