Bachelor of Social Work

• General information
• Aims
• Professional recognition
• Entry requirements
  • Undergraduates
  • Graduates
• Special requirements
  • Fieldwork
  • On-campus workshops
• Course structure
  • Course plan
• Credits/exemptions
• Assessment
• Further information
• Completed applications

General information

Course code: 0004 * Clayton campus * HECS fees applicable * Workshop attendance compulsory.

Aims

The course provides a base for, and introduction to, the practice of social work at interpersonal, group and broader societal levels. In the course emphasis is placed on students acquiring the knowledge and skill to successfully practice in a wide variety of social work settings.
The course is offered in flexible learning as well as on-campus modes in order to provide opportunities for those who previously had only limited access to professionally recognised social work education.

Professional recognition

The course is approved by the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) Ltd and graduates are eligible for membership. Student membership is also available.

Entry requirements

The Bachelor of Social Work is available to:
(a) undergraduates who have successfully completed two years of a university degree study;
(b) graduates from Monash University or other equivalent institutions;
(c) diplomates who have completed the Associate Diploma of Arts (Welfare Studies) at Monash University College Gippsland, Caulfield, or equivalent institution.
Please note that no credits can be given for subjects taken within a course which is the entry requirement for the Bachelor of Social Work.

Undergraduates

Undergraduates should have completed the equivalent of two years of a university degree. Studies must have included at least one year of the study of the individual in society (psychology) and one year of the study of society (sociology) or equivalent.

Graduates

Graduates may be admitted if they have qualified for a degree at Monash or another university or equivalent institution, and the Faculty of Arts approves the work completed for the degree as being a suitable preparation for candidature. This means that their course of studies must have included at least one year of the study of the individual in society and one year of the study of society.
Selection takes account not only of academic achievements but of personal factors and a referee's report. Evidence of social work or welfare experience (paid or voluntary) and other preparation for social work studies will also be taken into consideration.
Applicants must be at least nineteen years of age by the date of commencement of the course. No upper age limit as such is fixed.

Special requirements

Fieldwork

Integrated with classwork over the four years of the course are student fieldwork placements. The aim of the fieldwork placements is to provide students with the opportunity to integrate the knowledge and skills required in the academic component of the course with the requirements of social work practice.
Students do their placements in human service agencies, and receive support and supervision from qualified social workers. Fieldwork liaison staff from the Department of Social Work remain in contact with students during placements.
The AASW stipulates that students should complete a minimum of twenty-eight weeks of fieldwork during their social work training. The fieldwork is split into two placements, the first normally to be undertaken in year two and the second in year four of the part-time course.
This means that students will have to work full-time in an agency for fourteen weeks in each of these two semesters (part-time field placement of three days per week over a longer period may be negotiated with the department). Intending students are advised to give prior consideration as to how they will accommodate fieldwork requirements with any personal commitments.

On-campus workshops

Two compulsory workshops are held per year over the four-year period, usually in February and June. Each workshop is of three days duration and held during the week at the Clayton campus in Melbourne. The workshops enable students and staff to get to know each other, allow students to clarify theoretical and practice issues about the course and, most importantly, enable students to acquire social work skills and knowledge. Accordingly, the workshops are designed to ensure that students have face-to-face input from lecturers in all the subjects in which they are enrolled. (Students must meet their own travel and accommodation costs.)

Course structure

The Bachelor of Social Work is of four years part-time duration by the distance education mode.
All students enter year one of the course. Students must pass both academic work and fieldwork successfully before being awarded the degree of Bachelor of Social Work. The course can also be undertaken full-time on request.

Course plan

The sequence of the degree for distance education study is set out below.

* SWK4560 AND SWK3180 FULL YEAR SUBJECTS.

Credits/exemptions

As the Bachelor of Social Work is a professional qualification designed to build on prior tertiary education, credits will not be granted for subjects which are prerequisites of the course. However, applicants who have a second or higher degree, or who have completed part of a Bachelor of Social Work course at another institution may apply for credit where the subject is comparable to the subject in the Bachelor of Social Work. Full documentation, including course outlines and content, are required to be submitted if an applicant requests credits.

Assessment

Assessment consists primarily of assignment work.

Further information

For more detailed information, contact the distance education secretary, Department of Social Work and Human Services, telephone (03) 9905 4282.

Completed applications

Applications must include 'Application for admission 1999', social work application form, essays (as outlined in the social work application form), and a confidential referee's report. Copies of the social work application form and referee's report form can be obtained by telephoning the Distance Education Office on (03) 9905 4282 or fax (03) 9905 4281. Email socialwork@arts.monash.edu.au Visit our home page http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/social_work/
Completed applications are to be forwarded to Distance Education Office, Department of Social Work and Human Services, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, 3168, by 22 October 1999, although applications will be received up until the end of November/early December if course places are still available.

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