Social Work, Bachelor of Arts

Admission Requirements

With your B.A. in Social Work, you will work, for example, in special education/inclusion, family support or child and youth welfare.
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In order to begin a university degree at Hochschule Fresenius, applicants must provide evidence of the qualification required for the course of study (university entrance qualification). This can be proven by:

• general university entrance qualification (Abitur), which entitles you to study at all universities and in all federal states,
• or the subject-specific university entrance qualification, which entitles you to study in the relevant subject area and in the federal states listed on the certificate,
• or the university of applied sciences entrance qualification, which entitles you to study at a university of applied sciences or in a tiered degree programme at a university in the federal states listed on the certificate.

Alternatively, you can also be admitted without an Abitur or university of applied sciences entrance qualification. The following applies for study without Abitur:

• You have passed a master craftsman’s examination.
• Or you have a qualification according to the regulation on the access of professionally qualified persons to universities in the state of Hesse, i.e. either a qualification from a professional advanced training course of at least 400 hours, completion of a technical college or a vocational or administrative academy, or passing a final examination in a state-recognised training occupation followed by at least three years of professional experience and passing a separate university entrance examination.
• For foreign qualifications, equivalence must be proven for admission.

Applicants who have acquired a subject-specific university entrance qualification or university of applied sciences entrance qualification, but whose certificate does not list the federal state of Hesse, please contact us at the free info hotline 0800/3400400 or arrange a callback – we are happy to help you and look forward to your call!

Course Content and Specialisations

Important teaching contents include, among others, the history, theories and fields of social work, integration and interculturality, methods and techniques of social work, youth work, mental disorders and their development, social work with elderly and disabled people. Essential is also the acquisition of legal knowledge, especially of the contents of the social security codes, in order to inform clients about their social rights and to introduce them to administrative-organisational tasks.

In six semesters, you will acquire scientific-methodological competencies to recognise, analyse, understand and finally solve practical social problems together with the client. The subject areas are as diverse as life itself: integration, inclusion, demographic change, family support, social inequality, resocialisation and much more. Social workers perform relationship work with their clients, meaning they manage difficult life situations together with them, enable social participation and provide information about social rights. The goal: help towards self-help.

The study plan includes the following modules:

• 1st semester: Past, Present & Future of Social Work, Social Science Foundations of Social Work, Economic Foundations for Social Work, Scientific Methodology: Academic Work, Time and Self-Management
• 2nd semester: Psychology of Development and Education, Law I: Fundamentals of Law, Methods of Social Work, Procedures and Techniques of Social Work I, Diversity and Diversity in Social Work
• 3rd semester: Law II: Social Law, Law III: Child, Youth and Family Law, Social Work in Healthcare, Current Theory Discourses in Social Work, Research Methods in Social Work
• 4th semester: Social and Professional Ethical Foundations of Social Work, Procedures and Techniques of Social Work II, Management and Organisation, Child and Youth Welfare, Social Work with Elderly and/or Disabled People, Practical Project
• 5th semester: Professional Field Internship
• 6th semester: Political Framework Conditions of Social Work, Bachelor Examination

During your studies, you will also deepen your knowledge in an exciting specialisation of your choice, for example in Culture, Aesthetics & Media in Social Work, Education, Learning, General Psychology, Biological Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Personality and Differential Psychology or Social Psychology.

Studies in Heidelberg

Heidelberg, the beautiful city on the Neckar, you will probably never want to leave again after completing your studies at Hochschule Fresenius. Besides all the cultural opportunities, numerous research institutions, publicly listed companies and medium-sized world market leaders have their headquarters in the region – so the job prospects are excellent. You will find Hochschule Fresenius Heidelberg at Sickingenstraße 63-65, right near the conversion area Campbell Barracks.

Related Degree Programmes

• B.Sc. Psychology, on-campus study: The bachelor’s degree programme in Psychology prepares you both for an initial qualified professional activity and for the possibility of deepening your knowledge through a subsequent master’s degree, thus opening up further professional fields. By selecting the specialisation, you have the opportunity to qualify, alongside the compulsory clinical psychology specialisation taken by all students in the 4th semester, in the areas of health psychology, sports psychology or business psychology.
• B.A. Social Work, distance learning: The Bachelor Social Work via distance learning is primarily aimed at those who wish to study social work alongside their job. The programme is extremely flexible and lasts between 6 and 12 semesters. After completing the degree, you also receive the title of "Staatlich anerkannter Sozialarbeiter" (state-recognised social worker) or "Staatlich anerkannter Sozialpädagoge" (state-recognised social pedagogue).
• B.A. Social Management, distance learning: This distance learning programme is aimed at those who want to train as social managers alongside their job. Content-wise, the course combines social science education with knowledge from business administration. You will learn to act economically without losing sight of the idealistic values and goals of the social sector.