Bachelor of Social Work | 2018

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
Year 1
Autumn
PSYC101	Introduction to Behavioural Science	6
SOWK101	Introduction to Social Work	6
Plus one of the following subjects:
GEOG121	Human Geography: Life in a Globalising World	6
SOC 103	Introduction to Sociology	6
POL 150	Government, Power and Political Systems	6
HAS 220	Becoming a Social Scientist: Interdisciplinary Competencies	6
Or one 6 credit point subject from the General Schedule approved by the Academic Program Director		6
Plus one of the following subjects:
AUST101	Australian Studies: Cultures and Identities	6
CST 120	Culture and Society	6
HAS 130	Social Determinants of Health	6
HAS 230	Contemporary Public Health Issues	6
INDS150	Introduction to Indigenous Australia	6
Or one 6 credit point subject from the General Schedule approved by the Academic Program Director		6
Spring
HAS 121	Human Development in Social Context	6
PSYC123	Research Methods and Statistics	6
SOWK140	Working with Service Users and Carers	6
Plus one 6 credit point subject selected from the following:
CST 130	Cultures in Context	6
HAS 202	Introduction to Social Policy	6
INDS130	Indigenous Knowledge in Global Contexts	6
GEOG122	Human Geography: Living in a Material World	6
HAS 131	Introducing Crime and Justice	6
One 6 credit point subject from the General Schedule approved by the Academic Program Director		6
Year 2
Autumn
HAS 200	Social Justice in a World of Inequality	6
SOWK237	Social Work and the Law	6
SOWK238	Approaches and Skills: Working with Individuals and Families I	6
SOWK235	Fields of Practice: Mental Health	6
Spring
SOWK234	Welfare State and Human Services	6
HAS 234	Research Methods in the Social Sciences	6
SOWK236	Approaches and Skills: Group Work	6
SOWK241	Perspectives on Diversity	6
Year 3
Autumn
SOWK305	Social Work Ethics	6
SOWK310	Supervised Professional Practice I	18
Spring
SOWK336	Approaches and Skills: Working with Individuals and Families II	6
SOWK337	Practice with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples	6
SOWK338	Fields of Practice: Children, Families, and their Well-being	6
SOWK340	Fields of Practice: Health, Aging and Disability	6
Year 4
Annual
SOWK404	Approaches and Skills: Community Work	6
SOWK406	Advanced Social Work Practice and Skills	12
SOWK410	Supervised Professional Practice II	18
Autumn
SOWK442	International Social Work	6
Spring
SOWK402	Collaborative Research Approaches	6

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.

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: 15 June, 2018