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Social Work

Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) admissions

Before you apply

You may apply for entry to the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program in your third year of study. You must have completed a minimum of the first 2 years (30 units) of an undergraduate program (or equivalent).

Note that there are 2 post-secondary courses (or equivalent) required to apply:

  • SOCW 200A: An Introduction to Social Work Practice
  • SOCW 200B: Introduction to the Critical Analysis of Social Welfare in Canada

These courses can be completed or in-progress at time of application. Pre-requisite courses or equivalents must be completed by April 30 of the intake year, including the 30-unit minimum requirement.

Minimum admission requirements for the BSW program are outlined on the undergraduate admissions site.

Review BSW admission requirements

The School of Social Work welcomes and is actively recruiting applicants from communities that experience historical and present-day systemic discrimination and marginalization, and who are committed to social justice, equity, anti-racism and decolonization.  

In our admissions decisions, we apply a decolonial equity framework which includes an intersectional lens and will prioritize applicants who are Indigenous, Black and people of colour. 

Application process

There are 2 parts to your application: an application to Undergraduate Admissions at UVic and a required supplemental application to the School of Social Work.

Step 1: apply to Undergraduate Admissions

Applications to the BSW program are submitted through undergraduate admissions. Learn how to apply to UVic as a new student.

If you are a current UVic student, you must apply for a program change. You will be evaluated as a transfer student and will need to meet the admission requirements for the BSW program.

If you are a previous UVic student (i.e., you've been away for more than a year or have previously completed a certificate or diploma at UVic), you must apply for re-admission.

Step 2: submit your supplementary application package

After applying to undergraduate admissions, you must submit your supplemental application to the School of Social Work.

BSW supplemental application package
201KB PDF file

The application package is made up of 2 parts: a statement of intent and an experience summary: 

  • the statement of intent is an opportunity for you to outline the compatibility between the BSW program and your interests and background 
  • the experience summary is where you outline relevant employment, volunteering and educational experience  

Once completed, upload your package in PDF format via Survey Monkey. If there are any issues with your submission, we will contact you. 

Submit your application package

After you apply

Following the January 31 deadline, we will begin reviewing supplemental applications in February; you will receive an email in late April letting you know the outcome of our review.

If your supplemental application is selected, you must still complete the admission requirements for UVic to enter the BSW program. You will receive an email with next steps.

If your supplemental application is not selected, then you are not eligible to enter the BSW program. You are welcome to reapply for a future entry point.

Undergraduate Admissions delivers admission offers by email beginning in May. Learn more about accepting your offer.

Course planning

Once you've been admitted to the BSW program, you may choose your program specialization. Use the appropriate course planning form to aid in efficiently planning your program:

Frequently asked questions

30 units (generally equivalent to 60 credits at other institutions) is equal to approximately 20 single-term courses. Within those 30 units, you must complete SOCW 200A and SOCW 200B (or their transfer credit equivalents), and a wide variety of liberal arts, social sciences and humanities courses.

Some example subjects include (but are not limited to):

  • English
  • French
  • Greek and Roman studies
  • history
  • linguistics
  • Pacific and Asian studies
  • philosophy
  • religious studies
  • women’s studies
  • anthropology
  • economics
  • environmental studies
  • geography
  • political science
  • psychology
  • sociology
  • Indigenous studies

As part of the official application process, undergraduate admissions will evaluate your transcripts to calculate transfer credits. This work is not done by the School of Social Work.

Courses taken outside of BC are evaluated on a course-by-course basis by the applicable department during transcript evaluation.

Although you may get transfer credits for completed courses to enter the BSW program, you cannot use them in place of the 2 years of course work and field education needed to complete the degree.

For more information, refer to the UVic Academic Calendar and undergraduate admissions transfer credit page.

Students are expected to maintain their status in the program by completing at least one social work course or elective in the academic session for which they are admitted. Students who do not maintain their status are considered to have withdrawn from the program.

If you wish to re-enter the program, you may submit an appeal to the director of the School of Social Work through the academic adviser. The steps to submit this appeal are outlined below.

  1. You must contact the academic adviser and provide them with some background information (i.e., why you did not complete the program or maintain your student status) and how you plan to successfully complete the program in a timely manner should you be reinstated to the School of Social Work.

  1. The academic adviser will assess your file. Within this assessment, factors such as where you are within the program (i.e., how many courses you've completed towards your BSW degree), how many times the curriculum has changed since you were in the program and your plans to successfully complete the degree will all be considered.

  1. The academic adviser will make a recommendation to the director of the School of Social Work regarding your reinstatement to the program.

  1. Should you be dissatisfied with the recommendation of academic adviser, you may make an appeal to the director of the school.

    1. The director holds final authority regarding all appeals for reinstatement to the School of Social Work.

  1. If you are approved to re-enter the program, you will be informed in writing of all remaining degree requirements. You may be required to meet any new BSW requirements that have been instituted since you withdrew from the program.

Please note that in many cases, students who are considered to have withdrawn from the program will not be reinstated on appeal and will be expected to re-apply to the school should they wish to complete their BSW degree.

The number of admitted applicants depends on the resources available to the school and the number of qualified applicants. Admission is very competitive; we receive an average of 350 or more applications each year.

Need help?

 If you have any admissions questions not already answered on this page, contact us via email.