Create a career that improves the quality of life and develops the potential of individuals, groups and communities.

Social workers perform a crucial role in helping people confront social problems and improving the quality of their lives. Your social work degree will open the door to careers in government, non-government, welfare and community-based organisations in many different roles.

You will undertake two industry-based education placements in different human service agency settings under the supervision of experienced social workers.

The Bachelor of Social Work is accredited by Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). Upon completion social work graduates will also be eligible for membership with the AASW.

Admission to this course requires completion of the Bachelor of Social Work (Preliminary Year)

• Location:
  Footscray Nicholson
• Faculty:
  Faculty of Arts, Education and Human Development
• School:
  School of Social Sciences and Psychology
• Study mode:
  Full Time and Part Time
• Delivery mode:
  On campus
• Course code:
  ABUW
• Duration:
  3 years
• This information is for Australian residents.
  Click here for the international version of this course

How to apply

Social Work Lecturer Doris Testa talks about the course.
Read the transcript

• School Social Worker
• Hospital Social Worker
• Homelessness Policy Officer
• Community Health Centre Counsellor
• Local Government Youth/ Community Development Worker
• Drug and Alcohol Worker 
• Sexual Assault Centre Counsellor/Advocate

Learn more about your career options on the Australian government's Career Information and Resources website.

The Bachelor of Social Work course aims to prepare students for effective professional practice as social workers in the social and community services industries. (a) General Objectives The general objectives of the curriculum are associated with the liberal arts component of the BSW Course, which in time sequence precedes the professional component of the BSW course. There is variation among students in terms of the number of years of tertiary education completed. It ranges from a minimum of one year to completed degrees. We advise those students who are about to enter university and are inquiring about which units of study they ought to pursue to prepare them for social work, to take a broad range of units from different disciplines rather than concentrating on only one or two disciplines. The objectives of the liberal arts component of the BSW course at Victoria University are:

• to obtain knowledge from the humanities and social sciences that informs social work;
• to gain an understanding of the socioeconomic, political, psychological, and cultural forces that impinge upon people's lives;
• to become aware of how society has developed and is organised; and
• to obtain knowledge that enables students to broaden the understanding of themselves and the world.

(b) Professional Objectives The objectives of the professional component of the BSW programs are:

• to help meet the social welfare labour force needs of Australia generally and the western region of Melbourne in particular;
• to increase students' knowledge and understanding of social welfare in the Australian context, emphasising origins, ideological bases, development, functions, contradictions, administrative forms, and impacts on oppressed groups including Indigenous people, poor people, women, people of colour and people with disabilities;
• to expand students' understanding of the historical development of social work and of social work practice, including its scope and limitations, its internal debates, and its interrelationship with other bodies of knowledge;
• to introduce students to the origins, manifestations, dynamics, causes and consequences of social inequality and oppression;
• to facilitate students' development of purposeful use of skills within a wide range of social work roles and methods of intervention necessary for the elimination of social inequality and obstacles to social functioning;
• to enhance students' development, intellectual inquisitiveness, creative problem-solving skills, reflective practices, and proper use of a range of research methods; a facility for critical questioning, and a goal of life-long learning; and
• to strengthen students' understanding of, and commitment to, social work purposes, values, ideals, beliefs, and identity; particularly to understand it from an anti-oppressive framework.

• Social Welfare: History and Current Context

  Unit code

  ASW2102

  Credits

  12

• Human Development in Social Context

  Unit code

  ASW2103

  Credits

  12

• Social Work Theories

  Unit code

  ASW2202

  Credits

  12

• Interpersonal and Communication Skills

  Unit code

  ASW2203

  Credits

  12

• Introduction to Social Policy

  Unit code

  ASW2013

  Credits

  12

• Groupwork Theory and Practice

  Unit code

  ASW2090

  Credits

  12

• Working in Human Service Organisations

  Unit code

  ASW2094

  Credits

  12

• Social Research 1

  Unit code

  ASW2098

  Credits

  12

• Skills for Social Work Direct Practice

  Unit code

  ASW3101

  Credits

  12

• Critical Social Work Theories

  Unit code

  ASW3102

  Credits

  12

• Social Work, Advocacy and Human Rights

  Unit code

  ASW3110

  Credits

  12

• Indigenous Australian Issues and Understandings

  Unit code

  AEK1101

  Credits

  12

• Field Education 1

  Unit code

  ASW3201

  Credits

  24

• Field Education 1: Integrative Seminar

  Unit code

  ASW3202

  Credits

  12

• Working With Individuals and Families

  Unit code

  ASW3300

  Credits

  12

• Community Development

  Unit code

  ASW4044

  Credits

  12

• Social Work Research 2

  Unit code

  ASW4092

  Credits

  12

• Field Education 2

  Unit code

  ASW4290

  Credits

  24

• Social Policy Analysis: Current Issues

  Unit code

  ASW4090

  Credits

  12

• Field Education 2: Integrative Seminar

  Unit code

  ASW4291

  Credits

  12

• Schools and Student Wellbeing

  Unit code

  ASW4001

  Credits

  12

• Social Planning and Program Development

  Unit code

  ASW4047

  Credits

  12

• Health and Mental Health: Practice and Policy

  Unit code

  ASW4048

  Credits

  12

• Statutory Social Work

  Unit code

  ASW4050

  Credits

  12

• Supervision Practice in Social Work

  Unit code

  ASW4051

  Credits

  12

• Social Work Honours: Seminar

  Unit code

  ASW5002

  Credits

  24

• Social Work Honours Thesis

  Unit code

  ASW5003

  Credits

  24

The structure of the BSW qualification is:

Preliminary Year One year minimum of tertiary study including completion of at least two semesters of relevant social science units, eg. sociology and psychology, politics and economics. The preliminary year can be undertaken as part of either a Bachelor of Arts or the Bachelor of Social Work Preliminary Year (ABSP) offered at Victoria University, or equivalent degree courses at other universities, or one of the courses outlined in Admission Requirements above. Applications for the Bachelor of Social Work Preliminary Year (ABSP) are through VTAC.

• Year 12:

  Entry to the degree may be at various levels depending on prior study and work experience. Applicants with prior tertiary studies or substantial work experience in the social and community services may be eligible for recognition of prior learning. In addition, students who have successfully completed the following courses may be eligible to enrol directly into ABUW:

  • 3113GA0208 Diploma of Arts at Victoria University
  • 21794VIC Diploma of Liberal Arts at Victoria University
  • Associate in Arts Programme at Yew Chung Community College in China or Hong Kong

  Applicants for the Bachelor of Social Work should complete the direct admission/supplementary information form. Please note the additional information requirements for social work in Sections E (ii) - two references and two 500 word statements and E (iii) - work experience