Bachelor of Social Work (Turkish)

The Bachelor of Social Work in English is a four-year, fully English-medium undergraduate program that trains professional social workers who can assess, intervene, and advocate at individual, family, community, and policy levels to protect vulnerable populations, promote social justice, and strengthen social welfare systems in Turkey and internationally. Offered at the departments of social work of leading universities (Koç University, Hacettepe University, Başkent University, İstanbul Bilgi University, Yeditepe University, Üsküdar University, Nişantaşı University, and several strong English-medium programs), it is the most globally recognized and clinically advanced social-work degree in the country, specifically designed for students who aim to work in international organizations, NGOs, private welfare agencies, or pursue graduate study abroad.Students receive a comprehensive, practice-based education that fully meets international standards (IFSW and IASSW). The first two years build a solid theoretical and ethical foundation through courses in introduction to social work and social welfare, human behavior and social environment, social-work theories and methods, social policy and planning, sociology and social problems, psychology for social workers, research methods and statistics, diversity and anti-oppressive practice, ethics and values, and English academic writing for social services. The final two years focus on direct practice and field education with courses in individual and family casework, group work, community organization and development, child welfare and protection, geriatric social work, disability and rehabilitation, mental-health social work, trauma and crisis intervention, refugee and migration services, substance-abuse intervention, social-work management and supervision, policy advocacy, and two full years (minimum 900–1000 hours) of supervised field placements in real agencies under licensed social workers.Field placements take place in prestigious public and private institutions: Ministry of Family and Social Services provincial directorates, child-protection centers, women’s shelters, refugee support centers (UNHCR, ASAM, Turkish Red Crescent), hospitals and rehabilitation centers, elderly care facilities, municipalities’ social assistance departments, international NGOs (Save the Children, Mercy Corps, IOM), corporate social-responsibility units, and university counseling centers.Graduates receive the official title of Social Worker and are immediately eligible for professional registration. They are preferentially employed by the Ministry of Family and Social Services (permanent civil-servant positions), UNICEF Turkey, UNHCR, IOM, WHO, international and local NGOs, private rehabilitation and therapy centers, hospital social-service departments, child and youth centers, women’s shelters, elderly-care institutions, corporate CSR and sustainability departments, and increasingly work abroad (especially in Europe, Canada, Australia, and Gulf countries) after credential recognition.Public-sector social workers enjoy civil-servant security and benefits; private and international-organization salaries are significantly higher and rise quickly with experience and language skills. The social prestige of English-medium social-work graduates has risen dramatically as Turkey addresses growing needs in child protection, refugee integration, domestic violence, and elderly care: they are seen as the compassionate yet scientifically trained professionals who stand on the front lines of socialjustice.Inn short, the Bachelor of Social Work in English produces ethically committed, clinically skilled, and globally competent social workers who occupy vital and deeply respected positions in Turkey’s expanding welfare system and international humanitarian field, enjoying stable careers, meaningful impact, and the daily privilege of protecting human dignity and building a fairer society.