The Department of Social Services, established in the 2017-2018 academic year within the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences at Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, has started to provide undergraduate education with a quota of 60 students. Our department grants the titles of "social service specialist" or "social worker" to our graduates who successfully complete the four-year Social Service undergraduate program as practitioners of the social service profession.
Social service specialists work with various groups such as children, families, women, disabled people, elderly, youth, poor, patients, immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. This profession is a discipline that functions for the welfare of individuals, families, groups and communities. Social service specialists work to ensure social justice, protect human rights and increase social welfare by developing appropriate social policies.
In order for our students to graduate more equipped, a series of theoretical and practical applications that will contribute to the field are carried out both by our University and our Department. In this context, Turkey's first "Social Service Practice Classroom" has been established within our department. This classroom provides a modern and equipped educational environment that allows students to apply their theoretical knowledge in practice.
Within the scope of our "Applied Research" course, our students are encouraged to share their research with larger audiences and it is planned to make these studies continuous.
Various activities have been carried out in cooperation with academics from Germany Landshut and USA Michigan in 2023 and 2024 within the framework of our internationalization efforts. These activities contribute to our students and academics gaining international experience and cultural sharing.
A Social Service Symposium was organized at the end of 2021 with the contributions of our Department hosted by Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University. This symposium has been an important platform where current developments in the field of social service are discussed and information is shared.
Our Social Work Community is an active community consisting mostly of our department students. This community organizes many activities such as institution visits, seminars, picnics, quizzes, volunteer work, artistic and sports activities, concerts for the benefit of our students.
Our department faculty members make publications in prestigious journals at national and international level and make significant contributions to the literature with various book projects.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet ÖÇAL has been awarded the "2023 Prof. Dr. Cahit Talas Social Policy- Praiseworthy Thesis" award given by the Union of Mülkiyeliler with his thesis study.
Our department academics have previously and currently been involved in various projects funded by organizations such as DSO, UNICEF, BAKA; supported by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and the Ministry of Family and Social Services. These projects make significant contributions to the region and the country in the field of social services.
The "Elderly Week" panel organized by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Deniz SAY ŞAHİN from our department faculty members and the institution visits made by Dr. Lecturer Merve NUR OKTAR with students are an indication of the importance our department attaches to social responsibility projects. In addition, activities organized during the relevant weeks for the disabled also demonstrate the sensitivity and active participation of our students and academics.
Mission
Our fundamental mission is to contribute to meeting the need for qualified and professional human resources in the field of social services in our country. For this, we primarily aim to train our students as candidates for social service specialists/social workers who can follow the relevant professional trends of our country and the world, have contemporary knowledge and skills, think and act strategically, have strong communication and social responsibility awareness.
Vision
The vision of our department is to equip students in the fields of social service and social policy with modern and up-to-date knowledge required by contemporary science, to provide our students with equipment in the areas our department is interested in, to provide the infrastructure they need to do their own jobs after graduation. In addition, our department aims to create a participatory, sharing, contemporary teaching and working culture with original values.