Faculty of Social Sciences 
The medium of instruction for classroom teaching (in all forms) at HKBU is English, except for those courses that are granted exemption.
Government Funded
30
September 2023
HK$42,100 (local); HK$145,000 (non-local)
128
Programme Requirements
| HKDSE Core Subject(s) | Minimum Level |
| CHINESE LANGUAGE | 3 |
| ENGLISH LANGUAGE | 3 |
| LIBERAL STUDIES | 2 |
| MATHEMATICS COMPULSORY PART | 2 |
| Elective Subject(s) | Minimum Level |
| ANY 2 SUBJECTS Notes | 3 |
Notes for elective subjects:
1) One of the electives must be any Category A subjects excluding Extended Part of Mathematics (Module 1 or Module 2);
2) The other elective can be any of the following subjects:
a) Category A subjects including Extended Part of Mathematics (Module 1 or Module 2);
b) Applied Learning subjects with Attained with Distinction (I) or above;
c) Other Language subjects at Grade E or above.
Remark on other requirements:
High choice banding in JUPAS application is preferred.
Programme Description
The Department of Social Work is one of the leading providers of social work training and education in Hong Kong. The four-year Bachelor of Social Work (Hons) Programme aims to equip students with knowledge and professional values in social work so that graduates can effectively meet the social service needs of the community in a flexible, realistic, creative and professional yet critical manner.
In the four-year curriculum, students are required to study a total of 128 units, including 4 units of Social Sciences common core, 78 units of Social Work Major courses (including Honours Project and Major electives), 31 units of General Education courses and 15 units of Elective courses. The Social Work Major courses are structured into four areas, namely (a) Human Behaviour and Social Environment, (b) Social Work Theory and Practice, (c) Social Policy, Research and Administration, and (d) Fieldwork. Graduates of our Bachelor of Social Work (Hons) Programme are recognised by most social work professional bodies at the international level. They can register as Registered Social Workers (RSW) with the Social Workers Registration Board in Hong Kong.
Unique Features
Students are required to attend another 100 hours of non-credit bearing pre-placement activities, a growth group, and four levels of integrative tutorials over four years. Following the University’s internationalisation strategy, there are growing opportunities for student exchange, overseas placements, visits from overseas scholars and other related activities to substantiate experiential and academic learning.
Student Learning Experiences
All social work students are required to undertake two fieldwork placements in their Year 3 and Year 4 study. Each supervised fieldwork placement is of 400 hours, thus adding up to 800 hours in total plus another 100 hours of pre-placement work.
All students are given an opportunity to consider applying for pursuing an exchange programme either in Year 2 or Year 3 study. Students may be able to finish the programme within 4 years if they pursue the exchange programme in semester 2 of Year 2 study and follow through the study plan provided. If it lasts for two semesters, the eligible ones will need to finish the whole Programme in five years.
Career Opportunities
Graduates holding a Bachelor of Social Work (Hons) degree are qualified to apply as Registered Social Workers (RSW) in Hong Kong according to the Social Workers Registration Ordinance 1997. They are eligible to be employed as Assistant Social Work Officers in the Social Welfare Department or non-governmental organisations in Hong Kong.
The Programme will consider Extended Part of Mathematics (Module 1 or 2) as an unspecified elective subject in meeting the entrance requirements and as a whole subject in score calculation.
The Programme will consider Applied Learning subjects at Attained with Distinction (I) or above as an unspecified elective subject.
In general, the scores for the Applied Learning subjects (Category B) are converted as follows:
Attained with Distinction II=4, Attained with Distinction I=3, Attained=2
The Programme will consider Other Language subjects at Grade E or above as an unspecified elective subject.
In general, the scores for the Other Language subjects (Category C) are converted as follows:
A=5**, B=5*, C=5, D=4, E=3
| Tie-breakers | Remarks |
| HKDSE Academic Score (plus interview score, if any) | Derived from the score formula of individual programme (The programme will consider 4 core subjects plus 2 best electives in Academic Score calculation.) |
| Interview Performance | Applicable to School Principal's nominees / applicants with a disability / OEA applicants / regular applicants with interview |
| Band | Band A applicants will be ranked first then Band B, and so on. A (Prog. Choice 1 - 3) > B (Prog. Choice 4 - 6) > C (Prog. Choice 7 - 10) > D (Prog. Choice 11 - 15) > E (Prog. Choice 16 - 20) |
| HKDSE English Score | Take the best score of HKDSE English Language Result |
Note:
As programmes select students not only on the basis of the HKDSE results, the actual results of the students admitted to each programme may vary from year to year (depending on the overall results achieved by applicants in a particular year, the number of applicants applying to the programme, changes in selection criteria, etc.). Please be reminded that information listed above is for reference ONLY and is subject to change, and should NOT be used to predict the chance of admission to any programme.