2001 Swinburne Undergraduate and TAFE Course Guide

Human Services
Course title
Bachelor of Social Science (Human Services)
Duration
One year full-time or equivalent part-time.
Location
Hawthorn.
Entry requirements
Successful completion of Swinburne’s Diploma of
Community Services in Welfare Studies,
Community Work or Mental Health Work at credit
average level or above. Students must also
successfully complete the Higher Education
subject HAS101 Sociology 1B to be eligible for
entry into this course.
Application procedure
Direct to Swinburne.
Course overview
This course provides students with a pathway
from practitioner-focussed TAFE studies in human
services to higher education studies in policy,
analysis and management studies. It includes
development of generic skills with particular
relevance to the human services sector.
Major studies
Conceptual analysis, research design and policy
development and electives including human
services management and organisational
behaviour.
Career opportunities
Prepares students for management and
leadership positions in such areas as: social
welfare, aged care services, disability services,
community care, community development, family
support services, children’s services, housing
services, youth work.
Information sessions
Sunday 27 August between 11.00am and 3.00pm
and Wednesday 13 December between 4.00pm
and 8.00pm. Attendance at one of these sessions
is recommended.
Further information
School of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Tel: (03) 9214 5209
Email: sbsadmin@swin.edu.au
Website: www.swin.edu.au/sbs
Donna Wiwczaruk
The intensive care unit at Melbourne’s
Royal Children’s Hospital is quiet, lifesaving
machines humming softly. Caring
for these machines is the work of
medical biophysicists like Swinburne
Applied Science student Donna
Wiwczaruk.
Donna has been working at the hospital
for twelve months, completing the
Industry Based Learning segment of her
degree course. “I was always interested
in the medical side of science, and wanted
to do something that was more focussed
than just a general science degree. This
program has been great – you have so
many options and there are a lot of
career opportunities because not
many universities offer a course like it.”
Her work involves troubleshooting with
equipment at a patient’s bedside, testing
and servicing of machines, and educating
other staff in equipment operation.
Donna is the first to admit that she had
trouble settling down at uni to start with.
“I hated it. I was travelling up and down
to Frankston every day – I still do but I’ve
got used to it! – and wasn’t happy, and I
didn’t do very well in first year. But I
caught up by doing some of first year
again part-time, and really started to get
into the swing of things. I’ve made a
fantastic network of friends.”
you have so many options
Bachelor of Applied Science (Medical Biophysics and Instrumention)*
“Swinburne is a great university because
it’s smaller than some of the others. The
lecturers have time for you, and the IBL
year is sensational. It means employers
are aware you know how to work – not
just the technical side, but how to be part
of a workplace.”
Medical biophysics has traditionally been
a male oriented profession, though
Swinburne works hard to ensure its
student intake is as balanced as possible.
All Donna’s colleagues at the Children’s
are male. “In the past there has been an
attitude that if it’s got to do with tools, it
must be for men. But that hasn’t really
been a problem here. Occasionally one of
the nurses will say something like “don’t
move that machine, wait for the guys”.
But the ICU is a very closeknit working
unit, and it’s been good to educate
everyone that women make just as good
medical biophysicists as men!”
Donna is looking forward to getting back
to study, but is tossing up whether to do
her final year full-time or accept an
extension of her contract at the hospital
and switch to part-time study. “It’s great
to have the flexibility to choose. I’d love
to finish off with my friends, but then the
job opportunity is very tempting…I’ll let
you know when I decide!”
*From 2001 this course will be known as Bachelor of Applied Science (Biomedical Sciences).
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