"We open the way to change."

Our mission is to humanise students, broaden their horizons and prepare them for the profession of social work in practice. We build a positive image of social work. In preparing students, we place a strong emphasis on the development of competencies necessary for evidence-based practice. This focus ensures that our students are equipped with the most effective tools and strategies for social work. We also encourage the use of participatory approaches in practice and research that actively engage individuals, groups, and communities in solving problems that affect them. During their studies, we engage students in projects and research for practice, preparing them for management roles and to work with volunteers. We develop both professional and transferable competencies and activate students as agents of change in eliminating social inequalities and promoting social inclusion and justice. We work closely with practice to deliver our programmes. We develop the international dimension of education in our programme, offer several courses in English and host students and faculty from abroad.

Members of the department are involved in several domestic and international projects of a research and educational nature. We are actively developing a service-learning strategy at the faculty and university level. Exceptional is also the targeted development of student volunteering, organising events, and solving scientific research tasks in cooperation with the city of Banská Bystrica, the Banská Bystrica self-governing region, NGOs and social service providers.

We are involved in the development of the field of social work and education in it, especially in close cooperation with the Association of Social Work Educators in the Slovak Republic. We are a member of the European Association of Schools of Social Work (EASSW), fostering a global community in the field of social work. In the field of international relations, we cooperate with a number of university departments throughout Europe and beyond, promoting a sense of global connection and collaboration. Our main research topics are: negative phenomena and social risks in society and their prevention, volunteering and service learning, youth in the contemporary world and supervision in social work.

Study programs: 

Bachelor study programmes
Social work (full-time and external)

Masters study programmes
Social work (full-time and external)

Doctoral study programmes
Social work (full-time and external)

Click here for complete study programs offer from Faculty of Education UMB

Members of Department

Erik Šatara
Alžbeta Brozmanová Gregorová
Filip Bambúch
Peter Jusko
Lucia Galková
Katarína Kurčíková
Jana Šolcová
Zuzana Zvarová

Contacts:

[email protected]
+421 48 446 4782