Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Social Work - American Studies

The University of Sydney

This five-year degree offers a comprehensive and flexible combined degree program that qualifies you as an accredited social worker, while also allowing you to enhance your qualification with majors and minors that complement the Bachelor of Social Work. While this combined degree requires a major or minor in Sociology, or a minor in Social Policy, you can choose another major or minor in various interest areas such as diversity studies, gender studies, Aboriginal Studies, or philosophy. You'll undertake integrated studies in social sciences, social policy and social work theory and practice, with a strong emphasis on Australian and comparative social welfare studies. In the last two years of the degree all students undertake the professional social work program, which includes two fieldwork placements supervised by highly skilled and experienced practitioners in a variety of settings. We develop field education learning expectations across the program and aim to develop values, skills and knowledge for levels from beginner to a practitioner capable of meeting the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) Practice Standards.American Studies is a unique field that examines the history, culture, society, laws, foreign policy and politics of the US. Units examine the US's evolution and why it is a dominant cultural and political force in the 21st century. From the study of America's government to its popular culture, you will be challenged to think creatively about the construction and meaning of American identity and power, while developing analytic and research skills that span the humanities and social sciences. An American Studies major will give you broad, multi-faceted knowledge of this complex, diverse and dynamic nation and its relationship with the broader world. You will analyse the US using a variety of different approaches. In addition to core American Studies units, you can take cross-listed units of study from the departments of English, Film Studies, History, Gender and Cultural Studies, Government, and Music, and from the United States Studies Centre. With such diversity of perspectives, an American Studies major is a unique opportunity to learn a variety of disciplinary approaches and methodologies. Undertaking a major in American Studies will give you access to the widest range of US-focused units of study and to the largest concentration of academics working on the US, of any university in Australia.

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