莫纳什大学

Pandemics, natural disasters, environmental crises and the ensuing economic, health and mental health issues are driving an increased need for social workers worldwide. Our Master of Social Work prepares you as a work-ready, qualified social worker in two years, with the knowledge, skills and practical experience to drive change and advocate for individuals, families and communities.

Social work is a hands-on, people-focused profession as is our approach to teaching in both our on-campus and online streams. In our course, you learn by doing from day one - whether that’s practising your core interviewing, assessment or counselling skills with professional actors, applying your knowledge to a case study in an interactive workshop, or taking part in our student-led social work clinic on campus. You’ll also gain substantial professional experience by completing two 500-hour supervised placements, working with real social work clients at one of our partner organisations.

Our course provides you with the context, professionalism, knowledge and skills you’ll need as a social worker. Your studies start with the foundations of social work - from the history of social work in Australia, to social policy, welfare systems, and social work research. You’ll then explore social work in specific settings such as hospitals, community service centres, domestic violence shelters, and government departments. You also have the opportunity to choose electives in specialist topics - such as child protection, alcohol and drugs, domestic and family violence, and criminology - allowing you to discover different areas of practice that will shape your future career pathway.

At Monash, we are globally recognised for our research expertise in areas like addiction, mental health and family violence. Your teachers are experienced social workers, practitioners and researchers. This ensures our curriculum incorporates the latest professional guidelines and social work research, so your practice is evidence-based and meets the changing needs of our community. Importantly, we not only train you to be a social worker, but also a critical thinker and lifelong learner.

Career opportunities

With a Monash degree in social work, you will be ready to practice in a range of settings, and work with people of all ages and backgrounds. Social work is a career with strong projected employment growth, and our qualification enables you to practice as a social worker both locally in Australia or around the world.

Social workers empower people and drive important change - whether that’s working one-on-one, as part of a team of professionals, or by shaping policy. You can work in a range of settings delivering health and social services, such as hospitals, mental health programs, government departments, non-profit human services organisations and community-based agencies. You may also choose to specialise in working with specific populations - such as young people, older adults, victims of family violence, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander or LGTBQI communities, those affected by addiction, or you can drive change on a large-scale with roles in policy or research.