Faculty of Social Sciences 
The medium of instruction for formal classroom teaching at HKBU is English, except for those courses that are granted exemption.
Government Funded
September 2021
HK$42,100 (local); HK$140,000 (non-local) (Subject to the University's annual review)
128
The Department of Social Work is one of the leading providers of social work training and education in Hong Kong. The four-year Bachelor of Social Work (Hons) Programme aims to develop student knowledge and professional values in social work so that graduates can effectively meet the social service needs of the community in a flexible, realistic, creative and professional yet critical manner.
In the four-year curriculum, students are required to study a total of 128 units, including 4 units for Social Sciences common core, 78 units for Social Work Major courses (including Honours Project and Major electives), 31 units of General Education courses and 15 units of Elective courses. The Social Work Major courses are structured into four areas, namely (a) Human Behaviour and Social Environment, (b) Social Work Theory and Practice, (c) Social Policy, Research and Administration, and (d) Fieldwork. Graduates of our Bachelor of Social Work (Hons) Programme are recognised by most social work professional bodies at the international level. They can register as Registered Social Workers (RSW) with the Social Workers Registration Board in Hong Kong.
Unique Features
Students are required to attend another 100 hours of non-credit bearing pre-placement activities, a 2-day growth group, and four levels of integrative tutorials over four years. Following the University’s internationalisation strategy, there are growing opportunities for student exchange, overseas placements, visits from overseas scholars and other related activities to substantiate experiential and academic learning.
Student Learning Experiences
All social work students are required to undertake two fieldwork placements in their Year 3 and Year 4 study. Each supervised fieldwork placement is of 400 hours.
All students are given an opportunity to consider applying for pursuing an exchange programme either in Year 2 or Year 3 study. If it lasts for one semester, the eligible students will be able to finish the Programme within four years. If it lasts for two semesters, the eligible ones will need to finish the whole Programme in five years.
Career Opportunities
Graduates holding a Bachelor of Social Work (Hons) degree are qualified to apply as Registered Social Workers (RSW) in Hong Kong according to the Social Workers Registration Ordinance 1997. They are eligible to be employed as Assistant Social Work Officers in the Social Welfare Department or non-governmental organisations in Hong Kong.
We adopt a holistic approach in selecting applicants on individual merits. Applicants are required to meet the University entrance requirements, English Language requirements and Programme entrance requirements (if any).
General Certificate of Education (GCE), International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma & SAT
GCE: Grade E or above in three AL/ IAL subjects; or Grade E or above in two AL/ IAL subjects plus two Advanced Supplementary Level (ASL) subjects (Not including Chinese and English Language subjects. The same subject cannot be counted at both the AL and ASL.)
IB: IB Diploma. Applicants should request the IB organisation to send their scores to the University via internet (HKBU institution code: 000247).
SAT: Minimum score of 1,190 (out of 1,600) in new SAT or 1,650 (out of 2,400) in old SAT (minimum score of 550 in each of Critical Reading, Mathematics and Writing), and a sub-score on essay writing of no less than 8. Applicants should request the College Board to send scores to the University (HKBU institution code: 7904).
Other Overseas Qualifications by Region
Applicants who apply for admission on the basis of overseas qualifications should refer to particular region for details. Given the diversity of education systems around the world, the acceptable overseas qualifications listed may not cover every region.
The University normally expects applicants to have obtained 12-year pre-university years of schooling. School-leaving qualifications that are acceptable for admission to universities in other places may not necessarily be acceptable or sufficient for admission to the University.
English Language Requirements
The following public examination results are recognised as meeting the English Language requirements stipulated by the University:
| Proficiency Tests | Minimum Requirements |
| TOEFL | Internet-based test (iBT) - Score: 79; or Paper-delivered test - a sum score of 60 (TOEFL MyBestTM Score is not accepted.) |
| IELTS Academic | Overall Band: 6.0 |
| SAT | Minimum score of 550 in both Critical Reading and Writing with a sub-score of 8 or above in Essay in old SAT; or Minimum score of 590 in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing in new SAT |
| ACT | Minimum score of 23 in both ACT English and Reading |
| AP | Score 4 or above in AP English Language and Composition/ AP English Literature and Composition |
| GCE O-Level/ GCSE English/ English Language/ English Literature | Grade C/ Grade 4 |
| IGCSE First Language English | Grade C/ Grade 4 |
| IGCSE English as a Second Language | Grade B/ Grade 5 |
| GCE AS or A-Level English | Grade E |
| HKDSE English Language | Level 3 |
| HKALE Use of English | Grade E |
| IB | Grade 4 in: IB English A (Higher or Standard Level); or IB English B (Higher Level); or IB English Literature and Performance (Standard Level) OR Grade 5 in: IB English B (Standard Level) |
| Cambridge English C1 Advanced/ C2 Proficiency | Grade C |
| Others | Other English language qualifications deemed acceptable by the University |
Applicants applying to the programme are expected to have a Chinese language qualification as deemed acceptable by the University.
For applicants holding international qualifications, they may fulfill the Chinese Language requirement with the following Chinese qualifications:
|
Proficiency Test |
Minimum Scores |
|
GCE A/ AS Level Chinese |
Grade E |
|
GCSE/ IGCSE/ GCE O-Level Chinese |
Grade C/ Grade 4 |
|
HKDSE Applied Learning Chinese |
Attained |
|
Others |
Other Chinese Language qualifications deemed acceptable by the University |