The Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) is a four-year, full-time degree with an integrated honours component. As a social worker, you’ll change lives by solving problems in human relationships, promoting social change and enhancing the wellbeing of others.
Our Social Work degree emphasises practical skills, with guidance from social workers and industry professionals. You’ll gain expertise in a variety of areas, including mental health, social work counselling, community work, sociology, psychology and working with Indigenous communities.
Key features
Learn the foundations
In your first year of study, you’ll complete an introduction to social work where you’ll learn the foundations of social work practice in a diverse and changing field. You’ll be guided throughout the program by social workers who are experienced in teaching, practice, research and policy.
Field education and a professional portfolio
You’ll gain hands-on experience in the field, completing two diverse placements, in metropolitan and rural Australia or overseas in our partnering countries.
Specialise in an area you’re passionate about
As a social work student, you can focus on particular contexts or methods of practice, by specialising in areas including community health, child welfare, or clinical social work. You also have the chance to gain expertise in a variety of practice areas, as well as in research in social work theory and policy studies from dynamic teachers who are experts in their field.
Research component
This degree will help you develop research skills, including research design and methodology. As part of the Honours requirement, in your final year, you’ll complete either a piece of independent research in the form of a thesis or an advanced practice portfolio.
Potential careers
Policy analyst and adviser
Research officer
Project manager
Social worker
Accreditation
Graduates with the degree of Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) from UNSW are eligible for membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers.