Developmental Services Worker Diploma to Honours Bachelor of Social Work Degree Transfer Program
Program Information
The profession of social work is an exciting and diverse one. From working to develop social policy to providing counselling to individuals and families, social workers are committed to social justice and the well-being of all members of society. Here, at Lakehead University, our program provides you with an opportunity to learn the necessary knowledge and skills to begin your career as a social worker. We pride ourselves on providing a program that is challenging, meaningful, and applicable to a range of professional practice settings. We also are committed to you - our students - through the use of small classes, innovative teaching methods and outstanding placement settings.
The Thunder Bay Campus offers the Honours Bachelor of Social Work program with the following major concentrations: Gerontology, Indigenous Learning, or Women's Studies. If you are interested, you can select one of these concentrations at the time of application.
How the Transfer Program Works
You enter into Year 2 of the four-year Honours Bachelor of Social Work program, and can complete your degree in as little as three years. We will add transfer credits to your Lakehead transcript that satisfy the first year program requirements. To see the courses that are part of the second year of the program, refer to our Academic Calendar and select:
- Programs & Faculties from the menu,
- Undergraduate Programs from the Faculty of Health & Behavioural Sciences section,
- School of Social Work from the list of programs, and the
- Honours Bachelor of Social Work.
- Refer to the section called "Second Year:"
Admission Requirements
To be consider for admission, you must:
- Complete a two-year Developmental Services Worker Diploma from an accredited Canadian college,
- Achieve an overall average of at least 70%, and
- Obtain passes in all placement courses.
Application Process
To apply, please:
- Use the OUAC Undergraduate Application. You may need to create an account first, if you have never applied using the Ontario Universities' Application Centre (OUAC) before.
- Select the program Social Work (Pathways with All Ontario Colleges) (Thunder Bay & Orillia). The OUAC program code is ABJ.
- Select your program and campus of choice using the Subject of Major Interest drop-down menu.
- As you proceed through the application process, use the Online Transcript Request to have your transcript(s) sent to us, if applicable:
- We require all of your post-secondary transcripts (i.e. from all colleges and universities attended).
- We do not require your high school transcript.
- Some colleges do not add in progress courses to their transcripts. If you are currently completing courses, you are encouraged to upload a screenshot of your upcoming winter term courses to your myInfo account. You will receive your myInfo login credentials in an acknowledgement email from us upon receipt of your application (which can take a few days after you apply using the OUAC).
Who Can I Contact If I Need Assistance?
If you have questions about the transfer program, and/or your application status, contact Student Central.
If you encounter issues with the application and/or requesting online transcripts, contact the OUAC.
If you cannot access myInfo (our student information portal), try to recover your account first. If that does not work, contact Student Central.
Fees
Learn more about the tuition & student fees for your transfer program. Keep in mind that the upcoming school year's fees are not available until June. Before June, you will most likely see last year's amounts. Refer to the Academic Year field if you are unsure.
To help fund your education, learn more about our scholarships, bursaries and awards.
If you are interested in applying for the Ontario Student Assistance Program, learn more about the program and its criteria.
Other Important Information
During Year 2, you will need to apply and compete for a space in Year 3 of the program. Learn more about the Year 3 application process.
Take a look at our College & University Transfer Guide.
Check out our campus. You can take a virtual tour, or you can book a campus tour.
We also host numerous events throughout the year. We encourage you to attend one of our events to learn more about the transfer program.