Course Title: Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Social Care
This course is approved by CORU
Leaving Certificate Requirements
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Minimum Number of |
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Subjects |
Higher |
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6 |
2 H5's |
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Minimum Grade in |
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Maths |
English OR Irish |
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O6/H7 |
O6/H7 |
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Additional Requirements/Information: First Aid training is mandatory for all First-Year students on this course. It will be arranged by the Department at a cost of approximately €100 per student. Please note that first aid fees are not covered by SUSI grants. Students must undergo Garda Vetting. They must complete the required documentation, including a full list of all previous addresses, in order for clearance checks to be made. Currently, Irish addresses are vetted by the Garda Vetting Bureau at no cost to the student. Applicants must fully and honestly complete the Garda vetting form. Failure to disclose a criminal conviction automatically renders what may appear to be a very minor offence, unrelated to children or minors, to be a serious breach of TU Dublin regulations. The College policy on Garda vetting can be found on our Student Resources page. |
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QQI/FET Requirements
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QQI/FET Award Required |
Additional Requirements |
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Level 5: 1 OF THE FOLLOWING AWARDS:
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DISTINCTION(S) REQUIRED: |
| Level 6: Full level 6 award in a relevant discipline | |
In addition to the QQI minimum entry requirements, QQI quotas and QQI points apply. The max QQI points awarded is 390. Further details at www.tudublin.ie/qqi
Mature Applicants
Applications from mature students (23+) are welcome. Further details at www.tudublin.ie/mature
English Language Requirements
If English is not your first language you will need to provide evidence of your English language proficiency as detailed on our website. Applicants for this course should have a minimum IELTS (Academic Version) English Proficiency of 6.0 overall (or equivalent).
| You may be in contact with food/food products during course placement. For further information please contact the School Office (contact details below) |
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Social care workers provide professional individual or group care to clients with personal and social needs, in a caring, compassionate, non-judgmental way. Client groups include children and adolescents in residential care; young people in detention schools; people with intellectual or physical disabilities; people who are homeless; people with alcohol/drug dependency; families in the community, older people, and asylum-seekers/refugees.
Social care work is based on interpersonal relationships. It requires empathy, strong communication skills, self-awareness and an ability to use critical reflection. Teamwork and interdisciplinary work are also important.
This course will familiarise you with the latest concepts and theoretical developments in the relevant academic disciplines, and help you to develop as a self-aware, reflective, altruistic, empathic social care professional. You’ll develop skills relevant to social care practice and benefit from supervised exposure to social care practice, using three practice placements. These will help you to make an informed choice as to which area of practice you are best suited.
Subjects studied include social care work with older people and people with disabilities, social policy and social justice, psychology and human development, professional practice, law in social care work, safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, working with communities, social policy-making and social psychology.
TU996 is a full-time course and students are required to attend lectures, in person, 5 days per week.
Work Placement
You will undertake a work placement in Years 1, 2 and 3. Practice Placement days:
- Year 1 - Wednesday
- Year 2 - Thursday and Friday
- Year 3 - Block placement from February to May
Find more detail in the recent book chapter Understanding social care
Graduates will qualify as social care workers eligible to work with a range of different client groups including children and adolescents in residential care, people with learning or physical disabilities, people who are homeless, people who have alcohol or drug dependency, families in crisis, school completion projects, youth and community projects, family support, aftercare services, older people and recent immigrants to Ireland.
Employer Testimonials
"Over the years many students come on placement to Smyly Trust Services. Many of these students join our teams as social care workers. It is credit to the college for the quality of students that it sends our organisation. The enthusiasm of the students to learn while on placement is energising. Their understanding of the theory and its application to practice is wonderful to see as the profession grows. The support from the college is unconditional, allowing them grow into a professional. The students we get from TU Dublin arrive at the workplace thinking about the needs of young people which is what we want as an organisation."
David Power, Director of Services, Smyly Trust Services
"The BA in Social Care, TU Dublin is a great course. WALK have successfully employed many of its students and graduates. What we love about this course is the level of professionalism we experience from its graduates and their excellent knowledge base. If you are interested in a career in Social Care, this course is invaluable."
Catherine Kelly, Deputy CEO, WALK (Walkinstown Association for People with an Intellectual Disability)
- Social Care Work with Older People and People with Disabilities
- Analysing Social Policy for Social Care
- Health, Well-Being and Personal Development for Social Care Work
- Psychology and Human Development across the Life span
- Sociological perspectives for Social Care
- Introduction to the Art Process in Education & Development
- Drama in Education for Social Care
- Foundation Skill Development for Social Care Work
- Introductory Placement (180 hours organised by the school)
- Principles of Professional Practice in Social Care Work 1
- Law in Social Care Work
- Practice Issues for Social Care Work
- Research Planning and Data Collection
- Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults
- Working with Communities
- Social Theory & Contemporary Themes in Society
- Social policy-making: Structures and processes
- Psychological Perspectives on Mental Health
- Principles of Professional Practice in Social Care Work 2
- Drama Education for Practice in Social Care/or Understanding and Facilitating the Art Process in Social Care
- Professional Practice Placement 2 (400 hours to be organised by the school)
- Social Psychology for Social Care Workers
- Principles of Professional Practice in Social Care Work 3
- Research Planning and Data Analysis
- Social Policy and Social Justice
- Skills and Approaches to Professional Helping
- Law and Inter Professional Practice for Social Care Workers
- Professional Practice Placement 3 (400 hours to be organised by the school)
- Organisations and Management &Integrated Learning Portfolio
Please note, advanced entry is not being offered in 2024.
While I enrolled in this course with the aim of becoming a qualified social care worker, I have also been provided with the opportunity to massively expand my understanding of the world around me. Modules such as psychology and sociology have greatly altered how I interpret aspects of my own personal circumstances, as well as the circumstances of other people. I have had the opportunity to receive first aid training, and while I haven’t had to put that training to use yet, I reckon it’s still a crucial set of skills to have. I have been able to learn so much about topics which I previously had never even thought about. Outside of achieving a qualification, I believe that this course has provided me with fundamental skills that I will use for the rest of my life.
Oliver Forsyth, 2nd year student
On graduation, you may proceed to postgraduate studies leading to the award of MSc, MPhil or PhD at research institutes and universities worldwide.