Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)
There are two ways to enter the professional Social Work undergraduate programme.
Pathway 1: Social Work Pre-professional (BA)
You can enrol to take two years of “pre-professional” papers at 100- and 200-level and then apply for entry into the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) professional degree programme and complete 300- and 400-level. If you take this pathway, you will graduate with a BSW degree after four years. When you enrol through the eVision portal, select “social work pre-professional (BA)” as your programme of study.
Pathway 2: Second degree
If you have already completed a degree in another discipline (usually in a subject that provides good companion information to social work) you can cross credit up to 180 points towards your BSW, and complete your BSW in two and a half years of full time study (years three and four plus extra points and content requirements). If you have extra points from your first degree and have covered all content requirements, it may be possible to complete your BSW in two years. See below for application information.
Application process
Admission to the Social Work Pre-professional programme
Admission to 100-level study in the Social Work Pre-professional programme is through the University's eVision portal. If you are applying for your first year of the Social Work Pre-professional programme (BA), you need to apply by 10 December in the year before you want to begin study.
For programme details and to apply, visit:
Social Work Pre-professional programme
Admission to the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree at 300-level
Admission to the BSW professional Social Work programme at 300-level requires a formal selection process which checks your academic achievements and suitability, as well as mandatory Police vetting and written referees' reports. Safety checking, as required by the Children's Act 2014, will also be completed.
Referee report form – BSW (PDF)
Information for students who need to be safety checked under the Children's Act
The application process takes time, and you need to apply through eVision by 1 November.
Application for the BSW opens on 1 May
To give the admissions committee enough time to consider your BSW application, the eVision portal opens for applications for professional Social Work on 1 May, and closes on 1 November in the year prior to study.
We strongly advise applying through eVision as early as possible. Interviews begin in November each year for domestic students.
For programme details and to apply, visit:
English language standards for the Social Work programmes (BSW and MSCW(App))
All students who do not have English, Māori or New Zealand sign language as their primary language demonstrate either:
- an IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score of 7.0 in the academic band (with no band score lower than 7.0), or
- a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) Internet-based test (iBT) score of 95 or higher with a writing score of 22.
These tests must have been completed in one sitting within the previous two years, and evidence must be provided by way of certified results.
Contact us for more information
Email socialwork@otago.ac.nz