The Master degree program Social Work comprises 60 ECTS credits and is a joint degree (NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences & Hanze University of Applied Sciences).
This course equips the student with the competencies of a master professional as a change agent in the field of social work.
Social work is a practice-oriented profession and an academic discipline that promote social change, social cohesion and the emancipation and independence of people. Principles of social justice, human rights, responsibility and respect for diversity are central to social work. Reinforced by theories of social work, social sciences, humanities and relevant local knowledge, social work stimulates people and institutions to improve the well-being of the individual and society.
 

To become a change agent in Social Work on a master professional level, students work on the realization of three learning outcomes:

Identifying & analyzing from multiple perspectives
Students identify and analyze a current and complex social issue from multiple perspectives, focused on the development and improvement of preconditions that promote the social functioning of people and their environment, based on the goals and guiding principles of the Global definition or Social Work (IFSW, 2014). They substantiate and reflect on how this process has contributed to their development as a master professional.
 
Collaboration in social transitions
Together with stakeholders, students develop a business model for sustainable cooperation on different levels to improve the social functioning of people and communities. This model includes multiple value creation (economic, social, and sustainability) is (partly) based on an international orientation and forms a linking pin between policy and implementation. Students substantiate and show how this collaboration has contributed to their professional development.
 
Effective management of a concrete transformation issue
Students innovate their professional practice in co-creation with stakeholders, by effectively managing a concrete and complex transition issue. They integrate relevant knowledge and insights from multiple disciplines and levels: local, national and international, aimed at impact and sustainable embedding of their innovation. They show that they can reflect critically at their research results on the development of their professional identity regarding legitimation, positioning and profiling.