Master Programme in Applied Social Sciences - Programme Option Child Care, part-time Programme description

The Master’s Programme in Applied Social Sciences – Programme Option Child Welfare is a master’s degree programme for child welfare officers that aims to produce candidates with in-depth knowledge of children, young people and families in vulnerable life situations and of the social conditions that have a particular impact on their welfare and everyday life. Students should be able to analyse the individual child’s care situation and, in cooperation with children and families, initiate change work to improve the child’s care situation and development opportunities. The programme is also intended to further develop students’ capacity for analytical thinking and critical and ethical reflection on their own practice. The programme elucidates the relationship between the understanding of a problem and the choice of measures and methods used in the child welfare service, as well as the theoretical basis for the measures. Key topics include the child welfare service’s remit, legal framework conditions and the rights of children and families.

Child welfare is a field whose practice is based on implicit and explicit theories drawn from many different disciplines. It is a normative area of activity, and a critical basis for assessing what knowledge is valid and relevant to practice in the field is required. Ways of understanding children and their status in society form important premises for the child welfare service’s activities at all times. The programme emphasises the child welfare service’s role in a society characterised by cultural complexity, social inequality and diversity, and therefore focuses on child welfare work in large cities. The programme combines practice-based and research-based teaching.

The programme description and the content of the programme are based on the Regulations relating to national guidelines for master’s degree programmes in child welfare.

Teaching takes place in the form of lectures on campus, statistics program exercises, e-lectures and assignments that the students work on independently and receive supervision on via e-based resources.

The following coursework requirements must have been approved for the student to take the exam:

• Coursework 1: individual project sketch. The project sketch must have a scope of up to 1 page. The purpose of the project sketch is to prepare the work for the individual semester assignment.

The project sketch must be completed and approved by the given deadline for the student to take the exam. If the project sketch has not been approved, the student will be given one opportunity to submit an improved version by a given deadline. Coursework that is not approved on the second submission will disqualify the student from taking the exam.

The exam in the course is two-part: 1) individual supervised exam and 2) individual semester assignment

1) Supervised exam of 2 hours, in the form of a multiple-choice school examination. Counts 30 percent of the final grade.

2) Semester assignment with a scope of up to 10 pages. Font and font size: Calibri 12-point font. Line spacing: 1.5. Tables and figures are in addition. Course paper counts 70 percent of final grade.

A students who receive a fail grade of the semester assignment are given one opportunity to submit an improved version of the semester assignment for assessment.

Both exams must be passed for the overall assessment to be passed.

School examination: No aids are permitted.

Semester assignment: All aids are permitted, as long as the student follows the rules for examinations, source use and referencing, and OsloMet's guidelines for using artificial intelligence (AI) in student assignments.

Grade scale A-F.

The exam papers are assessed by one internal and one external examiner.

At least 25% of the exam papers will be assessed by two examiners. The grades awarded for the papers assessed by two examiners form the basis for determining the level for all the exam papers.

Åsmund Hermansen

Exams are held in each course, and various forms of assessment are used. The form of assessment, assessment, examiner arrangements and aids permitted for each course are specified in each course description.

Suitability assessment

The Master in programme Child Care is covered by the Regulations on suitability assessment in higher education adopted by the Ministry of Education and Research.

A suitability assessment is a comprehensive assessment of the student’s academic and personal qualifications for work as a health care or social worker. More information about the suitability assessment can be found on the intranet for OsloMet students.