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Profile: Forming Society

Social Work (BA)

Drei Studierende im Gespräch

The bachelor's degree programme in social work at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam offers a very broad, academically sound and at the same time practice-oriented education, with which you can work in all areas of social work after graduation. During your studies, you can set and pursue your own focal points. In the integrated internship, the theoretical knowledge acquired is applied and reflected upon.

Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Type:
Full time
Course language:
German
English
Standard study period:
6 semesters, incl. at least 20 weeks of integrated internship
Start of study:
Winter semester
Application deadline:
15/05 – 15/07 (restricted admission)
Admission requirements:
General university entrance qualification/ technical college entrance qualification/ equivalently recognised prior vocational training (BbgHG)
Credits:
180 ECTS credits
Module Manuals & Regulations
Profile

Is this degree programme right for me?

Social workers bring a variety of perspectives and solutions to the problems faced by people, neighbourhoods and organisations when simplistic black-and-white judgements or highly specialised professions cannot (or can no longer) help and a complex nuance of human experience and knowledge is required. ‘Screaming colour’ expresses the transformative power of social work to change monochrome world views through its commitment to marginalised groups.

Our Bachelor's degree programme offers you a highly interesting range of subjects, a scientific foundation and practical experience. With our state accreditation, you can work professionally in 100 professional fields of social work. During your studies, you will set individual specialisations that match your interests and talents, that challenge you and take you further. In the practical phases, you will apply your knowledge methodically in direct work with people. You will broaden your horizons in international seminars or during your optional semester abroad. In our real-world laboratories, you will explore the depths and details of social phenomena using the methods of empirical science.

Social work, which is what we stand for at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, is intensive work with people, neighbourhoods and institutions: Entering into relationships, engaging with living environments, creating connections, campaigning for justice, working on the social future of our society. Communication and empathy are good prerequisites, as are the ability to deal with conflict and perseverance. At the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, we consider and work on issues from political, psychological, medical, legal, economic, sociological, practical, organisational and ethical perspectives in equal measure. We stand for social work that provides concrete help, researches structures and shapes the future.

The Social Work degree programme (BA) at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam is the right choice for you ...

if you...

stand...

  • for social justice, participation and an open society

get along...

  • with organisations, administration and law

want to...

  • work with people and support them in challenging situations
  • get to know diversity, new milieus and other cultures
  • acquire autonomy and creative freedom in their daily work
  • acquire a broad-based education and sound knowledge in various areas of social work
  • set individual specialisations
  • link theory and practice
  • apply acquired knowledge directly in an integrated internship

We offer you...

  • dedicated professors, modern technology, small groups, collaborative atmosphere
  • an interesting course of study in various disciplines such as sociology, law, psychology, management, education, politics, philosophy, medicine and more
  • internship options in 100 fields of work
  • specialisation options: Youth welfare, conflict management, sport, aesthetics, international social work, research
  • high-quality employment opportunities as student tutors, scouts, research project assistants
  • flexible study options: Full-time, part-time, dual, digital, international 
  • state recognition as a social worker/social pedagogue
  • connections to design, architecture, cultural work, futurology,...
  • a Master's programme afterwards and later the opportunity to do a doctorate in one of our research projects
  • a green campus, with a casino and commuity

Online Study Choice Assistant (OSA)

In our online study programme selection assistant, you can test whether the degree programme is right for you.
There you will find many more videos with opinions and tips from students and lecturers and can take a look at typical study tasks.

Contact

The colleagues at the student counselling service provide information to prospective students, first-year students, parents, teachers and students on all general questions about the degree programme. If you have specific questions or concerns about the bachelor's degree programme in social work, please contact the subject counselling service.

Subject Counselling Service

Academic staff member for theory and practice of social work, family/youth and programme development Social Management (M. A.), curriculum planning

Studiengangsmanagement & Internationales

Education Management Professional Teaching & International Affairs
Social Work Coordination, Focus on Family (M. A.), maps
Coordination Students4Students

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Social Work | Dual-Digital (BA) German Winter semester
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Career Prospects

1 degree - over 100 professions

Advise, support, coordinate, manage, represent and so on
The intensive theory-practice transter at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam provides a solid foundation for your future professional work, e.g. here:

1 Adventure playgrounds 2 Adoption placement 3 Employment agency 4 Drop-in centre for children with experience of abuse 5 Work and employment initiatives 6 Outreach social work 7 Counselling centre for family violence 8 Counselling centre for prostitutes 9 Counselling centre for senior citizens 10 Vocational counselling 11 Vocational training centres 12 Vocational promotion 13 Employment and unemployment projects 14 Assisted living for young people 15 Assisted living for people with disabilities 16 Company social work 17 Probationary services 18 Educational work 19 Drug consumption rooms 20 Drug treatment facilities 21 Marriage and family counselling centre 22 Parenting schools 23 Developmental support 24 Experiential education 25 Educational support 26 Educational counselling centres 27 Family education centres 28 Family education centres 29 Women's education centres 30 Women's shelters 31 Early detection 32 Early intervention 33 Community psychiatry 34 Gerontopsychiatric clinic 35 Gender-specific work 36 Health counselling 37 Violence prevention 38 Home education 39 After-school care 40 Hospice 41 Intercultural youth work 42 Youth welfare office 43 Youth vocational assistance 44 Youth clubs 45 Youth leisure activities 46 Youth court assistance 47 Youth centres 48 Youth welfare planning 49 Youth cultural work 50 Youth care 51 Youth protection 52 Youth social work 53 Youth detention centre 54 Youth association work 55 Youth hostels 56 Correctional services 57 Child protection centres 58 Child day-care centres 59 Day-care centre social work 60 Contact points for homeless people 61 Hospital social work 62 Hospital social services 63 Health insurance social services 64 Nursery 65 Girls' residential groups 66 Mediation and conflict counselling 67 Methadone programmes 68 Mobile youth work 69 Multifamily therapy 70 Multicultural work 71 Mother's respite home 72 Mother and child home 73 Mothers' centres 74 Emergency shelters for the homeless 75 Open support for the elderly 76 Open youth work 77 Foster families 78 Prevention work 79 Psychiatric outpatient clinics 80 Psychosomatic counselling 81 Psychosocial services 82 Neighbourhood management 83 Queer counselling 84 Rehabilitation facilities 85 Pension insurance social services 86 Debt counselling centre 87 School social work 88 Pregnancy conflict counselling 89 Self-help support and projects 90 Senior citizens' residences 91 Senior citizens' day centres 92 Senior citizens' residential homes 93 Sex education 94 Social welfare office 95 Social group work 96 Social education family support 97 Social planning 98 Social psychiatric counselling centres 99 Playmobile 100 District work 101 End-of-life care 102 Correctional services 103 Street work 104 Addiction counselling centre 105 Addiction prevention 106 Addiction therapy 107 Day facilities for people with disabilities 108 Day group 109 Day clinic 110 Day care 111 Telephone emergency call 112 Caregiver support 113 Separation and divorce counselling 114 Workshop for people with disabilities 115 Housing for people on the run or during migration 116 Shared accommodation 117 Residential home for people with disabilities 118 Homes for homeless people

Hände von zwei Menschen liegen ineinander und halten den Papierschnitt einer Familie
© Romolo Tavani - stock.adobe.com

Family helpers 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 help for relatives and neighbours and support young people in living arrangements outside the family.

Hauseingang zum Jugendamt Wedding, Altbau mit Graffiti

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 to enter working life and deal with criminal law problems. They support parents with worries and problems with children, look for foster families or children's homes if necessary and follow up on tips if a child in a family is doing badly. They also help with custody arrangements in the event of separation and support unmarried mothers in establishing paternity. In the case of adoptions, they look for suitable adoptive parents.

zwei Menschen reichen sich die Hand

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.

Bild eines Kindes, das einen grauen Vorhang aus Beton mit bunten Graffitis dahinter zur Seite zieht
© Ethan Dassas/Wirestock Creators - stock.adobe.com

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.

Foto einer Schule mit Sportplatz
© spuno - stock.adobe.com

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.

Fassade eines Wohnblocks mit vielen Balkons mit Satellitenschüsseln
© Ingo Bartussek - stock.adobe.com

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 resolve conflicts. The work also includes counselling and mediation activities as well as work with groups.

bunte Zelte in einer verlassenen Seitenstraße
© Anastasiia - stock.adobe.com

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.

... and what's next?

State recognition as a social worker / social pedagogue

Graduates of our Bachelor's degree programmes in the Department of Social and Educational Sciences receive state recognition upon separate application.

State recognition is based on the Brandenburg Social Professions Act. You can find all the important information and the form for applying for state recognition and for the medical certificate on the website of the Brandenburg State Office for Social Affairs and Care. The information sheet from the Brandenburg Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport summarises the documents to be submitted.

State regulations for social professions

These degree programmes might also interest you

More courses
Department Degree programme Teaching language Start of study Application deadline
Childhood Studies and Children's Rights (MA) English Winter semester
Note: This degree programme will no longer be offered from winter semester 2024/25
Early Childhood Education (BA) German Winter semester
15.05. – 15.07. (admission restricted)
Early Childhood Studies (MA) German Winter semester
15/06 – 15/10 (free of admission)
MA Social Work with a Focus on the Family German Winter semester
15.05. – 22.06. (NC degree program)
Social Management (MA) German Summer semester
01/12 – 31/03 (free of admission)
Social Work (BA) German, English Winter semester
15/05 – 15/07 (restricted admission)
Social Work | Dual-Digital (BA) German Winter semester
15/06 – 15/08 (free of admission)
Social Work | Part-time Distance Learning Study Programme (BA) German Summer semester
15/12 –15/01 (admission restricted)
Study Content

Study schedule and course contents

In the Bachelor's degree programme in Social Work, the focus is on reflective application, which is taught through lectures, seminars and research-based project groups. These teaching methods give you a comprehensive insight into the broad field of society and social work.

The lectures and seminars, which often take place in small groups, are always accompanied by tutorials and enable intensive discourse with students and lecturers, which will sharpen your argumentation skills.

A special focus is placed on the approaches of research-based learning. In practical research projects, you will not only investigate the practice of social work, but also develop new models for its 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 action.

As part of the mentoring programme, you will have the opportunity to discuss your career path or course of study, which we can make more flexible for you. In the final semester of your degree programme, you will write your Bachelor's thesis, a piece of your own research, in which we will support you with seminars on academic work.

At a glance

Teaching formats

  • Seminars, lectures, tutorials and self-organised, small study groups
  • Support from teachers (mentoring and counselling)
  • Research-based learning in projects (workshops and real labs) and public presentation of results
  • E-learning components
  • Study visits and work placements abroad through international cooperations
  • Interdisciplinary projects within the university (e.g. InterFlex)

Internship

In the fourth semester, you will complete an 800-hour (approx. 20 weeks) integrated internship. This practical phase is supervised on one university day per month by training supervision, methodological seminars relevant to the internship and a project support seminar. The university day is compulsory.

International

The fifth semester of study lends itself to a stay abroad. It is also possible to complete the integrated compulsory internship as an internship abroad. You can find more details in the module handbook. We also offer many English-language seminars, e.g. through the international consortium VirCamp.

Interdisciplinarity and digitalisation

We have a Flex module to give you an insight into the knowledge areas of other disciplines. Here you can choose from the entire portfolio of all FHP degree programmes. You can usually choose between face-to-face teaching and digital formats and examinations. In the module handbook you will find a detailed description of the programme content, a study plan and our selection procedure.

Online Study Choise Assistant

In the Online Study Choice Assistant (OSA) of the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam for the degree programme Social Work (BA) you will find an explanatory version of the video, a detailed description of the course of studies and examples of a possible timetable in the first semester and a study project, as well as much more content to help you decide on this degree programme.

Thesis

During the last semester you will write your bachelor's thesis and will be accompanied in the process by a seminar on scientific work/research colloquium.

Module handbooks & regulations

In the currently valid module handbooks, study and examination regulations and statutes of the Department of Social and Educational Sciences you will find the module overview, a detailed description of the modules and course content, the study plan and the statutes for the selection procedure for the Social Work degree programme.

Projects from the department

More projects

Certificate Programme "Fan- und Zuschauermanagement" (FZM)

The aim of the certificate programme is to provide scientific, conceptual, strategic and action-oriented skills for managerial, planning, coordinating and evaluating activities in the field of fan and spectator management.

ÜberAl – Transitions of Deaf and Hard of Hearing People in Working Life

The research project funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation is investigating the challenges and needs of employees who sign during career transitions.

Human-Robot Interaction in Social Robotics

The aim of the project, which is subsidised by the European Regional Development Fund, is to set up an interdisciplinary test and experimental environment for social robots.

Fatherhood in the Penal System

A pilot study on the construction of parenthood by fathers in prison.

Application & Contact

Dates & requirements for your application

The most important deadlines, dates and admission requirements for the bachelor's degree programme in social work are compiled here. You can find out which steps you need to take for a successful application in the next section.

Dates

  • by 15 July: register and submit an online application
  • by 15 July: apply for a higher semester to continue a degree programme you have started at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam

Access requirements

  • General university entrance qualification according to the Brandenburg university act: General university entrance qualification or entrance qualification for studies at universities of applied sciences or previous vocational training recognised as equivalent

This is how you apply!

In the following, we explain to you which aspects you should pay attention to from the registration for the central allocation of study places to the matriculation (enrolment).

The degree programme participates in the central allocation of study places, 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.

Documents to be submitted

Please submit the following documents as PDF files with your online application in the MyCampus university portal:

  • University entrance qualification, if applicable
  • Proof of professional or other previous experience relevant to the field of work, if applicable
  • If applicable, university degree certificate and justification for taking up a second course of study
  • Proof of service, if applicable
  • If applicable, proof(s) of hardship application or application for compensation for disadvantages

Checklist

After you have completed your online application in the MyCampus university portal, you will receive a personal checklist with the following information:

  • List of all supporting documents that you have uploaded as PDF files according to the information you provided in your online application.
  • Notes on the further course of the procedure

Selection procedure

Applicants who fulfil the admission requirements take part in the procedure for awarding places.
In the allocation procedure for the first semester, the following are deducted in advance from the number of places to be allocated:

  • All applicants who were unable to accept an earlier admission due to service, as well as all applicants who are members of the national squad of a national sports association of the German Olympic Sports Confederation
  • 11 % for applicants with a foreign university entrance qualification
  • 3 % for applicants for a second degree
  • 3 % for applicants who are to be considered on the basis of hardship.

The remaining places are allocated 80 % according to the result of a university selection procedure and 20 % according to waiting time.

The result of the university selection procedure is determined on the basis of the following criteria (weighting in brackets):

  • Average grade of the university entrance qualification (80 %)
  • Grade in English (20%)

Admission

Following the university selection procedure, places are awarded in the dialogue-oriented service procedure via hochschulstart.de. Applicants with a correspondingly high ranking receive a temporary offer of admission 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 offer of admission, you will receive your notification of admission from hochschulstart.de. If you do not accept the offer of admission by the deadline, the ranking list will continue to be processed and the study place will be reallocated.

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.

Further information

The following links provide you, and especially international applicants, with further information on the topics of application and enrolment at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam.

International applicants

You would like to apply for studies from the first or a higher semester and have acquired your school-leaving qualification and/or university degree abroad? Then you can have degrees and achievements acquired abroad recognised and study with us.

Application information for internationals

Application & Enrolment Procedure

The application and study service provides information and advice on general questions regarding the application process, admission and enrolment at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, application for a higher semester, but also on topics such as compensation for disadvantages, part-time studies, waiting semesters and hardship applications.

Application & Enrolment University of Applied Sciences Potsdam

Contact & Services

The student counselling service provides information and advice on general questions about studying as well as on topics such as choosing a degree programme, application, enrolment and study organisation.

For subject-specific questions on module content, credit transfer, examinations or specialisations in the social work degree programme, the subject counselling service is the right place to go.

Subject Counselling Service

Academic staff member for theory and practice of social work, family/youth and programme development Social Management (M. A.), curriculum planning

Student Financing

Room 3.02a

Family Affairs Commissioner

Room 026

Office hours

Tue and Thu 9.30 am – 1.30 pm

Commissioner for University Employees with Impairment

Room 201

Office hours

by arrangement

Contact Persons Department of Student Affairs