The Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) Bachelor of Arts (BSW Hons BA) is a 5.5-year Dual degree. The BSW Hons BA provides an opportunity for students to undertake the courses required for the Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) program, as well as courses from the Bachelor of Arts program, including an approved major and minor stream, providing you with all the benefits of an education in the Humanities, Social Sciences and the Creative and Performing Arts.

Please refer to the program objectives as listed for the Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) program 4033 and the Bachelor of Arts program 3403.


Requirements for the Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) in Dual Mode

The basic requirements for the degree in Dual mode (168 UOC) are:

Dual Mode with Bachelor of Arts - General Education Requirement

Because both Dual programs are internal to UNSW Arts and Social Sciences the General Education (GE) Exemption for Dual programs does not apply.

For students completing the BSW (Hons) in Dual mode the UNSW Arts and Social Sciences Prescribed Elective in the BA is replaced with an approved GE course to meet 6 UOC of the GE requirement. The other 6 UOC is to be taken by replacing ARTS1870 Rethinking the Social with an approved GE course. This completes the 12 UOC GE requirement.

Core

Level 1

Directed or independent research is integrated into SOCW4014 to meet the requirements of both AQF Level 8 Bachelors degree with Honours and the AASW.

Field Education

An integral aspect of the program core is organised learning in the field and this is a basic requirement for the professional recognition of the degree. In the field education courses, a field educator, usually in a social welfare agency, is responsible for a student learning to apply the principles of professional practice in an actual practice setting. From level 3, a total of 140 seven-hour days are taken up in this way. Forty of these days are scheduled during academic recess periods. A student's two field education placements are in more than one type of practice setting. The settings vary and can include medical, psychiatric, local government, community health, community, family and child welfare, services to groups with disabilities, services to the aged, services to migrants, income security, and corrective services. Non-government social welfare agencies and all levels of government are utilised. For some students, their second field education placement may be located outside the Sydney metropolitan area. SOCW3011 and SOCW4014 are the designated field education courses.

General Education

General Education is the completion of two courses (12 UOC) offered outside UNSW Arts and Social Sciences. This requirement is met if an external major or minor (for example, Economics) is completed. Indigenous Studies courses (ATSIxxxx) can be studied as General Education only if students are not following a major or minor in Indigenous Studies within the BA program.

University Medal

An honours student in this program may be nominated for a University Medal in line with the University Medal Policy http://www.gs.unsw.edu.au/policy/documents/medalspolicy.pdf and Procedures http://www.gs.unsw.edu.au/policy/documents/medalsprocedure.pdf.

Academic Rules

Dual Mode

To qualify for the award of the degree at Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) level, a student must:

Honours

Honours will be awarded in the following classes, based on the student's WAM rounded to the nearest whole number:

• Honours Class I (selective WAM of 85 or higher)
  
• Honours Class II division 1, (selective WAM of 75-84)
  
• Honours Class II division 2 (selective WAM of 65-74)
  
• Honours Class III (selective WAM of 50-64)

The award will be calculated on the basis of the WAM for Level 3 and 4 Program Core courses in Social Work, with the selected Honours course (SOCW4015 or SOCW4016) weighted as 24 units of credit to recognise integration of learning with professional practice in SOCW4014.

The Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of Level 3 and 4 core courses in the Social Work (Honours) program are applied towards the award of the Honours Class. Therefore these courses cannot be undertaken in the Exchange Program as such courses completed are recorded as credit transfer without marks and cannot be included in the WAM calculation.

Exit Strategies

Students unable to meet the requirements of either SOCW3011 or SOCW4014 may exit the program and enrol in the Bachelor of Welfare Studies. It should be noted that this program does not provide eligibility for membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers.

Participation and Enrolment Requirements

Working with Children Check

The Working With Children Check is valid for five years. It is a requirement for all students and is specifically designed for people who work or volunteer in child-related work. It involves a national criminal history check and a review of findings of workplace misconduct. The result of a Working With Children Check is either a clearance to work with children for five years, or a bar against working with children. Cleared applicants are subject to ongoing monitoring and relevant new records may lead to the clearance being revoked. The Working With Children Check is fully portable so it can be used for any paid or unpaid child-related work in NSW for as long as the worker remains cleared.

You can apply for their Working With Children Check (WWCC) number on the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian website. To be eligible for a WWCC you will have to show proof of identity to a NSW Motor Registry or Council Agency. For more information you may access the online tutorials and fact sheets at Working with Children Check.

National Criminal Record Check

A National Criminal Record Check is valid for three years. You must undergo a National Criminal Record Check and provide an original copy of the Check results to the Work Integrated Learning Unit. The result of a Working With Children Check is either that there are ‘no disclosable outcomes’, or that there are ‘disclosable outcomes’ which are then detailed in the certificate. If you have a disclosable outcome(s) on your criminal record check you will need to undergo a risk assessment. Please contact the Work Integrated Learning Unit for further information about this.

All placement students are subject to ongoing monitoring and must disclose new ‘disclosable outcomes’ to the Work Integrated Learning Unit. Some agencies (e.g NSW Health) only accept National Criminal Record Checks obtained through specific accredited agencies.
Compliance with NSW Health Vaccination Requirements (NSW Health funded placements)

In order to undertake placement in a NSW Health funded facility, you need to demonstrate evidence of protection against the following diseases:

• Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough)
• Hepatitis B
• Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)
• Varicella (chickenpox)
• Tuberculosis (TB) - As specified on the Vaccination Card, this check is only required if you were born in a country with a high incidence of TB, or you have lived or travelled in a high risk TB country cumulatively for 3 months or more.

Evidence of protection against these diseases must be recorded on the NSW Health vaccination card by a GP and serology reports must be provide for some diseases (reports from your doctor where protection is measured in your blood).

Green P Drivers Licence

Many agencies require that students have a Green P Drivers Licence or above. Although it is not compulsory to have a NSW Drivers License to undertake placement, it is an essential requirement for social work tasks in most agencies. Not having a Green P or unrestricted Driver’s License will significantly limit student placement options.

Professional Recognition

Graduates with the degree of Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) from UNSW are eligible for membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Dual Mode

Program Structure

The basic requirements for the degree in Dual mode (96 UOC) are:

Details of the home major and minor streams available can be found on the Bachelor of Arts 3403 program page.

To qualify for the award of the Bachelor of Arts at Pass level, a student must:

General Education

General Education is the completion of two courses (12 UOC) offered outside UNSW Arts and Social Sciences. This requirement is met if an external major or minor (for example, Economics) is completed. Indigenous Studies courses (ATSIxxxx) can be studied as General Education only if students are not following a major or minor in Indigenous Studies within the BA program.

Award with Distinction

You are eligible for the award of your Pass Degree "with Distinction" if you achieve a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of at least 75 in all courses and complete at least 50% of the requirements of your award at UNSW.

After completion of 144 UOC including all of the requirements of the Bachelor of Arts dual degree, high achieving students may apply for admission to the Bachelor of Arts and Social Sciences (Honours) program 4504. Entry to Honours requires a WAM of 70 or higher in the stream(s) seeking to be further studied.

Bachelor of Arts and Social Sciences (Honours) program 4504

For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following website:  UNSW Fee Website.

The Academic Rules for the BSW Hons BA and the online enrolment facility provide students with a wide range of course choices. The online enrolment facility checks that students meet the enrolment requirements for individual courses but not that a course complies with Program Rules. Students are responsible for ensuring they are enrolling in accordance with the Academic Rules outlined above. Students should not assume that because they have enrolled in a course online that the course is automatically credited to their degree program.

Contact the UNSW Arts and Social Sciences Student Centre for advice.
Tel: + 61 2 9385 2289
Email: arts@unsw.edu.au
Location: Room G1 Ground Floor, Morven Brown building (C20)
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm
Frequently asked questions