Here is the factsheet for the School of Social Work, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences

1. School of Social Work
in brief
This hand out is meant to provide you with a brief overview of the different study
Bachelor degree programmes programmes within the School of Social Work at Rotterdam University.
¬ Community Work/Cultural Social Here is a short but comprehensive description of the characteristic features of the four
different programmes in random order.
Work
¬ Social Work and Services Community Work/Cultural Social Work
¬ Social Educational Care Work (in Dutch: CMV, which is short for Culturele en Maatschappelijke Vorming)
¬ Pedagogical Work
Stimulating and supporting people in their development and in finding their place in society
¬ General orientation year with all its political, economic, cultural and social aspects: that is what the Community Work (or
Cultural Social Work) study programme prepares students for.
Master degree programme
¬ Professional Master of Education In order to promote people’s personal and social development and give them a voice, influence
and place in their communities and society as a whole, students learn to actively initiate strate-
gic coalitions and partnerships and plan for the long-term sustainability of their initiatives.
Cooperation Through informal educational, social, (multi)cultural, recreational or artistic activities, which
¬ Final projects combine enjoyment, challenge and learning, graduates are able to realise potential and improve
¬ Work-study programmes life opportunities for individuals, groups and communities and promote social cohesion.
The knowledge and skills acquired in this study programme are transferable across many sec-
¬ Events tors such as the civil service, education, the arts, profit as well as non-profit. Graduates find
¬ EU Projects (e.g. Grundtvig) work either in permanent employment or in short-term projects that cover a wide range of so-
¬ Interdisciplinary activities (both cial needs and promote cultural and social change.
within and outside the School)
Social Work and Services
¬ Tailored education (in Dutch: MWD, which is short for Maatschappelijk Werk en Dienstverlening)
¬ Internships/placements
The Social Work and Services programmes educate their graduates to work methodically with
¬ Strategic cooperation agreements
their clients and those close to their clients to improve participation in social contexts. They
work in a range of organisations offering help and support to people with physical, psychologi-
cal, psychiatric and or other problems. They may cooperate with others in the same profession
or in multidisciplinary teams, or in organisations for physical or mental health care, education,
offender rehabilitation, youth welfare, social services, social care, neighbourhood services and
care centres for physical rehabilitation.
Social Educational Care Work
(in Dutch: SPH, which is short for Sociaal Pedagogische Hulpverlening)
Within the study programme Social Educational Care Work, students are taught how to help
people of all ages to organise their lives in their own environments as independently as pos-
sible. This can be tem-

2. porary or long-term and either by ambulant assistance, semi-residential care or residential care.
A social educational care worker is able to work in any one of these working situations and with
various problems. Help can focus on relationship problems, child-rearing or personal develop-
ment as well as coping with physical or mental illness or handicaps.
Graduates of the Social Educational Care programme are qualified to observe clients’ problems,
analyse these problems and help in finding solutions, support and guide people, and give them
professional advice and information so that they can manage their living situation once again.
Graduates are also qualified to contribute to innovation and practical research as well as to the
development of methodologies and professional skills.
Pedagogical Work
(in Dutch: Pedagogiek)
This programme focuses on the upbringing of children and young people from 0-23 years of
age, within the context of the family or other relatives and institutions.
Applying their knowledge of pedagogy, educational theory, psychology and sociology, pedago-
gical workers create optimum opportunities for the development of children and young people
(including the mentally or physically handicapped), paying specific attention to the relation bet-
ween the child and his educator(s) as well as the interaction with the social environment.
Being able to translate relevant expertise into practical solutions and advice, the interventions
of a PW can be preventive, curative or corrective. This is done by way of supporting, counsel-
ling, advising or guarding on an individual, group or larger system level, or even on an organiza-
tional level in the capacity as a policy advisor. Most Pedagogical Workers find jobs in child care
(organisations), education, youth welfare work in the context of Youth Care Offices , in so called
community schools and as policy advisors in the field of child care and community policy. Gra-
duates are trained to operate in an urban context with all the social challenges of contemporary
life, such as immigrant, broken or vulnerable families, family life in deprived areas often on top
of economic and housing instability.
General orientation year
Apart from these 4 study programmes there is also a general orientation year, which can be
considered as a foundation course in the field of Behaviour and Society. This foundation year is
ideal for students who first want to familiarise themselves with the 4 study programmes before
taking a decision on which of the four. After successfully finishing this foundation year, they can
continue their studies in year 2 of their choice (without any catching up work).
Professional Master of Education
As a follow-up to the bachelor programme, the School of Social Work also includes training for
a professional master degree in education. The purpose of this master programme is to pre-
pare professionals with some years of working experience for a higher level of performance in
organisations. The curriculum focuses on issues of growing up in an urban environment, and
the transitions of young people from one institution to the next or from institutional settings to
public spaces. The professional master prepares students to work in middle management posi-
tions in organisations such as local civil service and private enterprises in education, welfare,
and health. The training for a master’s degree is part-time, comprises 77 ECTS and takes a little
more than two years to complete.
Contact
Rotterdam University
School of Social Work
External Relations Office
Museumpark 40
P.O. Box 25035
3001 HA Rotterdam
The Netherlands
bebiso@hro.nl