Social Work | Part-time Distance Learning Study Programme (BA)

The study programme is modularised, and special attention is paid to the "connection between theory and practice". This is reflected not only in the importance of internships or work experience accompanying the studies, but also in the individual modules, which are designed with both theory and practice in mind.

About three quarters of the study programme consists of online distance learning and one quarter of introductory and/or accompanying attendance events. These will take place once a month on weekends (friday and saturday). Attendance events allow students to get to know each other personally and are important for those learning processes that depend on immediate feedback (e.g. counselling skills, project work, coaching, supervision). The project-oriented structure of the attendance phases creates experiential spaces in which the knowledge acquired online can be reflected upon, additional competences can be taught and students' professional experiences can be addressed. Further information on the course content

In the online supervised distance learning programme, the media orientation of the programme is doubly justified, as a learning objective and as a medium of education: Nowadays, media competence is taken for granted in the field of social work. It permeates everyday professional life in internal office communication, data management, networking with the (professional) public and extends to client counselling. However, IT skills have not yet been adequately taught through university studies. In the part-time social work programme, the teaching of media competence is of great importance right from the start (cf. module overview below). At the same time, working through the online modules requires mastery of the electronic tools and trains the associated competences through daily use.

Specific professional key qualifications of social work such as counselling skills, ethical skills, dealing with groups, conducting conversations, etc. can only be taught in small groups with intensive supervision by university lecturers. This requires teachers to shift their teaching from imparting knowledge to supporting learning processes. The new media play an important role in this, because they offer students more independence and open up the possibility of shaping work processes cooperatively, without predetermined time and place commitments.

The objectives of the degreeprogramme, both the face-to-face degree programme and the part-time online degree programme "Bachelor of Arts: Social Work" are to impart the professional knowledge required for professional practice and for the transition to master's degree programmes.

The aim of the social work online degree programme is to enable students to apply scientific methods and knowledge and to provide them with professional action skills in the professional fields of social work. Theoretical basics, methods and professional as well as key competences are taught. In addition, the programme promotes the students' media competence.

In addition to individual learning objectives, which are largely derived from the working approaches and principles of lifeworld and social space-oriented social work, but which are also generally binding for a participative and partnership-based approach, the part-time social work degree programme intends to deepen a professional social work attitude that affects the students' personality. In this way, students should learn to understand the possibilities and limits of their role and function in social work institutions and facilities and, in addition, to recognise their personal possibilities and limits of action and to deal with the professional objectives and orientations of social work, the basis of which is, among other things, the social work professional ethics.

Why the social work study programme is particularly valuable from the point of view of teachers can be read in our short statements.

The part-time distance learning programme in social work (BA) is part of the BASA-online university network. Within this network, the participating universities jointly develop the online modules included in all study programmes, evaluate them and create updates. In this way, synergies can be utilised from the association of the various universities in the BASA-online university network. The universities are supported by the Centre for Distance Learning in the University Network (zfh) based in Koblenz.

Eight universities are currently members of the network:

• ASH Berlin
• Fulda University
• Kiel UAS
• Koblenz UAS
• UAS Potsdam
• HM Hochschule München UAS
• FH Münster UAS
• RheinMain UAS

The part-time degree programme in social work participates in the central allocation of study places, the dialogue-oriented service procedure (DoSV) via hochschulstart.de. For the summer semester, you must register at hochschulstart. de from 15 December to 15 January 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
• Curriculum vitae in table form with photo
• If applicable, proof of professional or other previous experience relevant to the field of work
• If applicable, university degree certificate and justification for taking up a second degree programme
• If applicable, proof of service
• 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 higher education entrance qualification (40 %)
• Previous professional experience (30 %)
• Selection interview (30 %)

The number of participants in the selection interview is limited to three times the number of places to be awarded in the university selection procedure. The order of the applicants to be invited (the so-called ranking list) is determined by the grade of the university entrance qualification. Applicants who occupy a correspondingly high position on the ranking list are invited by the selection committee to a selection interview by e-mail.

The selection interviews will take place between 29 January and 2 February 2024 via Zoom.

Admission

Following the university selection procedure, the study places are awarded in the dialogue-oriented service procedure via hochschulstart.de. Applicants with a correspondingly high ranking will receive a time-limited 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 summer 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.