About the School of Applied Social Studies
The School of Applied Social Studies, UCC, strives to be a centre of excellence in the Social Sciences and has been recognised by the Council of Europe for its pioneering educational achievements. In the past 17 years, it has grown to become one of the biggest Schools within UCC’s College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences. Its academic structure is complex, comprising social policy, applied social research, social work and community development and youth work. It also contributes to teaching in health, early childhood studies, government, environment and planning. At undergraduate level the School of Applied Social Studies offers the BSocSc (CK102) degree with 300 students. CAO applications in 2007 were up 29%. It also offers two degrees for mature students only, the BSW (CK115) with approximately 100 places in total (over the 4 years of the programme) and the BYCW (CK114) with 60 places (over the three years of the programme). CAO applications in 2007 for these courses were up by 24% and 56% respectively.
About 40% of the School’s student body are school leavers studying for the Bachelor of Social Science (BSocSc) degree (CK102). In line with its aims and aspirations of promoting social justice through educational access, the School of Applied Social Studies also welcomes mature students, students who are economically disadvantaged, students with disabilities, as well as those who come from ethnic minority groups. Its strengths include having: (a) reflexive and multi-skilled staff well-equipped to deal with the differing needs of both school-leavers and non-traditional learners; (b) providing effective course management and delivery with concrete strategic outcomes and graduates achieving employment; (c) applied research expertise and, finally; (d) contributing nationally to policy formation and regionally to the local economy and social services.
If you have an interest in studying to become a social worker, social policy analyst or a community development and youth worker, the study of social sciences provides the core foundation for these disciplines. The Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought defines the social sciences as follows:
Those disciplines that attempt, in a more or less systematic and objective manner, to study social systems, social structures, political and economic processes, and interactions between different groups and individuals, with a view to establishing knowledge capable of being tested.
Students in the School of Applied Social Studies receive an intellectual experience that enables them to develop critical perspectives on the great issues of our times. The promotion of academic freedom on the basis of critical enquiry is the hallmark of the School’s approach to education, research and development in professional practice. Most of all, the study of the social sciences opens the mind to the complexity and wonder of the world of knowledge.
Mission
The School of Applied Social Studies’ mission is ‘to provide an educational environment which promotes a culture of critical intellectual and practice enquiry in the social sciences based upon participation, inclusion and diversity’. This mission statement is underpinned by the objective of making equality an integral part of the intellectual, cultural, social and economic life of the University. The School believes that quality is best achieved through the pursuit of equality, based upon the principles of lifelong learning and open access. Many of its staff and students are engaged as active citizens in voluntary and community organisations, linking the School to civil society.
Diversity and Access
The School of Applied Social Studies is committed to promoting diversity through widening participation as part of the multicultural reality of Ireland in the 21st Century. We start from the premise that each person is unique. Our being different is what makes us unique as human beings. The School’s programmes seek to promote curiosity and appreciation of what is different, with a view to opening up new worlds of understanding to the learner. We value differences in class, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ideological beliefs and ability as the most valuable asset of the University. In all our programmes, diversity is valued as an important source of intellectual enrichment and personal development.
Fourth Level and Graduate Education Programmes
The School of Applied Social Studies has a very strong record at Fourth Level, guided by its philosophy of lifelong learning. In 2007, the School (in collaboration with the Sociology Dept.) was awarded €919,000 to develop its Graduate Research Education Programme under the PRTLI4 scheme. The School also offers a range of taught programmes including a D.Soc.Sc. “Practitioner Doctorate”; the MSW programme (100 students), an MSocSc in Social Policy; an M.Plan (Planning and Sustainable Development) with the Schools of Geography and Sociology (60 students). The School also co-ordinates the part-time MSocSc in Third Sector Management which it teaches along with six other University Schools namely: Management and Marketing, Government, Economics, Food Business and Development, Law, and Accounting, Finance and Information Systems.