Norwegian version

Department of Social Work, Child Welfare and Social Policy

The department educates social workers and child welfare workers.

The department in numbers

Students (2022)
1410
Employees
90
Bachelor's programmes
2
Master's programmes
2

We offer a master's programme and a range of continuing education courses within social work. The department is engaged in both national and international collaborative research projects, and also offers a PhD programme in social work and social policy.

PhD programme

Department management

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Older woman drinking from a champagne glass.
Socioeconomic background of parents influences young people’s payment difficulties

The probability of young people ending up with debt problems is linked to their parents’ socioeconomic background.

People standing in line on a sidewalk in a Norwegian city. Many carry empty shopping bags.
Slipping through the safety net

Norway and many other European countries have robust social safety nets. Yet they continue to fail their poorest citizens.

Close up of the profile of a child's face.
Norway’s Child Welfare Services under scrutiny

The Child Welfare Services has faced intense criticism over the past decade. While the agency has made mistakes, it continues to improve in its mission to protect children and support parents.

A developer with a VR headset looking at a child avatar on a computer screen.
Using AI to improve investigative interviews with children

Researchers and experts in the field of interviewing children are using artificial intelligence to develop new training methods for the police and the Child Welfare Services.

A small robot sits on a desk in class in a primary school.
This robot can help children with health challenges out of isolation

Even when the pandemic has been brought under control, many children will be unable to attend school for various reasons. Can robots help improve their school experience?

En eldre mann sitter ved et spisebord og ser inn i en dataskjerm.
Why is it so challenging to distribute COVID-19 information to the elderly in Norway?

People consume information in different ways. Catering to the needs and habits of the majority when conveying information can amount to discrimination against other groups—including the elderly.