Social Work
Bachelor of Arts (B. A.)

  1. Kempten University of Applied Sciences
  2. Faculty of Social and Health Studies
  3. Degree courses
  4. Bachelor's degrees
  5. Social Work

A linchpin in the system

Would you like to support people in all sorts of life circumstances? Assist them with shaping their lives? Help them to help themselves? The degree programme in Social Work prepares you for precisely this kind of professional activity. Social work is a linchpin in the system. You assume responsibility in a valuable position within our society – not only in times of crisis. During the course of your degree programme, you will engage with societal developments and social problems. You will learn to produce solutions involving numerous agents.

The degree programme in Social Work qualifies you to work with individuals and families, groups and communities, and urban and rural authorities. The focus is always on stabilising the social fabric and overcoming or avoiding predicaments – ensuring social participation and realising basic rights. You will become qualified to work on the complex issues that result from us not living in isolation but within social settings.

Throughout your studies, we support you with tutorials, small learning groups, advanced options to build on compulsory elements, and intensive mentoring for internships and bachelor theses. In addition, you can expect practically relevant teamwork and learning, a friendly atmosphere and professors who know you by name.

As admissions to the bachelor’s degree programme in Social Work are restricted, you also need to apply via the Hochschulstart system.

Apply here

At a glance

  • Award

    Bachelor of Arts (B. A.)

  • Study mode

    full-time, dual

  • Standard duration

    7 Semester

  • ECTS credits

    210

  • Starts

    winter semester

  • Restricted admission

    yes

  • Taught in

    German

  • Faculty

    Social and Health Studies

  • Study abroad

    optional

  • Maximum number of participants

    60

  • Accreditation

    AHPGS

Details about this course

Throughout the first three semesters, we will familiarise you with the basic theoretical principles and application-focused skills used across the full spectrum of social work. The fourth and fifth semesters are devoted to practical skills, teaching you concepts for action plans that you will use for acquiring considered hands-on experience during your internship. During the final two semesters, you will enhance your knowledge in your personal choice of majors – either Inclusion, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Social Work with Adults, or Child and Youth Support.

You then round off your degree by writing your bachelor’s thesis. The university awards students who successfully complete the programme the academic title Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and the right to use the professional title “state-certified social educationalist” (in accordance with BaySozKiPädG).

Professional environment:

Social work remains one of the expanding professional fields – opening up a very wide range of graduate career prospects in the public sector, supporting people one-on-one in their particular living environments and helping them to improve their circumstances in life. This frequently involves working in interdisciplinary teams with other professions in all kinds of settings, e.g. with authorities, child and youth support services, schools, clinics, companies, or support and care facilities.

Career prospects:

The long-term high demand for qualified specialist social educationalists offers you excellent career prospects. Your state certification as a social educationalist meets the formal criteria for many official appointments and ranks. This qualification thus opens up a broad spectrum of potential careers in various aspects of social work or social education requiring a university degree in these subjects.

Fields of activity:

As a graduate from this degree programme, you can practise in all areas of social work, e.g.:

  • Child and youth support (such as youth welfare offices, open-access child and youth work, social work in schools, to name just a few examples)
  • Assistance in special situations in life (such as helping the homeless, debt counselling, helping asylum seekers/applicants, probation support, pregnancy counselling, in women’s refuges, to name just a few examples)
  • Assisting with disabilities and health issues (such as everyday help, social services in hospitals, specialist advice e.g. AIDS, addiction, disease prevention and health promotion, to name just a few examples)
  • Supporting the elderly (such as in centres for senior citizens, care facilities, policy for elderly citizens, to name just a few examples)

Application process:

We have pooled all the information and details you might need about applying and the admission requirements .

About you:

You are open-minded towards people in all sorts of life situations and able to recognise social developments. You are clearly very adept at communicating and empathetic, good at planning, patient, and can tolerate tension. You are particularly interested in social issues, including legal and organisational aspects.

We ascribe to the values of openness, tolerance and acceptance. Our aim is to teach everyone involved at Kempten University of Applied Sciences about education in an international context. As part of this aspiration, we support university-wide, inter-faculty measures to promote international projects and cross-cultural interaction.

The B.A. degree programme in Social Work also offers a semester abroad as part of the advanced course. Students can contemplate studying abroad from semester 4 on. You can easily spend your practical semester abroad; or another very viable option is to study abroad during semester 6 or 7 if you choose to major in International Social Work.

Are you interested in learning more about our international aspirations and the options for you to study abroad? Take a look at the information posted in our portal.

We compile all study programme and examination regulations centrally for you. There you will find all versions and changes. continue

Programme with extended practice

Would you like to combine study and practice? With pleasure! The Kempten University of Applied Sciences offers you the following opportunity to study with more practice:

  1. Studies with in-depth practice – practical and flexible!
    In the study programme with in-depth practice, a regular Bachelor's programme at the university is combined with intensive practical phases at a practice partner, based on the study content. Students can enter this study option up to the 4th semester.
  2. Combined studies – a practical combination of study and work!
    With a combined study programme, you can acquire a fully recognised vocational qualification within your Bachelor's degree. This double qualification is particularly attractive for many companies!

You can find more information about the offers here.

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Further details about the degree programme

Contacts

We know how exciting the prospect of going to university can be. So we want you to know whom you can get in touch with if you have any questions about studying with us.

Contact for prospective students

  • University Student Advisory Service

For general questions about studying and applications, please contact the University Student Advisory Service. 

  • Advisor for this degree programme

If you are interested in this degree programme and would like to ask any questions, please contact the programme advisor.

 

Existing students

If you have any questions about your studies, please contact your academic advisor.

Basic internship

You must have completed a basic internship in fields of social work, lasting at least 90 hours, by the end of the first three semesters. It is possible, and even recommended, to already cover this requirement voluntarily before starting the programme. A technical college certificate relating to the social sector sector, vocational training in the social sector, voluntary social work or other social activities can be counted as a basic internship under certain conditions. You can download further information in the “Guidelines for the basic internship”.

State certification

The university awards students who successfully complete the programme the academic title Bachelor of Arts (B. A.). and the right to use the professional title “state-certified social educationalist” in accordance with BaySozKiPädG.