The Programme
| For students with a Bachelor of Social Work | For students with a Graduate Diploma in Social Work | For students without a Graduate Diploma in Social Work or a Bachelor in Social Work |
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2 capstone courses:
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2 capstone courses:
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2 capstone courses:
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3 core courses:
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3 core courses:
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3 core courses:
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5 elective courses, with at least one elective course from the following basket:
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5 elective courses, with at least one elective course from the following basket:
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5 elective courses, with at least one elective course from the following basket:
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Students typically take 2 to 2.5 years to complete the programme. The maximum programme candidature is 3 years for full-time students and 4 years for part-time students.
Sample study plans for full-time and part-time students can be found here.
Admissions
There is one intake (in August) for the Direct Admission Route and two intakes (in August and January) for Stackable Admission Route into the MSW programme.
There are two admission intakes in an academic year for students applying elective courses only.
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Application Period
Semester 1 (August intake): Application information can be found here.
For Semester 1 (August intake): For Semester 2 (January intake): Application information can be found here.
(Candidates who are considering for the stackable admission route) For Semester 1 (August intake): May For Semester 2 (January intake): October Application information can be found here. |
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Application Outcome The outcome of application for the Direct and Stackable Admission Route will be made known by 31 May for semester 1 intake or 30 November for semester 2 intake. The outcome for elective application will be notified in early July (for semester 1 intake) or December (for semester 2 intake). |
Fees and Scholarships
For scholarships that are relevant for the Master of Social Work, please refer to the following for more information on the criteria, application procedures, application periods etc.
Admin
Examination Matters
- No notices
Student Project/ Research
- Research Ethics Guidelines
- Claim for Student Research Projects
- 1. Guidelines on Student Project Fund
- 2. For reimbursement of claims, students are to complete and submit the following forms (hard and soft copies) to the respective administrator at the Department General Office at AS3 Level 4 for payment processing.
- i) Request for Payment Form (the fields that need to be filled up are highlighted in YELLOW)
- ii) Student Project Expense Claim Form
Other Matters
Testimonials
The capstone courses allowed me to experience first-hand using practice research methodologies to guide my practice, which contributed to better patient care at the hospital where I work as a Medical Social Worker.
Embarking on the practice research is one of the most impactful and challenging journey that helped me reflect on the epistemologies of knowledge in a critical manner. As a moral, ethical and social endeavor, the reflexive process of practice research surfaces multiple complex issues which provokes the thinking and doing of my work professionally and personally. It is also an important contribution to the advancement of social work knowledge, understanding and context which we live in.
My research on kick-starting the journey of exiting the poverty cycle with low-income families and social workers reinforced an ecological lens for holistic practice. Practice recommendations include building families’ problem-solving capacities by enhancing their self-reliance and self-motivation efforts, shifting from a problem-centred perspective to a strengths-based perspective, reducing bandwidth tax and advocating for structural changes. A recursive process of helping families meet basic and long-term needs was recommended. Arising from the research, practice and policy recommendations were generated which may help low-income families more effectively.
Overall, it has been a fruitful adventure of learning which I strongly encourage anyone in the helping profession to venture into. This lifelong learning journey never ends as even after the research is completed, I continue to have reflections on the concepts and theories which are relevant to and for my work as a counsellor and social worker. Beyond thinking about what constitutes as practice research, it is vital to contemplate “what might make social work research distinctively good?” as Professor Ian Shaw encouraged us to consider about. I am immensely humbled and grateful to my mentors in this journey – Professor Choo Hyekyung, Professor Lee Geok Ling and Professor Ian Shaw.
Ms Yvonne Ang (with Prof Ian Shaw in photo)
Senior Counsellor, Manager
National Council of Social Services, Sun Ray Scheme
I have found the capstone courses a core and important set of courses for post-graduate students who want to deepen their understanding of social work practice. My experience of doing research on my current social work practices in the field has been intriguing and enriching. Through the skills and knowledge gathered from the courses, I was able to evaluate the effectiveness and usefulness of the work I did with my clients. For me, learning and establishing evidence-based practice is aligned to the essence of social work services delivery — ensuring that our practice is truly benefiting our clients and not causing harm. I appreciated learning the various research techniques and the strong emphasis for us to keep to the fidelity of the proposed methodology as well as the ethical process.
Every learning step while journeying through the courses was well supported by our trainer, A/P Choo Hyekyung. I feel that the teaching and learning were well-paced and we were equipped with the necessary skills to carry out our practice research in our work setting. It was challenging at the beginning for a practitioner like me to start working on a research piece. However, I am amazed at how much knowledge and insight I have gained through my learning experiences as I completed the modules and applied the research skills in my work.
Mr Mohamad Firoz Bin Abdul Kadir
Master of Social Work student