Social Work

Social workers  are community services and health professionals that work collaboratively with people  and communities to address and resolve issues and concerns in their lives, and build on people’s strengths to  enhance social and emotional well-being. Social workers work in partnerships to overcome structural barriers and work for a more equitable, inclusive, and just society.

Social work practitioners work with children, young people, adults, couples, families, groups. and communities. They work in a variety of government and non-government settings including healthcare, family, youth and children’s services, aged care, mental health, disability services, research, policy and planning, community services, schools and domestic and sexual violence services and homelessness services. Social workers use a range of evidence-based approaches to achieve social and personal change including counselling, groupwork, community work,  advocacy, research, evaluation and  social policy.

What qualifications can I get at UC?

We offer a Masters of Social Work (Qualifying). You may also exit earlier with a Graduate Certificate in Health Studies

Career opportunities

Social work offers a wide range of career opportunities including but not limited to:

• Counsellor
• Policy Officer
• Community worker
• Youth worker
• Family Support worker
• Domestic Violence worker
• Mediation facilitator
• Group facilitator
• Child Protection
• Mental health social worker
• Disability support worker
• Private practitioner
• Aged care
• Chronic health support
• Hospital Social Worker
• Alcohol and other drugs worker
• Research and evaluation

Professional recognition

Provisionally  accredited with the Australian Association of Social Workers. The Masters of Social work (Qualifying) from UC is a professional and globally recognised degree, which  enables students to become qualified social workers in Australia and internationally upon completion.

Perks of studying Social Work at UC

The MSW (Q) is a practice-based curriculum, developed in partnership by social work academics and practitioners actively involved in the community with extensive practice and research experience in a wide range of social work settings. The curriculum is co-designed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experience and knowledges are threaded through the Units. In addition to field placements, students have the opportunity to engage and build their skills with social work practitioners, service users and carers and community members using cutting edge simulation technologies including GoReact, SimConverse and bespoke videos filmed on Country and in service locations. Students then have conversations and ask questions with these people in the virtual live tutorials.

Inherent requirements

Visit UC’s inherent requirements page to discover what you need prior to applying to your desired course.

Work integrated learning

A core component of the Masters of Social Work (Qualifying) is 1000 hrs of supervised field education. Two placements in different practice settings provide practical professional social work experience to ensure you are well-prepared for employment and career advancement.