Program

Social Work (Honours) / Law - 4787

Program Summary

Faculty: Faculty of Law

Contact: http://www.law.unsw.edu.au/

Campus: Sydney

Career: Undergraduate

Typical Duration: 6.5 Years  

Typical UOC Per Semester: 24

Min UOC Per Semester: 6

Max UOC Per Semester: 24

Min UOC For Award: 312

UAC Code: 426000

Domestic Entry Requirements: See Domestic Entry Requirements

International Entry Requirements: See International Entry Requirements

Award(s):

Bachelor of Laws

Bachelor of Social Work (Honours)

View program information for previous years

Program Description

This program is for new 2018 commencing students. If you are a continuing student please contact the Faculty of Law for advice.

This program qualifies students for the professional practice of both social work and law.

The Bachelor of Social Work with Honours (UNSW BSW Hons) offers you an innovative and accredited program leading to eligibility for membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). The UNSW BSW Hons includes studies in the areas of social work practice, social and behavioural sciences, and contextual studies. The program includes a number of courses aimed at the development of research skills, including research design and methodology, and every student completes a piece of independent or directed research as part of the Honours requirement.

The UNSW BSW Hons draws on the extensive expertise and experience of qualified Social Work practitioners to deliver a unique combination of scholarly and practise-based courses. Students also undertake two separate field placements in Years 3 and 4 of the degree to gain the necessary practical experience.

Duration/Award
The program is a 6.5 years full-time dual program leading to the award of the two degrees of Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) and Bachelor of Laws BSW(Hons) LLB.

Program Objectives and Graduate Attributes

Please refer to the program objectives and learning outcomes as listed for the Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) 4033 and for the Bachelor of Laws 4701

Program Structure

Total Unit Requirements
  • Law compulsory courses - 96 UOC
  • Law prescribed elective - 6 UOC
  • Law elective courses - 42 UOC
  • Social Work courses - 168 UOC
  • Total 312 UOC

An approved sequence can be found here:
The basic requirements for the Social Work (Hons) degree in dual mode (168 uoc) are:

Program Core (168 UOC)
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
You should not enrol in SOCW3006 as the content overlaps with Law courses. You should instead enrol in
OR
Level 4
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.

Sequencing

Students are advised that progression in the core of the BSW is determined by strict prerequisite requirements..

Participation and Enrolment Requirements
A Working with Children and National Criminal Record Check may be required. Please refer to Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) 4033.

General Education Requirements

Students enrolled in dual law degrees (with exception to Jurisprudence/Law) are not required to complete general education courses.

Honours

Honours in Social Work (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.

Honours in Laws

High achieving students may be eligible to graduate with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours).

Please visit the Honours in law website for further information about the current Honours policy (applicable to students who commenced the LLB in 2014 or earlier) and the the new policy (applicable to students who commenced the LLB from 2015 onwards).

Academic Rules

Requirements for the Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) in concurrent mode
  1. enrol in the Bachelor of Social Work and complete 168 UOC;
  2. complete the core requirements
Exit Strategies

Students unable to meet the requirements of either SOCW3011 or SOCW4010 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.

Security Checks

It is a requirement that students who are undertaking placements in certain government departments and related organisations undergo a criminal record check.

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.

Important Information

The Academic Rules for the UNSW BSW Hons 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.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Laws

For Academic Rules relating to the Bachelor of Laws component of this combined degree program, please refer to program 4701. Although 4701 program is no longer on offer, all combined law students enrolled in the LLB will need to comply with the rules stated here.

A direct link is given below:
Bachelor of Laws 4701.

Fees

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

Area(s) of Specialisation