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Bachelor of Social Practice

Want to work with your community and make a difference in people’s lives? Our undergraduate social work qualification lets you draw on your life and work experiences, and provides you with the skills and knowledge to work in the social work and community development sectors.

Level
7
Credits
480 (4.0 EFTS)
Campus
Waitākere
Start dates
February or July
Duration
Full-time for four years or part-time options available

Call us now on 0800 10 95 10

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Programme overview

Are you after a career where you can help individuals, whānau, groups, and communities enhance their individual and collective wellbeing? Are you passionate about empowering people around you and creating social change? Our Bachelor of Social Practice will prepare you for employment and registration in social work and community development with basic skills in counselling.

This programme comprehensively trains students to be social practitioners who are able to apply their skills to the ever-changing demands of employers, clients, and the community. Tailor the Bachelor of Social Practice to suit your career path in either social work or community development. This will allow you to develop and practice the skills you need to be work-ready when you graduate.

You’ll develop the ability to practice social work and community development with culturally diverse groups in an appropriate and inclusive manner. You’ll also develop a sound understanding of, and ability to promote, human rights, social justice and change, as well as empowerment and liberation of different groups and communities by promoting civil and legal rights.

Highlights

  • Leads to industry recognition: once you’ve completed this programme you are eligible to apply for registration with the Social Workers Registration Board (SWRB)
  • A professional qualification which prepares you for a career in a wide range of social, community, mental health, and education services
  • A critical focus on inequality and social justice, and the development of your abilities to work ethically and professionally, supporting the wellbeing of people and communities
  • Emphasis on the practical application of theory: in years three and four, you will apply what you’ve learnt during work placements in social work or community development organisations
  • Flexibility: elective courses enable you to plan a programme of study which builds on your interests and personal experience, or help you move towards postgraduate study

Postgraduate study

At Unitec, we value your experience and are interested in helping you develop your practice and profession. If you are a practitioner who is interested in undertaking a work-based project and/or research, our Master of Applied Practice (Social Practice) may be just what you’re looking for.

Please note: This programme is designed for practitioners in work as we do not provide work placements. If you choose to study full-time, your study will likely relate to your current practice. You will have an opportunity to discuss this during the application process.

Scholarship

We have up to 3 Bachelor of Social Practice scholarships available, worth $2,000 each. Find out more information below!

Bachelor of Social Practice scholarships

Contact us

If you have further questions about the Bachelor of Social Practice programme email Jason Hallie or email Peter Matthewson. 

Admission requirements

What you will need to study this programme.

Academic requirements

You must have completed at least one of the following:

  • NCEA entry requirements;

A minimum of 42 credits at NCEA Level 3 or higher on the National Qualifications Framework, with

  • 14 credits at Level 3 or higher in each of two subjects from an approved subject list,
  • 14 credits at Level 3 or higher taken from no more than two additional domains on the National Qualifications Framework,
  • 14 credits at Level 1 or higher in Mathematics or Pangarau on the National Qualifications Framework,

And meet one of the English entry requirements;

  • Successful completion of the Unitec Certificate in Foundation Studies: Whitinga Level 3 with a relevant pathway, where appropriate; Or
  • Certificate of University Preparation (Level 4) Or
  • Certificate in Foundation Studies (Level 4)

Don’t meet these Academic requirements?

Non-academic requirements

The following Programme requirements must be met prior to admission;

  • Consent to a Safety Check that meets the requirements of the Children Act 2014 (formerly known as the Vulnerable Children’s Act), including:
  • Provide a curriculum vitae and a personal statement indicating their motives for applying for admission to the degree
  • A current full driver’s license (NZ license or acceptable international equivalent, subject to exemption on the grounds of disability) before commencing CSTU7922 Social Practice Practicum 1 in Year Three

For more information, download the programme regulations (PDF 544 KB)

Academic requirements

You must have completed at least one of the following:

  • Applicants must be at least 16 years of age when they begin their studies, and they should meet the country-specific admission requirement Or
  • Successful completion of the Unitec Certificate in Foundation Studies: Whitinga Level 3 with a relevant pathway, where appropriate; Or
  • Certificate of University Preparation (Level 4) Or
  • Certificate in Foundation Studies (Level 4)

And English entry requirements;

​If English is not your first language, you will also need at least one of the following qualifications:

  • An equivalent of IELTS (Academic) with minimum band scores of 6.5 with no individual band lower than 6.5 from one test taken in the preceding two years,
  • TOEFL score of no less than 575
  • Evidence of English language proficiency as outlined in the NZQA Rules on the Unitec English Language Requirements for International Students Web-page.
  • University Entrance Literacy: 8 credits at Level 2 or above in English or Māori (4 in Reading, 4 in Writing); or

If you do not meet the English criteria above, we have a range of English Language programmes available, depending on your current level of ability.

Don’t meet these Academic requirements?

Non-academic requirements

The following Programme Specific requirements must be met before admission;

  • Consent to a Safety Check that meets the requirements of the Children Act 2014 (formerly known as the Vulnerable Children’s Act), including:
  • Provide a curriculum vitae and a personal statement indicating their motives for applying for admission to the degree
  • A current full driver’s license (NZ license or acceptable international equivalent, subject to exemption on the grounds of disability) before commencing CSTU7922 Social Practice Practicum 1 in Year Three

For more information, download the programme regulations (PDF 544 KB).

Courses and timetables

For more details on the courses including timetables, please click on the course names below.

Compulsory coursesElective courses
Level 5Level 6Level 7
Level 8
Courses Credits Aim
Fields of Practice(CSTU5163) 15.0 credits (0.125 EFTS) This course provides an introduction to the identity, values and practices of social practice with a focus on the major fields of practice. It will examine major features of each field of practice including key knowledge required, approaches to practice, and issues facing practitioners in that field.
Foundations of Social Practice(CSTU5166) 15.0 credits (0.125 EFTS) This course introduces students to three principal approaches to social practice and to the theoretical framework of narrative practice within the context of a bicultural Aotearoa. The course will enable them to acquire a basic experiential introduction to effective relationship skills when working with individuals and groups in diverse practice environments; and develop student reflexivity around awareness of their own personal history, bias and values and how this impacts on practice. Students will have opportunities to extend and demonstrate core academic literacy skills.
Ripene Tahi(CSTU5167) 15.0 credits (0.125 EFTS) To introduce students to basic te reo Māori (Māori language), tikanga Māori (cultural values and protocols), and to explore the implications of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in relation to the historic and contemporary cultural and socio-economic development of Maori.
Talanoa Pasifika(CSTU5168) 15.0 credits (0.125 EFTS) This course introduces students to Pasifika approaches to social practices by exploring the development of Pasifika communities in Aotearoa. This will enable students to negotiate a mutually beneficial relationship of partnership and collaboration with Pasifika Peoples, particularly when working with Pasifika communities.
Sociology for Social Practice: Inequality and Social Change(CSTU5170) 15.0 credits (0.125 EFTS) The aim of this course is to introduce students to sociological concepts and theories, which will enable them to explore the nature and effects of international and Aotearoa/New Zealand’s, cultural, social, economic and political structures, especially their impact on injustice and inequality.
Enquiry and Communication(CSTU5171) 15.0 credits (0.125 EFTS) This course introduces the principles of communication, knowledge construction, and academic literacy & develops scholarly skills in preparation for academic and professional practice.
Courses Credits Aim
Concepts of Psychology(CSTU6169) 15.0 credits (0.125 EFTS) This course will provide foundation level knowledge in psychology. The course gives students a grounding in the psychology of social behaviour, working in groups, human development, memory, cognition and learning and their motivational and neuropsychological concomitants in relation to different cultural contexts.
Assessment in Social Work(CSTU6231) 15.0 credits (0.125 EFTS) This course prepares and equips students to undertake assessments of situations faced by social workers, in various fields of practice including high risk areas. It explores an ecological approach to the concepts of assessment, including assessment and management of risk, and addressing principles of safe practice within the context of bicultural Aotearoa/ New Zealand
Discourses of Social Practice(CSTU6233) 15.0 credits (0.125 EFTS) This course provides students with an experiential introduction to key approaches currently dominant within Social Practice and an opportunity to compare, contrast and differentiate the social and cultural construction of these approaches.
Child Protection Studies(CSTU6237) 15.0 credits (0.125 EFTS) This course equips students with a contextual understanding of the contemporary challenges and opportunities related to Child Protection in Aotearoa / New Zealand, with specific reference to policy parameters, organisational issues, theoretical influences, and the processes, skills, and knowledge required for safe and creative practice.
Disabilities and Mental Health(CSTU6238) 15.0 credits (0.125 EFTS) This course provides students with an overview of the theoretical approaches around treatment, causation, rehabilitation and therapy, assessment processes, and values and societal issues with regard to disability, mental illness and substance abuse. Skills in establishing equitable relationships with people with a disability and in assessment of substance abuse and mental health issues will be developed.
Courses Credits Aim
Family Violence Studies(CSTU7242) 15.0 credits (0.125 EFTS) This course enables students to critically examine a range of analyses of and advocacy skills for working with whānau, family and domestic violence, with an emphasis on the interaction between culture, gender and domestic violence and the power and control paradigm.
Social Policy(CSTU7914) 15.0 credits (0.125 EFTS) This course enables students to critically explore aspects of political ideology, social policy and the law relevant to contemporary social practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Research Methods(CSTU7917) 15.0 credits (0.125 EFTS) This course enables students to explore an area of interest for the literature and to participate in the development and implementation a research project of relevance to social practice. Issues of cultural competence and kaupapa Māori research perspectives and processes contribute to all learning outcomes. CSTU7919 Research Practicum runs alongside this course and the first three learning objectives are achieved during Research Methods, and last two within Research Practicum.
Advanced Social Practice Theory(CSTU7923) 15.0 credits (0.125 EFTS) The course provides an advanced critical study of the principles and the theoretical basis for social practice. Emphasis is placed on the knowledge base relevant to the practice of social work, namely conceptual explorations, research practice principles, models of intervention and current issues in theory and practice.
Just Practice(CSTU7926) 15.0 credits (0.125 EFTS) This course provides students with an opportunity to develop critical awareness and skills in social practice that will enhance social justice and social change. It involves interaction with advanced practitioners from the field of Social Practice. Students have the opportunity to reflect on the experience of these practitioners and through collaboration develop strategies to develop their own models of Te Tiriti based and socially just practice.
Courses Credits Aim
Applied Research Proposal(CISC8002) 15.0 credits (0.125 EFTS) Enable a student to engage industry and community relevant to discipline and then begin to create feasible and well-defined research questions as well as determine the most appropriate research method or range of methods to address these research questions.
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