Social Problems, Social Policy and Risk Prevention

Abstract

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  Profile of the study programme

  The master programme in Social Work and Social Policy, entitled «Social Problems, Social Policy and Risk Prevention», aims to develop a critical and scientific understanding of public health and social inclusion. It aims to foster the conditions for a reasoned analysis of social and health issues for the drafting of appropriate action plans and the implementation of response programmes that enhance the management of these problematic social situations. This master programme trains students to become analysts and stakeholders in the field of social and health policy, able to grasp complex social realities. It is geared towards training social workers who are not merely able to act within a general framework, but who are able to consider complex social realities and collective structural challenges in order to draft periodically assessed guidelines. As administrators and politicians regularly state, there is a worrying lack of social experts, against a backdrop of a redefinition of social policies and, more broadly, of social cohesion mechanisms in each of the Swiss cantons to varying degrees.

  Fribourg profile
  This study programme at the University of Fribourg questions the implicit factors within the concepts of assistance and risk prevention, concepts which are always to the fore in contemporary social and health work. The teaching modules focus both on theoretical sociological approaches and on empirical contributions presented by specialists from various fields (politics, administration, business). The programme also includes a three-month (full-time) internship designed to immerse students in the professional reality of social and health work. The main aim of the internship is to provide students with a practical understanding of the professional fields of social work and/or public health. In a broader sense, it fosters a practical application of the knowledge obtained at the university, a conceptualisation of field experience and mechanisms, and the development of analytical skills. Duties during the internship may encompass, for example, the analysis of data and situations, monitoring and observation of work, diagnostics and assessments, and/or the drafting of programme analysis tools.

  Learning outcomes and career openings
  Skills
  This master programme is based on four learning objectives:

  • Methodically supporting the foundations of theory work in social and public health policy in order to develop critical thinking within the field of social sciences;
  • Leveraging professional experience in order to adopt critical understanding of contemporary social and health work;
  • Developing analytical skills that can be applied in a variety of situations and used to design increasingly complex types of social work;
  • Providing an understanding of the effects of the contemporary changes underway in social organisation and lifestyles on solidarity avenues and social work types.

  Career openings
  This master programme prepares graduates for research and consulting positions within public administrations, with social partners, public-interest associations, non-profit bodies active in the field of social work and consulting firms. As the current social policy challenges are becoming increasingly complex, this programme could also interest students wishing to take up managerial positions in the field of social policy and the public sector in general. People occupying such positions are often called upon to take decisions based on research conducted by third parties.
  The programme therefore provides the skills required in all professional fields in relation to social and/or health work (analysts, stakeholders, project managers, scientific associates, social and public health engineers).

Studies organisation

Structure of studies

Curriculum

Admission

Alternatives

Minor study programmes to be chosen