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Study social work abroad
Get a fully personalized list of social work programs that match your eligibility and aspirations.
Social Work degrees abroad
Social work is an academic discipline that is committed to human rights and social justice by helping those in need. You will learn how to work with vulnerable people across different ages and cultures, and how to build respectful and trusting relationships.
While studying a social work program you’ll cover a range of subjects including sociology, psychology, and law amongst others. Working in social work is a demanding and rewarding profession, that plays a crucial role in communities all over the world. If you have the drive and commitment to improve the lives of others, then social work could be the ideal program for you.
Social work is a popular program that is offered at universities all over the world, including the UK, US, South Africa, Canada and many others. By studying abroad, you’ll get to develop important skills like interacting with people from different backgrounds and cultures.
Social Work program structure
There are a variety of degree qualifications you can study for in social work at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. At bachelor’s level you can study for a BA, BSc or a BSW (Bachelor of Social Work) over three or four years, depending on where you study.
If you study at bachelor’s level in the US, you can choose to study social work as a major or minor subject. To graduate, you’ll need to earn a certain amount of credits in social work modules.
Most postgraduate social work degree programs are offered as an MA or MSc over two years, but you can also study for a PhD over four years. In the US and some other countries you can study an MSW (Master of Social Work), and some universities also offer PgDip (Postgraduate Diploma) programs.
Social work programs are usually taught through student-led seminars, group workshops and lectures. You will also spend time on placement where you’ll be able to shadow professional social workers and interact with the local community. The program content will be unique to each program, but some of the main areas of study include:
- Introduction to social work
- Equality and diversity
- Law and social policy
- Introduction to psychology
- Professional practice
- Social work with children
- Social work skills
How to study social work abroad
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Social Work study abroad programs
Social work undergraduate programs
Bachelor's in social work
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Behavioral Sciences-Sociology: Social Work - BS New York Institute of Technology, USA
- Program type
- Bachelor's
- Duration
- 4 years
- Annual tuition fee
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41,440 USD
Fee in university's local currency 41,440 USD
- Start date
- -
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Collaborative Health & Human Services - Social Work - BA California State University, Monterey Bay, USA
- Program type
- Bachelor's
- Duration
- 4 years
- Annual tuition fee
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16,647 USD
Fee in university's local currency 16,647 USD
- Start date
- -
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Indigenous Social Work (Qualifying) - BA University of Regina, Canada
- Program type
- Bachelor's
- Duration
- 4 years
- Annual tuition fee
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14,557 USD
Fee in university's local currency 18,000 CAD
- Start date
- -
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Social Work & Women's Studies - BSW (Hons) University of Windsor, Canada
- Program type
- Bachelor's
- Duration
- 4 years
- Annual tuition fee
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27,116 USD
Fee in university's local currency 33,530 CAD
- Start date
- -
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Social Work - BSW Central Michigan University, USA
- Program type
- Bachelor's
- Duration
- 4 years
- Annual tuition fee
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18,936 USD
Fee in university's local currency 18,936 USD
- Start date
- -
Associate in social work
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Social Work - AA Moraine Valley Community College, USA
- Program type
- Associate
- Duration
- 2 years
- Annual tuition fee
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9,408 USD
Fee in university's local currency 9,408 USD
- Start date
- -
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Social Work (Pre-Major) - AA College of the Rockies, Canada
- Program type
- Associate
- Duration
- 20 months
- Annual tuition fee
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11,079 USD
Fee in university's local currency 13,700 CAD
- Start date
- -
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Social Work and Counseling - AAOT Lane Community College, USA
- Program type
- Associate
- Duration
- 2 years
- Annual tuition fee
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11,500 USD
Fee in university's local currency 11,500 USD
- Start date
- -
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Sociology/Social Work - AA Lake Land College, USA
- Program type
- Associate
- Duration
- 2 years
- Annual tuition fee
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13,500 USD
Fee in university's local currency 13,500 USD
- Start date
- -
Diploma in social work
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Social Work - Dip Red Deer Polytechnic, Canada
- Program type
- Undergraduate diploma
- Duration
- 2 years
- Annual tuition fee
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14,774 USD
Fee in university's local currency 18,269 CAD
- Start date
- -
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Social Work - Dip Bow Valley College, Canada
- Program type
- Undergraduate diploma
- Duration
- 2 years
- Annual tuition fee
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32,362 USD
Fee in university's local currency 40,017 CAD
- Start date
- -
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Social Work - Dip NorQuest College, Canada
- Program type
- Undergraduate diploma
- Duration
- 2 years
- Annual tuition fee
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17,256 USD
Fee in university's local currency 21,338 CAD
- Start date
- -
Certificate in social work
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Social Work and Human Services Paraprofessional - Cert Berkeley City College, USA
- Program type
- Undergraduate certificate
- Duration
- 1 year
- Annual tuition fee
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7,950 USD
Fee in university's local currency 7,950 USD
- Start date
- -
Pathway in social work
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Social Work (Pre-Social Work) - UGP University of Regina, Canada
- Program type
- Undergraduate pathway
- Duration
- 1 year
- Annual tuition fee
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14,557 USD
Fee in university's local currency 18,000 CAD
- Start date
- -
Social work graduate programs
Master's in social work
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Applied Social Work - MASW Massey University, New Zealand
- Program type
- Master's
- Duration
- 2 years
- Annual tuition fee
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22,011 USD
Fee in university's local currency 31,010 NZD
- Start date
- -
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Indigenous Social Work - MISW University of Regina, Canada
- Program type
- Master's
- Duration
- 2 years
- Annual tuition fee
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11,052 USD
Fee in university's local currency 13,666 CAD
- Start date
- -
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Social Work - MSW University of Windsor, Canada
- Program type
- Master's
- Duration
- 2 years
- Annual tuition fee
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15,703 USD
Fee in university's local currency 19,418 CAD
- Start date
- -
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Social Work - MSW University of Tasmania, Australia
- Program type
- Master's
- Duration
- 1 year
- Annual tuition fee
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23,868 USD
Fee in university's local currency 32,137 AUD
- Start date
- -
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Social Work - MA Bournemouth University, UK
- Program type
- Master's
- Duration
- 2 years
- Annual tuition fee
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19,941 USD
Fee in university's local currency 14,500 GBP
- Start date
- -
Doctorate in social work
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Professional Doctorate in Social Work - ProfDoc University of Portsmouth, UK
- Program type
- Doctorate
- Duration
- 4 years
- Annual tuition fee
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9,833 USD
Fee in university's local currency 7,150 GBP
- Start date
- -
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Social Work - PhD University of Canterbury, New Zealand
- Program type
- Doctorate
- Duration
- 3 years
- Annual tuition fee
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5,039 USD
Fee in university's local currency 7,099 NZD
- Start date
- -
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Social Work and Juris Doctor - JD/MSW Southern Utah University, USA
- Program type
- Doctorate/Master's
- Duration
- 4 years
- Annual tuition fee
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23,620 USD
Fee in university's local currency 23,620 USD
- Start date
- -
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Social Work/Juris Doctor - Integrated MSW/JD University of Windsor, Canada
- Program type
- Master's
- Doctorate
- Duration
- 2 years
- 2 years
- Annual tuition fee
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40,176 USD
Fee in university's local currency 49,680 CAD
- Start date
- -
Diploma in social work
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Arts: Social Work - PGDipArts University of Canterbury, New Zealand
- Program type
- Postgraduate diploma
- Duration
- 1 year
- Annual tuition fee
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19,307 USD
Fee in university's local currency 27,200 NZD
- Start date
- -
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Social Work - MSW/PGDip Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
- Program type
- Master's/Postgraduate diploma
- Duration
- 2 years
- Annual tuition fee
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23,250 USD
Fee in university's local currency 19,996 EUR
- Start date
- -
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Social Work - PGDipSW University of Auckland, New Zealand
- Program type
- Postgraduate diploma
- Duration
- 1 year
- Annual tuition fee
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24,878 USD
Fee in university's local currency 35,048 NZD
- Start date
- -
Future social work careers
Social work is a vocational degree, and most graduates go on to become practicing social workers in their local community. However, there are several different roles you could pursue, including:
- Social worker
- Care manager
- Persistent offender coordinator
- Family support worker
- Housing adviser
- Support worker
The skills you’ll acquire on a social work degree program like compassion, communication and teamwork are also easily transferable to other areas of work.
If you’re not quite sure what role you want to pursue after you’ve graduated, make use of your university’s career services, who can help you work out which path is right for you.
