The specialty of Social Work in a broad sense is very universal and covers many fields of activity and professions, as it is necessary to have a wide range of knowledge in fields such as - economics, psychology, sociology, financial literacy, educational technologies and other knowledge. With such a wide scope of knowledge, it is really possible not only to find a favorite job, but also to meet a wide variety of people with whom you can implement plans together. There is a particular need for those social workers who can work with children and youth, as the pandemic has revealed consequences of both distance learning and lack of communication with peers and social exclusion,” said Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) Faculty of Human and Social Studies Vice-Dean Dr. Raminta Bardauskienė, who heads the exclusive joint Master's Degree study programme, "Social Work with Children and Youth," which is funded by the Erasmus Mundus programme.
MRU - the First in Lithuania to Organize Prestigious Joint Master's Degree Studies
Mykolas Romeris University, together with partners: Latvia's Riga Strains University; Portugal's Institute of the University of Lisbon (ISCTE - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Portugal) and Slovakia's Catholic University of Ružemberok (Katolicka Univerzita v Ruzomberku) have been implementing the joint programme since September 2021. Master's program "Master in Social Work with Children and Youth." The aim of this study programme is to develop graduates with a high-level of personal and professional competence in social work, able to work at the international and intercultural level with children and youth, to perform comparative research, analyzing the social problems of children and youth.
According to the head of the joint Master's Degree study programme, "Social Work with Children and Youth" Dr. Raminta Bardauskienė, the Erasmus Mundus project is exceptional in its quality.
“Participation in projects of this level is a matter of prestige for universities, not only in Europe, but also in the world."
She said programmes of this level are attractive to students seeking quality studies. This joint Master's Degree programme is recognized as one of the best in Europe. It's unique due to the fact that students have the opportunity to study at all four partner universities: MRU; Lativa's Riga Stradins University; Portugal's Institute of the University of Lisbon; and Slovakia's Catholic University of Ružemberok. This is very beneficial for students as they can be in different learning environments and gain international experiential learning experiences. In this way, students learn to adapt and develop skills they will not gain anywhere else. Another thing is intercultural communication, which not only helps to better understand cultural differences, but also allows people to travel and meet different people. These studies are attractive to students also in that they receive a scholarship, which in two years amounts to as much as 24 thousand Euros. For every student, this is a huge amount of money that they can cover for travel and living expenses, she said.
From Oct. - Possibility to Apply to Fully-Financed International Master's Degree Studies
Admission to the joint Master's Degree programme, "Social Work with Children and Youth" will be announced from the beginning of October. Interest in the possibility to study for free is huge so we encourage students to prepare responsibly and with care. It will be necessary to take part in an interview with an international commission composed of representatives from partner universities. It is also necessary to write a motivational letter and to properly submit all necessary application documents.
Students who agree to independently pay for tuition, living and travel expenses are also encouraged to apply to this programme. There will be an internship from the third semester in Slovakia, where students will work in social work institutions and undertake research.
After completion of studies, graduates will be ready to work with children and youth in various institutions. Employers hire programme graduates because they are prepared to work in an international environment and have enough intercultural competencies and abilities to meet their goals.
"Students not only from the Social Work area, but also Sociology, Psychology, Educational Sciences can apply. The most important criteria is motivation because when a person knows what they want, they can enunciate why these studies are important to them. We would like that future students would know and understand what is social work and research methods because writing a final thesis this knowledge is important," said "Social Work with Children and Youth" Head Dr. Raminta Bardauskienė.
September 13th, at 11 a.m. at MRU's LAB L-102 aud., (Didlaukio St. 55) the grand opening of the Master's Degree programme, "Social Work with Children and Youth" (ESWOCHY) will be held. Guests from Lithuania and abroad will give speeches and welcome students, the academic community and partners.
More about the studies programme here.