The Bachelor of Social Work (Graduate entry) is offered by the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences This course is a graduate-entry degree which requires two years of full-time study (or equivalent part-time). An honours degree also can be completed in two years full-time by taking an alternative Second 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.
Admission requirement
Applicants must hold an approved degree or equivalent qualification from an approved tertiary institution. Except with the permission of the Faculty Board, an applicant's previous studies should have included at least 36 units from disciplines in the social and behavioural sciences; including anthropology, biology, economics, education, geography, history, law, philosophy, politics, psychology and sociology. Applicants normally are expected to have undertaken some studies in psychology, sociology or related subjects.
Other applicants who can provide satisfactory evidence of fitness for candidature may be admitted at the Board's discretion, and subject to specific conditions.
With the approval of the Director of Studies, graduates holding the degree of Bachelor of Social Work or its equivalent, and other people who have approved qualifications in a related discipline and have substantial employment experience in social welfare or an allied field, may enrol as non-award students in particular topics offered by the School of Social Administration and Social Work.
Course aims
The course prepares students to be professional social workers in a broad range of practice and policy settings. Graduates of the course are eligible for membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers.
The course aims to build on existing knowledge and experience to provide students with insight into the contemporary social, political, economic and ideological influences on social work practice. It aims to integrate these understandings and students' professional relationships with individuals, families, groups, communities and organisations. Opportunities for experiential learning facilitate the integration of theory and practice, and give occasion to explore ethical issues that arise in the real world of social work.
In addition to these major objectives, the course also aims to provide students with a general educational framework for further learning, and encourages students to develop ways to make ongoing contributions to the growth of social work knowledge. This is in part achieved by the promotion of a critical understanding of research, of social policy analyses, and of the theoretical ideological bases informing social work practice.
Program of study
To qualify for the degree of Bachelor Social Work (Graduate Entry), a student must complete 72 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.
Core - Year 1 topics
SOAD2005 Practice with Individuals (4.5 units)
SOAD2007 Social Policy Practice (4.5 units)
SOAD3005 Access and Equity: Social Issues in Public Policy (4.5 units)
SOAD3006 Practice Research (4.5 units)
SOAD3008 Loss and Grief in Social Work Practice (4.5 units)
SOAD3102 Field Education 1 (4.5 units)
SOAD3103 Social Work with Diverse Populations (4.5 units)
SOAD3104 Social Work and Reflective Practice A (4.5 units)
Core - Year 2 topics
SOAD4001 Social Work and Human Rights (4.5 units)
SOAD4002 Social Work and Reflective Practice B (4.5 units)
SOAD4003 Social Work/Social Planning and the Environment (4.5 units)
SOAD4004 Working with Children and Families (4.5 units)
SOAD4005 Mental Health Across the Lifecourse (4.5 units)
SOAD4007 Field Education 2 (4.5 units)
SOAD4008 Integrity in Social Work Practice B (4.5 units)
SOCI2003 Shaping the Future: Social Change in the New Century (4.5 units)