Program Overview
- Social work is a profession that works with individuals, families, groups, and communities to enhance their individual and collective well-being.
- Trent’s Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) is a four-year, full-time undergraduate degree program and fully accredited by the Canadian Association of Social Work Education (CASWE).
- This program prepares students to be generalist social work practitioners; students will acquire a comprehensive set of knowledge, values, and skills that are transferable across a range of fields of practice and a range of social work roles.
- Trent graduates are eligible to register with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers.
Program breakdown
A student pursuing a Bachelor of Social Work at Trent is required to complete:
- General Years (Years 1 and 2): Social Work courses in years 1 and 2 are open to any student. Any student may declare a social work major. Declaring a major does not guarantee admission into the Professional Years.
- Professional Years (Years 3 and 4): All students apply for admission into third year, the first of two Professional Years. Admission to the Professional years is limited and is a competitive process. There are a maximum of 30 spaces available on each campus (Peterborough and Durham).
Please see our Curriculum Information for a breakdown of each year. For our full list of courses please see Trent's Academic Calendar or go to our course list.
Placement overview
Students complete a minimum of 700 hours of supervised field placement, during their third and fourth years:
- Year 3: 3 days a week in winter (240 hours) and Year 4: 3 days a week in fall and winter (460 hours).
- Placements typically occur within an hour of the student’s assigned campus.
- Students are assigned their placements based on criteria that will maximize their learning as a generalist social worker while meeting the demands of the overall program and participating agencies.
Application details
If applying to Trent’s BSW program via the Ontario University Application Centre (OUAC):
- Program Title: Social Work (BSW)
- Program Code: RSW
How can I prepare?
The Trent Bachelor of Social Work program is a Professional Years Program. This means students apply in for years 3 and 4. Information on how to apply can be found here. Though it might seem daunting to have to apply into the program, the more experience you have being engaged in community, and understanding your role in the community, the stronger your application will be.
Things you can do to strengthen your application and become more prepared for the program include:
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volunteering with community organizations such as in a hospital, nursing home, or community centre
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understanding how your work, even if in retail, relates to engaging with, actively listening to, and supporting the people you work with
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digging into the pre-requisite courses in years 1 & 2, and starting to question and unpack your understanding of the world and how you relate to it
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take other courses, such as in psychology, sociology or statistics, to grow in your understanding of the social sciences and social science research