Youth Work - Course Information
Youth Work Course Prospectus (pdf 499kb)Course outcomes and overview
The Bachelor of Social Science Youth Work is a three-year applied degree designed to enable knowledgeable, skillful, ethical and reflective practice. Our graduates are highly regarded across both the faith-based and broader youth sectors and readily find work in a wide variety of roles and settings, including:
- Schools-based youth work (including but not restricted to chaplaincy)
- Alternative education programs
- Supported accommodation programs
- Case work and mentoring
- Church-based youth work roles
- Camping and outdoor adventure recreation services
- Juvenile Justice Youth Work
- Youth-focused, Community development programs
The course draws on a variety of disciplines and perspectives, including sociology, spiritual theology, counselling, and positive youth and community development theories. These multiple perspectives are integrated around a very clear focus on developing skills and experience within actual services to young people.
The Bachelor of Social Science Youth Work prepares thinking practitioners who:
- Help young people to make sense of their lives, issues, challenges and goals through skilled, interpersonal helping conversations
- Build community amongst young people through skilled group work and program development
- Use mentoring, advocacy and informal education skills to help young people:
- actively participate in the community and to develop skills for citizenship
- manage and develop their personal health and well-being
- make positive choices for their futures
- explore and express their creativity, gifts and spiritual instincts
- Work effectively within professional organizations and contribute to teams
- Negotiate career pathways within the human services
Course content:
Bachelor of Social Science Youth Work Outline (pdf 126kb)
Prerequisites:
Usually, year 12 completion with a TER of at least 65 or a Certificate IV qualification. Students without either of the above may still apply and be granted acceptance on the basis of a modified pathway and academic support structure during the first two semesters of their program.
Professional outcomes:
The Bachelor of Social Science Youth Work is designed to prepare graduates for employment across the diverse youth sector in a variety of roles and areas as exemplified in the course outcomes and overview section of this course information and by the examples of actual jobs our graduates have gained which can be viewed in this document (Word 39kb).
Graduate pathways:
Graduate pathway options include Graduate Counselling at Tabor and Graduate Social Work at Flinders University. Both these programs are competitive entry against designated criteria; based on past graduate student experience acceptance is likely but cannot be guaranteed.
