Social Work (BA)

Family support workers support families, children and young people in overcoming problems, e.g. school problems, addiction, violence or conflicts with the law. They provide counselling, support in developing a functioning life together, debt regulation, household matters and leisure activities. They also promote support for relatives and neighbours and support young people in living arrangements outside the family.

The Youth Welfare Office is a municipal organisation in which social workers and administrative staff work together. They inform young families about support services, ensure there are enough daycare centres and childminders and are involved in urban planning. They help young people entering the work force and deal with problems with the law. They support parents with concern and problems with their children, look for foster families or children's homes if necessary and follow up on tips if a child in a family is not doing well. They also help with custody arrangements in the case of separation and support unmarried mothers in establishing paternity. In case of adoptions, they look for suitable adoptive parents.

Conflicts arise time and again in social work. Mediators help to find win-win solutions. During their studies, students learn to reflect on how they deal with conflicts, acquire basic knowledge of conflict theory and try out various mediation techniques. This enables them to apply elements of mediation in their everyday work and deal with conflicts professionally.

Open child and youth work supports young people up to the age of 27 in their development and in reducing disadvantages. It takes place in youth centres and clubs, youth associations and schools and includes leisure, holiday and project activities, educational work and work with new media. The work is voluntary. The increase in all-day schools leads to new demands on social work. It is also about dealing with risks and problem situations for adolescents and young adults and taking youth cultures and virtual environments into account.

School social work promotes the development of young people and offers counselling and support for pupils, parents and teachers. It deals with problems at school and at home and has become increasingly important in recent years. It includes leisure and educational work, crisis interventions, referrals to services and counselling centres and accompanies young people and their parents during transitions.

Community work is professional social work that starts in problem neighbourhoods in order to improve the living conditions of residents. It activates residents to take responsibility for their neighbourhood and represents their interests when necessary. Methods include neighbourhood festivals, discussion groups, counselling and media work. The aim is to improve the image of the neighbourhood and to resolve conflicts. It also includes counselling and mediation activities as well as working with groups.

Street workers seek out target groups that cannot be reached by conventional social work programmes. The work takes place in various areas of life and includes follow-up support in facilities such as counselling centres and clinics. Projects are orientated towards subcultural scene meeting points or social space-oriented. The focus of activities varies from basic care and psychosocial prevention and support to socio-cultural animation and conflict mediation.

The seminars on campus facilitate in-depth discussions with students and faculty and provide a space for exploring methods, ideas, and professional development.

Through the students4students program, you’ll engage in peer-to-peer exchanges with second year students.

No stress about grades: Our seminars are not graded, but you must participate actively.

You can take the digital lectures from anywhere in the world.

No end-of-semester exam stress: You complete all exam requirements cumulatively throughout the semester. Tutorials are also offered.

A particular focus is placed on approaches to inquiry-based learning through our research labs (Study Lab and Living Lab) on campus and, in some cases, in the field, where students not only investigate these approaches but also develop new models for their future.

These projects establish a direct link to practical application and ensure a transfer between theory and practice, as well as between research and professional practice.

You can simply select an optional study track or other courses through our Future Science Modules.

Whether it's a semester abroad or an internship abroad—anything is possible.

During your final year of study, the Research Lab offers you close guidance for your thesis, both, before you begin and throughout the writing process.

• Semestermodell Soziale Arbeit (B.A.), Vollzeit (PDF, 173.52 KB)
• Semestermodell Soziale Arbeit (B.A.), Teilzeit (PDF, 188.67 KB)

The programme participates in the central student placement system, the Dialogue-oriented Service Procedure (DoSV) via hochschulstart.de. For the winter semester, you must register at hochschulstart. de from 15 May to 15 July and then create and submit your application in the MyCampus university portal of the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam.

Let us guide you through the procedure step by step and use our DoSV-Guide.

Required Documents

Please submit the following documents as PDFs along with your online application in the MyCampus university portal:

• If applicable, proof of eligibility for university admission
• If applicable, proof of professional or other work-related prior experience
• If applicable, university degree certificate and statement explaining why you are pursuing a second degree
• If applicable, proof of military service
• If applicable, proof supporting a hardship case application or application for compensation for disadvantages

Checklist

After completing your online application on the MyCampus university portal, you will receive a personalized checklist containing the following information:

• A list of all supporting documents that you have uploaded as PDF files in accordance with the information provided in your online application
• Instructions regarding the next steps in the application process

Selection procedure

Applicants who meet the admission requirements are eligible to participate in the process for allocating study places.

In the allocation process for the first semester, the following are deducted in advance from the total number of available study places:

• all applicants who were unable to accept an earlier admission due to military service, as well as all applicants who are members of the national squad of a national sports federation affiliated with the German Olympic Sports Confederation
• 11% for foreign and stateless applicants who are not treated as equivalent to German citizens
• 3% for applicants pursuing a second degree
• 3% for applicants who are considered on the basis of hardship criteria

Of the remaining study places, 80% are allocated based on the results of a university selection process and 20% based on waiting time.

The results of the university selection process are determined based on the following criteria (weighting in parentheses):

• Average grade on the university entrance qualification (80%)
• Grade in the first foreign language (20%)

Admission

Following the university selection process, study places are allocated through the Dialog-Oriented Service Procedure via hochschulstart.de. Applicants with a sufficiently high ranking receive a time-limited admission offer on hochschulstart.de, which they can actively accept. Further information on the coordination phase on hochschulstart.de can be found in our DoSV Guide.

Once you have accepted the admission offer, you will receive your admission letter from hochschulstart.de. If you do not accept the offer by the deadline, the spot will be reassigned based on the ranking list.

Have you accepted your place at university via hochschulstart.de? Then you have the option of submitting an enrolment application for the winter semester in the MyCampus university portal of the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam.

Once you have submitted your online application for enrolment, please submit the printed and signed application together with all required documents in paper form by the deadline. The day of the enrolment deadline is decisive for the submission of the documents, whereby the date of receipt by post at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam is decisive.

Documents to be submitted

• University entrance qualification
• If applicable, further documents according to the enrolment application form.

Do you have questions about the enrolment process at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam? We have compiled a list of frequently asked questions and answers regarding enrolment and admission.

Start of studies

After you have successfully completed the application process, we recommend that you take a look at the start of studies page of the social and educational sciences department. There you will find important information and dates regarding the start of your studies at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam.