Hochschule Bremen - University of Applied Sciences

In the wake of the Bologna Process, the social work degree course at the Bremen University of Applied Sciences underwent a comprehensive restructuring, including education by modules. Social work students receive a Bachelor or Arts (B.A.) degree after 7 semesters. The accreditation of the new BA degree course by the Accreditation Council places central importance on the quality of the relevance to practice as an evaluation criterion. The course of study in Bremen includes three practical periods:

1. an initial internship (13 weeks) as requirement to apply for a place of study.

2. a practical semester of at least 500 hours that is integrated into the course of study (4 th semester – preparation, 5 th semester – practical semester, 6 th semester – consideration of what has been learned during the practical semester). The goal is to observe, attempt to implement and reflect professional conduct in practice and on the basis of the previously acquired theoretical and methodological knowledge. The practical semester can also take place abroad.

3. a recognition year, state recognition in Bremen is conferred during the year of recognition (8 th and 8 th semester) by the senatorial Office for Employment, Women, Health, Youth and Social Affairs.

Ensuring quality during the practical periods can only be achieved in the framework of a committed and productive collaboration of praxis, senatorial office and university. In consideration of this, an educational council was formed in Bremen in 2007, in which representatives of the university, the senatorial Office for Employment, Women, Health, Youth and Social Affairs, the State Youth Welfare Office, the Social Services Office, the State Occupational Association of Private Charity Care and the German Social Work Professional Association e.V. [Deutscher Berufsverband für Soziale Arbeit e.V.]. A common objective is to ensure that social workers in Bremen receive a qualified education.