Looking to forge a career as a social worker?

Douglas College will be offering a Bachelor of Social Work degree for the Fall 2017 semester.

The College added the degree following approval by the Ministry of Advanced Education.

“It’s really exciting for the College to be adding a social work degree. Our program has a history and a really strong culture of preparing people to be excellent practitioners,” said Carla Alexander, Community Social Service Work Program coordinator.

The decision to pursue the degree approval was influenced by student requests. Students indicated they wanted to stay at Douglas College for the entirety of their post-secondary education, and needed a bachelor’s degree in social work for the career path they had chosen.

“The bachelor’s degree is the entry level for many careers in the profession,” Alexander said. “We had a good number of our students who had a relationship with their instructors and wanted to stay. Now, they can.”

The expansion of degree options at Douglas College fills a need in the education system by combining the academic foundations of a university with the employer-ready skills of a college.