Social work is an exciting, demanding, and rewarding profession. Social workers help those in need and seek to remedy societal problems that create inequality and injustice. Social workers help couples resolve marital problems, counsel abused children, set up community associations, and draft social policy legislation.

St. Thomas is the only university in New Brunswick to offer an English language Bachelor of Social Work, the minimum qualification for social work practice in the province. The programme is fully accredited by the Canadian Association of Social Work Education.

Applicants to the 15-month programme must hold a bachelor’s degree which includes 60 credit hours of liberal arts studies. The St. Thomas Bachelor of Arts provides an exceptional foundation for the Social Work degree: for example, students interested in a career in probation may study Criminology, those interested in working with seniors may study Gerontology, and those who want to work with First Nations communities may take Native Studies. An introductory Social Work course is open to Bachelor of Arts students, and Department of Social Work faculty members are available to students considering a social work career.

Start At St. Thomas

A St. Thomas University Bachelor of Arts graduate is well prepared to apply to the post-degree BSW. A nationally-ranked liberal arts education and commitment to social justice provides students with a solid foundation for social work education. Our majors programme is an ideal way to obtain the 60 credit hours of social sciences and humanities required for admission to the
BSW programme. It provides solid preparation for numerous social work fields of practice:

• Social Policy - Human Rights, Economics, Political Science, Sociology
• Social Work and Criminal Justice - Criminology
• Social Work with Women - Sociology, Political Science, Psychology, Anthropology, Gender Studies
• Social Work and Aboriginal Peoples - Native Studies, Anthropology
• Social Work and the Environment - Environmental Studies, Religious Studies, Economics, Political Science
• Social Work with Children and Youth - Criminology, Psychology
• Social Work with Older Adults - Gerontology, Psychology

The Social Work Department offers the course SCWK 2033: Introduction to Social Work Fields of Practice to students interested in the field. Workshops are held each semester on the BSW admission requirements and students receive guidance on the interview process, volunteer and work experiences, and social problem testing. A faculty member is available to advise students considering a social work career and assist them in their application. Motivated students can learn first-hand about becoming an agent for social change by joining the Social Work Society or many of the other social justice groups at St. Thomas.

For information on admission to the Bachelor of Social Work programme, please visit Admission Requirements.

For more information on the academic discipline and courses, please visit Academic Departments > Social Work .