SUSS opens new social work school with revamped curriculum
Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) announced the opening of a new social work school, which will introduce a revamped curriculum to address workforce shortfalls, attrition and burnout in the social work sector.
The School of Social Work & Social Development will be launched in Q3 of 2025 and will be located in SUSS' current campus in Clementi.
It will serve as a prime nexus between academia, social work professionals and the larger social service sector in advancing societal well-being with the support of partners such as the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), National Council of Social Service (NCSS) and other social service agencies.
The launch is considered timely since MSF has designated 2025 as the Year of Celebrating Social Service Professionals to recognise and celebrate the contribution of professionals in the social service sector.
The school will continue to offer the existing social work programmes: the Bachelor of Social Work (part-time), the Graduate Diploma in Social Work (part-time), the Master in Social Work (part-time), and the Bachelor of Social Work (full-time).
The part-time programmes have two admission intakes a year, in January and July, while the Bachelor of Social Work (full-time) only has one intake in August.
The new undergraduate social work curriculum will allow students to undertake areas of concentration that align with various areas of social work practice.
These areas of concentration are: protection, family social work, children and youth work, eldercare, disability services, juvenile justice and correctional settings, and health care and related settings.
There will be two specialised tracks, 'Policy and Management' and 'Professional Clinical Practice'.
Dr Vincent Ng Chee Keong, who serves as the CEO of Allkin Singapore, will be appointed as the Dean of the School of Social Work & Social Development.
A recipient of the Outstanding Social Worker Award (OSWA) in 2017, he also serves on several national boards and committees, and will provide valuable insights from a social work perspective.