Program Description
In this program, students earn both an Honours Bachelor of Applied Science in Family and Community Social Services, and a Social Service Worker Diploma. This four-year program enables students to explore current social issues and understand the challenges faced by vulnerable populations so they can learn how to deliver impactful services, such as counselling, mediation and crisis intervention.
Courses in first year will focus on understanding human behaviour and issues related to individuals, families and groups. In their second year, students will engage in theoretical and practical studies in counselling, ethical and professional issues, and working with various vulnerable populations. In upper years, students will work with diverse groups and learn theory and techniques in areas such as family therapy, case management, crisis intervention, and nonprofit agency administration. Students build strong clinical skills that exceed the industry standard for undergraduate education. They learn basic communication competencies to more in-depth therapeutic interventions for individual, group and family counselling. They will practice interviewing, counselling, crisis intervention, mediation and conflict resolution. By recording the sessions, students can analyze their techniques to help them learn to communicate and support people more effectively.
Starting in their second year, students will earn more than 850 hours of supervised workplace experience.
- Year 2, Winter: The first placement will expose students to a variety of social issues and day-to-day operations within a community organization.
- Year 3, Fall/Winter: Students continue to learn about agency functions and begin to interact with agency staff, volunteers, clients and the community.
- Year 4, Fall/Winter: Students provide direct client services through individual, family, group and/or community interventions.
