Social work and social pedagogy study programmes have been part of the university's offer since it was founded. The department has passed under the name "Social Work" since 1990.
More than 1700 students are currently enrolled in one of the four Bachelor's degrees and three Master's programmes at the Department of Social Work. More than 30 professors research and teach here as an interdisciplinary team. Together with a large number of lecturers from social work practice, the department ensures outstanding academic and related-to-practice study in all study programmes. The department's employees ensure that the tasks of the department's self-management, research and teaching are fulfilled to a high standard.
Since 2003, it has been possible to study social work at the Department of Social Work not only as a part-time programme, but also as a blended-learning course. Around half of our students now qualify alongside their profession in the B.A. programmes offered in "Inclusive early childhood education" (BiB), "Social work" (BASA-online and BASA-dual) and the dual and part-time B.A. "Social Security & Social Administration" (BASS).
The M.A. program "maps-online" in the fields of study "Social Space Development and Organisation" and "Community Psychiatry" has qualified students for part-time management positions and research (doctoral degree) since 2006. The M.A. "Psychosocial Counselling and Therapy" (MaBeTh) has combined attendance, self-study and supervision since 2009.
The B.A. Social Work programmes offered by the Department of Social Work have been in the top tier of social work degree programmes in Germany in the CHE university rankings since 2017 - for the third time in a row - and are also the only university in Hesse with top ratings in the student assessments.
University studies in social work in Fulda are characterised by their early practical orientation. Studying related to practice is possible, for example, through so-called project workshops from as early as the second semester! Our practical placement partners, who are involved in numerous projects, are as diverse as social work itself.
Social work takes on global challenges. The department therefore attaches great importance to internationality, student exchange, intercultural skills acquisition and collaboration with international instructors. We have numerous partnerships with universities in Europe and globally, which enable our students to study abroad for a semester or even longer. In an increasingly globalised academic landscape and practice, the importance of English-language teaching is also growing from the department's perspective, which we are constantly supporting.
