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Facts

BSW in Social Work

  • Practical training from the first year: The program is based on cooperation between academia and the field and thus includes professional training with the guidance of social workers from a variety of social services that serve the many populations in need of assistance. In each year of studies, students undergo professional training within the framework of a different social service.
  • Supportive learning environment and personal attention: The department’s academic and administrative staff see the distinctive needs of each student as a prerequisite for growth, learning, and professional development. There is a supportive learning environment and all students receive personal attention and can obtain guidance on any topic required throughout the studies for the degree. In addition, most courses and workshops are taught in small groups, providing all students with opportunities to express themselves and practice the work methods in the optimal manner with maximum, personalized support from the faculty.
  • Distinctive content: The content is tailored to changing social needs. Thus, for example, there is a course taught in Arabic that focuses on intervention and treating violence in collective societies. Another course, 'Hope in the Mirror of Trauma', offers the conceptualization that developed into the term hope and distinctive therapeutic methods to cope with trauma. Some courses take place in cooperation with clients from the community, such as the course in cooperation with at-risk youth or other relevant communities.
  • Multiculturalism and integration of minorities in higher education: In the spirit of the social banner that the Ruppin Academic Center carries and to advance the principles of social involvement and community initiative, the Department of Social Work places great importance on turning to underrepresented groups in society, such as Arab society, to encourage their integration into academic studies. The department invests extensively in research and development of programs and courses that consider various aspects of multiculturalism and emphasize the viewpoint of the other and the different in Israeli society.
  • Connections between academia and the community: The learning environment at the Ruppin Academic Center in general and the Department of Social Work in particular encourages cooperation between lecturers, supervisors, and students and managerial and social workers who work in the area. To this end, they all are invited to participate in study days, seminars, and events devoted to current social issues such as refugees and migrant workers, poverty, and violence.
  • Visits and classes in the field: The program includes tours and classes that take place at social service facilities, such as a Rape Crisis Center or shelter for women who are victims of domestic violence. There also are visits to Knesset committees that include meeting with MKs and other officials. The program encourages students to maintain an open, critical dialogue on the processes in Israeli society and to bring them to the public’s attention.
  • Behavioral observation lab: Students attain experience via filmed therapeutic simulations while learning skills and intervention methods to treat the individual, family, and group. One example of this is the simulation of individual treatment of a client or the counseling of a group of clients and guidance in practical training that is performed in the distinctive lab for behavioral observations.
  • Sophisticated simulations and teaching methods: The courses and workshops (some of which are taught in small groups) are designed to facilitate reflective, active learning that combines the theoretical, practical, and applied. The curriculum includes simulations from the therapeutic world (for example, family therapy) and guiding groups that learn from recorded simulations. Another example is a sophisticated polling system (Poll Everywhere) that interfaces with cellphones and enables students to express opinions, answer questions, and respond anonymously during a class.
  • Professional faculty of lecturers and experts: The department’s faculty consists of researchers and experts with professional experience in a wealth of disciplines. The faculty members boast professional experience in the field in social work as well as applied research experience. In teaching, they employ sophisticated pedagogical methods. The combination of theoretical knowledge and expertise in treatment in the field is abundantly reflected in their lectures, which incorporate current examples from what is being done in Israel and abroad, for example in immigration and refugees, fourth-world movements, and more.
  • Program for outstanding third-year students: Outstanding students in their third year of studies can participate in courses from the master’s degree program in immigration and social integration that the Ruppin Academic Center offers.
  • Graduate studies: Thanks to its high academic level and constant aspiration for excellence, the program paves the path to graduate studies for its alumni. Alumni can continue to master’s degree studies in immigration and social integration (a distinctive program that only the Ruppin Academic Center offers) or go on to a master’s degree program in social work at any of the institutions of higher education in Israel.


  

Projects and Research Topics

  • Projects on intervention: Students perform a comprehensive, systemic intervention. In the process of doing so, they get to know a specific population in depth, attain experience leading groups and with the process of social change, and offer a solution to a population in distress. One example of this was the development of an information center for juvenile offenders that gathered and made accessible information about educational and employment opportunities.
  • Seminars: Research papers by students and lecturers delve into social issues such as the connection between addiction, social networks, and violence in society or how emotional stress, lifespan, and residential environment are related.