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Bachelor of Social Work with Honours

Bachelor (Honours)

Now more than ever compassionate and engaged social workers are needed to help improve the life and wellbeing of people and to combat societal inequality. Social workers need contemporary skills to respond meaningfully to social problems.

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Key details

Degree Type

Bachelor (Honours)

Duration

4 - 9 years full-time

Course Code

A4S, 098280K

Study Mode

In person

Intake Months

Feb

International Fees

$34,450 per year / $145,205 total

About this course

Now more than ever compassionate and engaged social workers are needed to help improve the life and wellbeing of people and to combat societal inequality.

Social workers need contemporary skills to respond meaningfully to social problems. Our Bachelor of Social Work with Honours has been designed with direct industry input to reflect current and emerging practice trends in the profession.

The Bachelor of Social Work with Honours is a professionally accredited qualification, awarded full accreditation by the Australian Association of Social Workers. It is an entry qualification into the social work profession and has been determined to meet the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards.

The honours-level course has specialisation options, and you will engage with distinctive Tasmanian, national, and international contexts. Threaded through the course is a focus on decolonising, Indigenising, sustainability, collaboration, and innovation in social work, ensuring that as a graduate, you are well-equipped for new and diverse roles in changing workplaces.

The Bachelor of Social Work with Honours prepares students for generalist social work practice, helping them to develop core knowledge, skills and values that can be applied across practice settings, fields and methods of social work practice. In your third and fourth year of study, you'll complete a minimum of 1,000 hours of supervised professional field education placement.

Part-time students should be aware that undertaking their professional experience placement part-time may extend their course duration by up to a year. If you are studying part-time, please contact the Field Education team to discuss.

Entry requirements

We encourage you to apply for the courses you most want to study. If you're not eligible to enter your chosen course right now, the admissions team will work with you to find the best pathway option.

Enquire online for advice on the application process and the available pathways to study.

Applicants are ranked by ATAR and offers made based on the number of places available. In 2022, the lowest ATAR to receive an offer into this course was 69.7 The lowest ATAR to receive an offer may change from year to year based on the number of applications we receive

If you do not receive the minimum ATAR please refer to Alternative entry pathways below.

To be eligible for an offer, you must have:

Completed a course at Diploma level or higher at any Australian higher education provider (or an equivalent overseas qualification); or
Completed at least two units of study (equivalent to 25 UTAS credit points) of a course at Diploma level (or an equivalent overseas qualification). If you have failed any units your application may be subject to further review before an offer is made; or
Completed the UTAS Diploma of University Studies; or
Competed the UTAS University Preparation Program, or an equivalent enabling program offered by another Australian university.

To be eligible for an offer, you must have:

completed a Certificate IV, Diploma or Advanced Diploma (or an equivalent qualification) in any field.

If you have not successfully completed senior secondary, tertiary or TAFE/VET study, but have relevant work and life experience you can complete a personal competency statement.

If your ability to access or participate in education has been affected by circumstances beyond your control, you can apply for special consideration as part of your application. We will consider a range of factors, including economic hardship, serious medical condition or disability.

We can only approve applications for special consideration where we are confident that you have the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in your studies. If your application is not approved, the UTAS admissions team will work with you to find the best alternative pathway to your chosen course. Special consideration is not available for international applicants.

This course includes compulsory field placements. In order to participate in field placements, all students must:

obtain a Tasmania Police Schedule 1 National Police Record Check and Working with Vulnerable Persons and Children Check; and
complete a Safety in Practice Agreement

All international students will need to meet the minimum English Language Requirements, University General Entry Requirements and any course specific requirements such as pre-requisite subjects, if applicable.

This degree requires an IELTS (Academic) of 7.0, with no individual band less than 7.0. No equivalent tests accepted for this course.

Admission to undergraduate courses at the University of Tasmania requires the completion of qualifications equivalent to a 12th year of education in Australia.

Please review the equivalent undergraduate entry requirements to see the minimum requirement relevant to your country. The ATAR information for this course is located in the "For Domestic Students" section of the entry requirements on this page.

You can also meet the General Entry Requirement for this course with the following qualifications or prior studies:

Completion of an equivalent AQF Certificate IV or above
Complete or incomplete (minimum 25 credit points) of previous tertiary study at Bachelor level or higher

If you do not meet the minimum requirements, we offer the Foundation Studies Program.

This course includes compulsory field placements. In order to participate in field placements, all students must:

obtain a Tasmania Police Schedule 1 National Police Record Check and Working with Vulnerable Persons and Children Check; and
complete a Safety in Practice Agreement

Study locations

Cradle Coast

Launceston

Hobart

What you will learn

1 Recommend improvements to services, policies and professional accountability in social work based on critical analysis, research, and culturally relevant knowledge.

2 Combine decolonising social work knowledge and practices to address inequality and injustice in ways that promote sustainable social change.

3 Adapt and respond to the communication needs and capacities of diverse social work client groups, communities, and organisations.

4 Develop social work leadership approaches that are collaborative, cooperative and useful in micro, meso and macro contexts.

5 Formulate ethical social work responses to local, national and global social justice and human rights challenges.

6 Design interventions and strategies that can contribute to the decolonising agenda in social work by using creative, entrepreneurial, and relational approaches.

Career pathways

Social Workers support people to address challenges and improve their overall wellbeing. You could be working one-on-one offering direct counselling, helping families, facilitating rehabilitation groups, supporting community awareness, or advocating for policy changes.

Demand for social workers is also forecast to increase by 23% by 2026*, from 40,000 to almost 50,000 positons! This demand is already being reflected in graduate outcomes, with the 2022 Graduate Outcome Survey revealing that social work graduates were the third highest paid in the country with a median starting salary of $75,000, ranking only behind doctors and dentists.

The skills and expertise our Social Work graduates gain equips them for a diverse range of rewarding careers, including:

child safety practitioner
project manager
youth worker
mental health practitioner
researcher
policy analyst and advisor

community development worker
migrant and refugee settlement workers
case manager
drug and alcohol counsellor
palliative care social worker
relationships counsellor
disability advocate.

Postgraduate study

If you successfully complete this course, you may be also be eligible to apply for a range of other postgraduate courses including Graduate Certificates and Graduate Diplomas and Masters by coursework and research.

*Labour market insights

Professional Accreditation

The Bachelor of Social Work with Honours is an externally accredited degree.

This course is accredited by Australian Association of Social Workers.

For further accreditation/membership requirements, please visit the Australian Association of Social Workers website.

If you have any queries about the accreditation process, please contact us for further information.

The Bachelor of Social Work with Honours is an externally accredited degree.

This course is accredited by Australian Association of Social Workers.

For further accreditation/membership requirements, please visit the Australian Association of Social Workers website.

If you have any queries about the accreditation process, please contact us for further information.

Course structure

Completion of the Bachelor of Social Work with Honours requires 400 credit points including:

200 credit points of Core units
100 credit points of Discipline Electives (Studies of the Individual and Studies of Society)
100 credit points from the Research or Professional Honours pathway. Entry into the research pathway is by invitation only.

As an accredited course students must complete their study in the sequence below, ensuring all units at each year level are completed before progressing to higher levels, unless specific written approval has been given to vary the sequence. You can find your course planner here. Your course planner gives you a visual representation of your course and will help you plan which units to enrol in and when.

Credit for prior study or work

How to apply for a credit transfer

Applications for credit can be made in your course application. Find out more information about how to apply for a credit transfer/advanced standing at Recognition of Prior Learning.

Talk to us on 1300 363 864 or enquire online about your credit transfer.

Graduate outcomes

Graduate satisfaction and employment outcomes for Social Work courses at University of Tasmania.

73.6%

Overall satisfaction

81.1%

Skill scale

64.2%

Teaching scale

81%

Employed full-time

$65k

Average salary

Data source