This degree is no longer offered. You may be interested in other courses in Social work
Bachelor of Social Work
UndergraduateUSQ-SWK-DEG2025
Course information for 2025 intake View information for 2024 course intake
Advanced communication skills and relationship building
Get ready for a career in social work. You’ll unpack Australian social services and systems. Learn to advocate for clients and support them through crisis. Challenge social issues like violence and exclusion. Includes mentoring and industry placements.
- Study method
- Online & on-campus
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Credit available
- Yes
- Duration
- 4 years full time or part time equivalent
- Total subjects
- 32
- Available loans
- Australian Higher Education Loan Program (HELP)
- CSP available
- Yes
Bachelor of Social Work
About this degree
On completion of this program, students should be able to:
- Apply a synthesis of relevant evidence-informed knowledge, theory and skills in order to authentically practice as a Social Worker who privileges the voice, agency and human worth of all global citizens.
- Articulate, embrace and draw on advanced communication skills when building relationships with individuals, groups and communities, inclusive of oral and written skills but also information technologies.
- Co-develop, work collaboratively and actively contribute to respectful and just relationships with individuals, families and communities, ensuring cultural safety, environmental justice and well-being.
- Assemble engagement and intervention strategies at micro, meso and macro levels that critically respond to social need using socio-political analysis and anti-oppressive practice; driving activism for social justice and human rights utilising critical theories, critical analysis and contextual knowledge.
- Celebrate and promote diversity and difference in society as evidenced by authentic Social Work practice that disrupts, actively challenges, and redresses violence, discrimination, stigma, social exclusion and othering.
- Design, integrate, implement, and evaluate research that informs and shapes critical Social Work practice, community development and societal engagement in search of a just society that demonstrates genuine respect for human rights and well-being.
- Become a practice-ready graduate practitioner and be a catalyst for change, dedicated to achieving social justice, inclusion and wellbeing. You will build the skills you need to work clinically with individuals and families; co-develop community solutions to address inequalities and structural disadvantage; and advocate for justice through policy and legislative change. Extending beyond the delivery of traditional social work, as a UniSQ graduate you will be an excellent communicator, be able to comprehensively assess individual and community needs, problem solve, advocate for human rights and social justice, navigate complex services and systems, and contribute to policy development and evaluation.
Recommended study pattern
Year 1
SWK1000 Landscape of Social Work and Human Services
PSY1102 Interpersonal Skills
HSW1500 Collective Action and Community Development
FNA1001 First Nations Philosophy and Perspectives
SWK1400 Working in Partnership with Children, Youth and Families
NUR1203 Cultural Safety and Professional Practice
SWK1100 Decolonising Social Work and Human Services: Critical Social Work in a Global Context
PSY1010 Foundation Psychology A
Year 2
SWK2100 Challenging Ableism: Diversity, Difference and Disability
SWK2010 Human Rights, Legal Issues and Ethical Practice
SWK2200 Intersectionality as a Critical Practice Tool
PSY2030 Developmental Psychology
SWK2300 Health as a Social Idea
SWK2000 Application of Theories and Frameworks in Social Work Practice
2 x Electives
Year 3
SWH3300 Critical Approaches to Mental Health, Mental Illness and Psychosocial Disability
SWK3100 Professional Practice 1: Building Relationships
SWH3400 Research for the Human Sciences
SWK3000 Field Placement 1
SWK3200 Contemporary Pressures: Navigating Domestic and Family Violence
1 x Elective
Award requirements
Completion of 32 units as outlined in the Recommended Study Pattern section plus completion of required practical placements.Exit points
Diploma of Human Services and Development.
Open Universities Australia is a not-for-profit organisation. You will not pay any fees for using our services.
Indicative first year fee
$12,630
Indicative total fee $50,520
The amounts shown here are indicative for an Australian citizen studying full-time, which is typically 8 subjects per year.
Fees may vary depending on:
- the subjects you choose
- credit from previous work experience
- your eligibility for government funding loans or subsidies such as HECS-HELP or a Commonwealth supported place.
To learn more, go to Fees or contact a student advisor.
As Australia’s #1 university for graduate starting salary (Good Universities Guide, 2022), University of Southern Queensland is the right place to make real progress. Regardless of your education history, your age or your aspirations, at UniSQ you’ll be inspired by quality learning experiences matched with top resources and research. Having delivered distance and online learning for over 40+ years, UniSQ supports you to learn at your own pace—exactly how it suits you.
Learn more about USQ.
Explore USQ courses.
- QS Ranking 2024:
- 24
- Times Higher Education Ranking 2024:
- 24
Entry requirements
- ATAR - 65.60 or equivalent Inherent requirements - There are inherent requirements that must be met in order to successfully complete this degree. Inherent requirements are fundamental skills, capabilities and knowledge that students must be able to demonstrate in order to achieve the essential learning outcomes of the degree, while maintaining the academic integrity of the degree. Please read and understand the inherent requirements specific to the Bachelor of Social Work before applying. Proof of meeting the English Language Proficiency requirements is also required.
- Completed VET qualifications can be used to derive an ATAR score or Selection Rank which may be used to meet the Entry Requirements for the program. We encourage you to reach out to the UniSQ team to discuss your options further.
- Work and Life experience may be used to derive an ATAR score or Selection Rank which may be used to meet the Entry Requirements for the program. We encourage you to reach out to the UniSQ team to discuss your options further.
- Exemptions/credit will be assessed based on the UniSQ Credit and Exemption Procedure. Claims for credit for previous study should be submitted prior to or at the time of enrolment. Each claim will be assessed on individual merit in line with UniSQ policy.
Study method requirements
Residential School requirements to complete practical components of some courses.
Career opportunities
Professional recognition
The Bachelor of Social Work is accredited with the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) under the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards (ASWEAS). UniSQ graduates from the Bachelor of Social Work and Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) will be eligible to apply for membership of the AASW.Australian job snapshots
Data sourced from Australian Jobs 2023.
Role | Earnings | Employment change |
|---|---|---|
Health and Welfare Services Managers | Over $120K | Up 56.6% |
Social Workers | $75K to $93K | Up 29.8% |
Welfare Support Workers | $75K to $93K | Up 38.5% |
Welfare, Recreation and Community Arts Workers | $75K to $93K | Up 29.8% |