SUSS to open new social work school with refreshed curriculum and more specialisations

SINGAPORE – The Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) will open a new social work school, building on its existing programmes and introducing a revamped curriculum to address workforce shortfalls, attrition and burnout in the social work sector.

Promising opportunities for more pathways after graduation and career development, the School of Social Work and Social Development will open its doors in the third quarter of 2025, said SUSS provost Robbie Goh.

The school, which will be located in the SUSS campus in Clementi, will be the university’s sixth and newest school. The dean will be Dr Vincent Ng, chief executive of non-profit organisation Allkin Singapore.

SUSS has existing social work programmes, but these will be expanded to include more specialisations, Professor Goh told the media earlier on March 21. 

While no new courses will be introduced, he said there will be a revamped curriculum that “looks forward and will train social workers of the future”. This allows students to specialise in various areas such as protection, eldercare, disability services, family social work, and juvenile justice and correctional settings.

The curriculum will also include graduate-level courses to help social workers grow in their careers, and courses for those who want to switch to different areas within social work or develop new skills such as counselling, psychology, management, or digital skills.

Students will also get enhanced practicum experience – a short-term supervised training stint – with industry partners in their chosen field.

At the post-graduate level, two specialised tracks will be offered – policy and management, and professional clinical practice – to develop thought and practice leaders in the sector.

SUSS will continue to offer reskilling opportunities for those entering the social work profession, with stackable graduate offerings that align with the university’s model that supports adult learning.

The university will also retain its existing three part-time social work programmes – the Bachelor of Social Work, Graduate Diploma in Social Work and Master of Social Work – and the full-time Bachelor of Social Work programme.

The part-time programmes will have two admission intakes a year – in January and July – and the full-time programme has one intake in August.

Currently, SUSS admits 250 students into its undergraduate and graduate programmes in social work, and supports upskilling and mid-career switches to the social work sector. But Prof Goh noted that there will be a shortfall of social workers.

“In the social work sector, there is burnout and a certain degree of loss of direction, I suppose, after a certain point, and lack of awareness of opportunities, lack of support, and lack of interest on the part of the public,” he said.

The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) has projected a need for an additional 2,000 professionals in the social services sector between 2024 and 2029 to meet growing demands.

SUSS said on March 25 that with the new school, the intake for all social work programmes will increase to about 300.

SUSS is one of two universities here that offer undergraduate and graduate social work degree programmes, the other being the National University of Singapore.

The establishment of the new school is part of broader efforts to boost the social services sector.

Since 2015, the National Council of Social Service has instituted regular reviews of salaries in the social services sector, and, together with MSF, has issued guidelines to ensure salaries in the sector remain competitive.

It has also launched national awards to recognise the work of social services professionals, offered scholarships and study awards to undergraduates, and encouraged more to join the sector through Workforce Singapore Career Conversion Programmes.

To Mr Samuel Ng, founder of social services organisation Montfort Care, the new school is a “dream come true” and a morale booster for professionals.

As social work is a practice that requires expertise from other courses like sociology and psychology, Mr Ng believes that with the opening of the school, learning will become more holistic as practices are consolidated.

He hopes the school will impart clinical skills to students, more than just theoretical knowledge.

“It is easy to understand a textbook, but it is very difficult to apply it,” he said, referring to skills such as listening, empathy, non-verbal body language and tone of voice.

“These are all important skills, because they will determine whether your social worker is an effective change agent or not,” Mr Ng said. “You have to train and train until they become a part of you.”

While there has to be a “realistic expectation” about what the school can achieve, he believes it will provide more resources and better strategic development for the sector.

Ms Tan Sze Wee, president of the Singapore Association of Social Workers, said the new school “elevates social work from being just a programme or a subset of a broader faculty to having a dedicated focus”.

It will also provide more opportunities to work across disciplines and develop leadership and specialisations, which are critical components in addressing social issues as they get more complex, she added.

“This will also reinforce the professional identity of social work, ensuring that its unique values, ethics and practice frameworks receive the attention they deserve,” Ms Tan said.

She hopes that the school’s social work training will focus on data-driven approaches in developing programmes and policies, so that social workers can better identify systemic trends and address gaps more effectively.