BA (Hons) in Social Care Practice

Code

SE919

Location

Waterford

Campus

College Street

Level Level 8
Duration 4 years
CAO Points 260
Credits 240
Placements View Details
Fees View Details

This course is approved by CORU. This means that graduates can apply to CORU for registration as social care workers once register opens in November 2023

What is the BA (Hons) in Social Care Practice?

This is a 4 year level 8 course of study designed to prepare students for professional careers in Social Care Work and facilitate students who wish to pursue a specific area of interest.

The overall aim of the course is to develop critically reflective, skilled and ethically aware practitioners with the capacity to build professional relationships, in partnership with vulnerable individuals and groups who experience marginalisation, disadvantage or special needs.

The course involves the study of related disciplines of Applied Social Studies, Professional Practice, Sociology, Social Policy, Psychology and Law and Personal and Professional Development.

Entry will only be permitted at year one and applications in relation to RPL, advanced entry and module exemption applications for any year will not be accepted and reviewed for these programmes.

Applicants who seek entry into the BA (Hons) in Applied Social Studies in Social Care will be permitted once they have completed the Bachelor of Arts in Applied Social Care, Waterford Campus or equivalent programme.

Special Feature of the BA (Hons) in Social Care Practice Course

All student must successfully complete a supervised work-based placement in an SETU approved social care placement. Placement occurs in Semester 3 and 6, and consists in total of 800 hours of supervised social care practice (400 hours per placement). Placements are spread across the South East region and beyond. There is no certainty that your allocated placement will be close to your home.

Students undertaking the BA in Applied Social Care must meet the requirements of the School of Humanities Student Fitness to Practise Policy and School of Humanities Student Garda Vetting Policy.

Entry will only be permitted at year one and applications in relation to RPL, advanced entry and module exemption applications for any year will not be accepted and reviewed for these programmes.

Student mobility and transfer opportunities across SETU campuses are not permitted for Social Care programmes.

Year 1

Semester 1	Semester 2
Critical Thinking and Academic Writing Skills	Introduction to Law for Carers
Developmental Psychology for Social Care	Introduction to Safety, Quality and Information Processes in Social Care
Introduction to Social Care Practice 1	Introduction to Social Care Practice 2
Reflective and Creative Practice 1	Reflective and Creative Practice 2
Social Policy and Social Care	Sociology for Social Care 1
Sociology for Social Care 1	The Ethics of Care

Year 2

Semester 3	Semester 4
Practice Placement 1	Child Protection Law
Practice Placement Portfolio 1	Conceptualizing Care: Social Theory for the Caring Professions
Practice Processes 1	Continued Personal and Professional Development
	Exploring Contemporary Social Care Issues 1
	Psychological Disorders
	The Politics of Welfare

Year 3

Semester 5	Semester 6
Applied Personal and Professional Development	Practice Placement 2
Citizenship, Social Justice and Rights	Practice Placement Portfolio 2
Exploring Contemporary Social Care Issues 2	Practice Processes 2
Research Skills for Social care
Social Psychology for Social Care
Status, Consent and Capacity in Irish Law

Year 4

Semester 7	Semester 8
Applied Research Project Social Care 1	Applied Research Project Social Care 2
Introduction to Therapeutic Interventions	Comparing Social Policies
Law for Social Care Professionals 1	Law for Social Care Professionals 2
Social Care Management and Professional Practice 1	Narrative Approaches in Social Care Practice
Social Policy Processes	Social Care Management and Professional Practice 2
Systemic Approaches in Social Care Practice	Utilising and Applying Therapeutic Interventions

Leaving Cert: Minimum entry requirements for BA (Hons) in Social Care Practice

2 subjects: H5
4 subjects: O6/H7
English or Irish: O6/H7

Advanced and Equivalent Entry for BA (Hons) in Social Care Practice:

For previous SETU students, who wish to apply to complete their studies on either SE919 Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Social Care Practice or SE927 Bachelor of Arts in Applied Social Care, please contact [email protected]

Due to professional validation requirements, this programme is not suitable for advanced entry, exemptions or recognition of prior learning

There is no health requirement for admission to this programme. However, some Placement Agencies may require students to be immunised against specific infectious diseases.

Additional requirements for BA (Hons) in Social Care Practice:

Places are offered on the programme subject to satisfactory Garda Vetting clearance.
Students undertaking the BA (Hons) in Social Care Practice must meet the requirements of the School of Humanities Student Fitness to Practise Policy and School of Humanities Student Garda Vetting Policy.

Graduates of the BA in Applied Social Care may take up employment in the public, private or community based care sectors. Social Care Workers may work with:

Children and adolescents in residential care
People with physical, intellectual and or sensory disabilities
People or families experiencing homelessness
People with alcohol/drug dependency
Families in the community
Older people
Ethnic Minority groups

Follow on Study for graduates of the BA (Hons) in Social Care Practice:

Graduates can proceed to the MA in Social Studies and Masters by Research at SETU Waterford as well as Masters in Social Work and other similar courses.

Graduates of the BA (Hons) in Social Care Practice may take up employment by the state sector and in community-based organisations.

Social care workers may work with:
Children and adolescents in residential care
People with learning or physical disabilities
People who are homeless
People with alcohol/drug dependency
Families in the community
Older people
Recent immigrants to Ireland; and others

Graduates can proceed to the MA in Social Studies and Masters by Research at SETU Waterford as well as Masters in Social Work and other similar courses.