“SOCIAL WORK”
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
It is a great pleasure for me to introduce myself. My name is Applicant Name, a permanent resident of Morang district in eastern part of my country Nepal. I was born on DOB. I present myself as Nepalese citizen withholding citizenship number and passport number. On a natural progression of my Academic career Development I feel privileged to submit a Statement of Propose.
Brief description of my education history & English Proficiency
I completed my 10th (School leaving certificate Level) in June 2011 securing 70.25% from a School . I was enrolled to management stream in my intermediates and completed in December 2013 securing 61.40% in College. Following the footsteps of the values I learnt in my School days, I was fascinated to study about society therefore I did my Graduation on Bachelor of Social Science from College for development studies, School of Arts with 3.29 CGPA(85.8%) on December 2017. Aiming to receive master’s degree in Social work from Australian University, I appeared in Ielts examination on 29th September 2018, my overall score was 6.5.
Brief record of my employment history
I got an opportunity to work in …… “a funded non-governmental organization after the completion of my Bachelors in Social Science classes. The organization where I worked was established in 2016 aiming to provide shelter, food and overall growth to disaster affected children and also to the orphan, needy and helpless children. I worked there as an assistant program officer from 10th November 2017 to 28th February 2019. In 2016 from 11thSeptember to 11 December I got golden opportunity to work as an intern in a renowned organization “…….” which means Home, a social organization working against human trafficking and violence. There I was involved in the campaign “16 days activism in gender based violence” organized for awareness; I also assisted program officer in journal editing and case study writing. I worked as an Intern for 3 months in Bank of Kathmandu from 9th June to 8th September 2013 after the intermediate there I learnt about providing services to Customers, dealing with customers, listening to their queries and many more. My work experience through the gaps between my studies assisted me a lot in character building, building professionalism, understanding people, dealing with people and many more; I assume that these learning would help me in every step of my further academics and professional life.
Reasons for gaps of one year or more in my academic and/or employment history
After completing Bachelor degree in Social sciences, the thing came to mind was if I get opportunity I will work in social organization from where I will gain a work experience before joining masters which would add good point before I was enrolled. Therefore I joined ……..” a social organization in November 10th 2017 as Assistant program officer where I worked till February 28th 2019 where my duties there were to arrange the documents containing the information of the children, arranging materials for the events and maintaining flow of information. I learnt a lot about the circumstances of our society. As my ultimate aim was to pursue further education, I decided to get an Australian degree for my Masters therefore I joint IELTS classes while I was still working than finally after few months I left my Job for preparation of the further process.
Financial arrangements for my study and living
For my Masters study in Australia the fee expenses and living cost of me and my Husband will be funded by my grandmother …….. with balance of NPR 55,00,000 in Bank . My mother ….. is a job holder at …… working as local marketing officer and father …… is also job holder at …… private Limited as Business development officer. Their annual salary is NPR 987,600 which is (12,461.83 AUD$). My father –in- law ……, is a land owner, My brother- in -law is another sponsor The annual income from owned fixed assets like house and land is equal to 16, 20,000 Nepalese rupees equivalent to (20,441.64 AUD$). Finally our Family owned property worth value NPR 73,321,520.78 equivalent to (919,276.84 AUD$). Therefore I believe that my family’s financial condition is smooth and sound to bear the expenses of me and my Husband during the temporary stay in Australia that is throughout my course Duration.
Proposed living arrangements in the particular city of Australia
It will be great pleasure and gratitude, if I get chance to study Australia. The university I want to study is located in Townville Queensland and from the website https://www.studyqueensland.qld.gov.au/Live/Accommodation I came to know Townsville has affordable accommodation arrangements like rental studios, homestays, student unit, flat mates system and many more. I being International student need to aware about my living arrangement and must know about the payment rules and timings. From the research I have done from websites https://www.University Name.edu.au/international-students/fees-and-costs/living-costs-and-other-expenses I found that weekly rent might cost approximately 238$ to 465$, the transportation would cost 150$ to 250$ and utility charge might cost 100$ to 120$ on monthly basis, if I choose off campus stay. University Namealso arranges accommodations to international students if requested. It would be fun and exciting to experience living inside university but from these alternatives I have yet to decide keeping in mind about the expenses that would be reliable for me.
Reasons for not studying in home country
For the students like me who want to pursue a career of social worker and a social entrepreneur the Australian education system has established a strong pillar providing wide range of research and practical based course structures in the art and humanities, social science departments. Although in my country there are four universities like Tribhuwan University, Kathmandu University, Purbanchal University, and Pokhara University. The social work course for postgraduate level is available in Tribhuwan University. It is the oldest and biggest university in Nepal. However, the commencement dates of the course are affected by the internal affairs of the university because of which the courses are not completed in time and exams are usually delayed due to it the students are unable to graduate in allocated time leading to loss of year. Kathmandu University remains outstanding among others, but they only offer limited seats to students with very short enrolment dates. The other two universities lack imparting quality education with less valued degree. Most important of all, the major problem of Nepalese educational institutions is, the classes are focused more on getting high exam grades rather than gaining practical and research based skills. Another reason that I am not choosing Nepal for my higher study is that social work courses are new in Nepal so there are not enough resources to cover each area of syllabus and the teachers are not well experienced that results in imbalance between theoretical and practical education. There are no any colleges offering Masters in Social Work course and only the in Universities we find the particular course but seats are limited in each of university with only 40 seats, whereas the number of student wanting to study masters of Social work is increasing day by day. The bachelor’s degree I have gained is not enough for me to be a professional social worker and the degree does not carry high recognition. The social organizations in my country has great scope in social work field and demand qualified and expert research officers for carrying out social surveys, project coordination, EIA analysis but the organizations look for candidates holding degree who can represent country in whole world confidently which I am sure Australian degree holder will receive. Apart from that I came to know about one of the service TPS( tuition protection service) in Australia which safeguards the tuition fees of the students in the course and protects from being misused, Australian education system also has concern of the valuable time that students have invested in their study, which is ignorant in my country. I believe after I will graduate from Australian university which provides not only worldwide recognized degree but produces innovative social entrepreneurs. Undoubtedly I will be demanded and placed in excellent positions in the organizations like Care Nepal, get a government job in social welfare council and rural development organization, leprosy Mission Nepal and many more.
Reason for Choosing Australia no other country
Among many other popular education destinations around the globe, I choose Australia after clear and proper analysis between all the study destinations. I did my research by scanning through Google, career advisors, agents, newspapers, social media pages and websites, Master’s portals like https://www.mastersportal.com/ and sites of the universities from https://www.studyportals.com/students/ websites. While researching, I found that, there are many popular countries offering education to overseas students and I also came to know that the course is mostly popular and reliable to study in English speaking countries like Australia rather than non-English speaking countries because language becomes a great barrier in day to day communication. The countries like USA, Australia, UK and some European countries are known for imparting education on the social work course However, I preferred Australia to other countries because of the several reasons.
USA academic excellence is recognized and appreciated all over the world. It is obvious that, they run world-renowned universities, but they are highly expensive, it has huge crime rate than other developed country plus in such an unsafe environment, students can’t feel comfortable and have absence concentration towards study. Although, there are some low-cost universities, but they are not up to the standard. In addition, the climates of USA and terrorism threats are prevailing hence my family don’t support me for applying to USA.
UK too has world famous universities and courses to offer. However, the nature of problem is almost the same in USA and UK, fee structure of popular universities are very high and cheaper universities are not much reliable, uncertain which could shut any time known from https://www.independent.co.uk/ website. In addition UK often practices policies to close or suspend colleges, as there are previous examples of college closure and suspension. I really do not want to be a victim of such policies.
Finally I went through the website https://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au/ from where I knew Australia offered a diverse range of study options for international students, with more than 1,200 institutions and over 22,000 courses to choose from, Australian universities feature top 50 ranked universities in the world in Arts and humanities, pharmacy, engineering, life sciences, physical sciences and social sciences areas. Therefore, aspects which inspired me to apply to Australia for my further studies are, Australian degrees are highly recognized all over the world by universities as well as employers satisfaction rate is higher, and the attractive point is that, the cost of education is reasonable, living expenses are low as compared to other countries, operates in English language as official and unofficial language throughout all states and regions. In addition, Australian Government regulates and Monitor their Universities to maintain their academic standard. Australian education has been able to influence many youths and learners and been able to produce exemplary manpower in educational and professional field. For instance Hum Gurung is exemplary personality who is PhD graduate from Griffith University 2008 and has been involved in major social Projects in my home country likewise Shesh Ghale another personality who is a master graduate from Victoria University in Business Administration who is one the successful entrepreneur serving my home country. In addition, Australian Government has introduced Education Service for Foreign Students (ESOS) act to ensure the rights of foreign students. I was also highly fascinated knowing about the TPS (Tuition protection system) service which ensured students tuition fees and takes care so that students receive security in the fund spent in the education provider. Another point is that Australian government is really concerned about the health of students study there, therefore the overseas student health cover system (OSHC) has been introduced so the cost of medical treatments would be covered from this insurance. Besides all these things, Australia supports Post study work upon completion of study to encourage graduated students for work experience temporarily, having thousands of excellent educational institutions Australia is successful in inviting students like us to gain vibrant university experience besides that Australia holds a great history of aborigines and inventions of cervical care vaccine, ultrasound, IVF ,it has favourable temperature, is known as the safest study destination with less crime rates, time friendly modern technologies, friendly native citizens, has cultural diversity and religious tolerance, which I believe is most important factors and feature of liveable places. I was encouraged to choose Australia for postgraduate study because of the welcoming environment of Australian government and a desire to experience quality education.
Reason for Choosing Master of Social work Professional Qualifying program
I choose Masters of Social Work (PQ) CRICOS code 070091A in UNIVERSITY NAME as I believe that it would be excellent choice for me to excel further in the course which would lead my career into path of successful social worker and I believe the course would fill the space of emerging need of my home country. I want to have a service oriented career and want to begin my professional career as social activist and a social Entrepreneur in near future in one of the leading reputed organization in my home country. Substance abuse is another area where social workers are high in demand in my native land as well in some nations around globe so the MSW graduates can work in substance abuse areas like rehabilitation centres, prisons, private practices, and for non-profit organizations. Social work graduates help in the treatment and rehabilitation of people addicted to drugs and other negative emotions like anger and mood swings. Moreover the chosen course is an Australian Association of Social Workers accredited qualification, and is an entry qualification into the social work profession. It has been deemed to meet the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards. I have always been fascinated about society and social services from the very beginning of my school life. As a student of missionary school I was always taught to serve humans and work for humanity which built a foundation in me to study social work. My interest grew even more when I studied social science course having 40 subjects which had 90% of social work relevant courses. Since, Masters of Social work (professional Qualifying Program) could only quench my thirst and build my career as a successful social worker I have applied for the 2 years MSW (Professional Qualifying Program) course in University Name for the July intake.
Reason for choosing University Name and no other universities
There were many universities providing the Master of Social work (Professional Qualifying Program) course in Australia. I went through the masters portal published online where I came across many universities, Among them I skimmed through Edith Cowan university in Adelaide, here I didn’t find the social work course for the year 2019 besides I went through the websites of La Trobe university where fee was (33,600 AUD) ,University of New England(48,600 AUD)University of Sydney(40000 AUD), Australian catholic university(45,400AUD) University of Wollongong in Wollongong had fee (31.008 AUD ) and finally I found Western Sydney University in Sydney Parramatta city campus with (26,740AUD) fee, where not only fee structure were high but I thought Sydney would be crowded place.
Finally I came across University Namehere I looked at the course structure which was fascinating as the course included social Welfare Practice with Children and Families Social Work and Mental Health, Social Policy Analysis, Community Development and few more. Furthermore this is an Australian Association of Social Workers accredited qualification, and is an entry qualification into the social work profession. It has been deemed to meet the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards.
I went through the eligibility to involve in the MSW (Professional Qualifying Program) course from where I knew that Applicants must hold a recognised and appropriate undergraduate degree, or equivalent prior learning, including appropriate professional experience. Applicants of non-English speaking backgrounds must meet the English language proficiency requirements of Band 2 overall 6.5. Therefore meeting of all eligible criteria’s I was interested to study the course. The university’s well-deserved reputation for delivering courses that are highly valued by employers. The UNIVERSITY NAME Master of Social Work (Professional Qualifying program) would be a wise study choice I am sure.
University Nameis the second oldest university in Queensland it was named after navigator James cooks. It started its journey as the University College of Townsville in 1961, under the stewardship of the University of Queensland, and in 1970 with founding legislation aiming to seek knowledge-based ways to help the world’s tropical regions prosper. UNIVERSITY NAME has chain of campuses which are located in the cities of Cairns, Singapore and Townsville and the study centres also has been established in Mount Isa, Mackay and Thursday Island. UNIVERSITY NAME become a dynamic, multi-campus university with a total of 21297 students according to UNIVERSITY NAME facts and figures updated in 2017. UNIVERSITY NAME has grown rapidly into a quality university with excellent student satisfaction. According to 2019 data Quacquarelli Symonds UNIVERSITY NAME is ranked in 20th position.
It is one of the top 2% universities in world, top 30 among modern universities, it has excellent ratings on skill development that is 5 stars, and learner’s engagement is 67% which falls among 20% of Australian universities, teaching quality 67% which is praiseworthy. The student retention is less than 1% which is a very impressive. I was much fascinated with the ratings on qualified staffs and a reach of 124 countries on researches. James cook provides a research-led, globally-focused, and community focused education. UNIVERSITY NAME has bond with many industries which will provide grants for students to work after completion of course. It has a positive impact both on its regional communities and its international student body, belonging to varying nationality. University prepares its students with the skills needed for a successful life post-graduation. It helps students unlock their potential and become global leaders and the change-makers of the next generation.
The location of the university at Townsville fascinated me because it is education-focused city that offers a personal and welcoming experience in a safe and clean environment, with quality education, friendly people, and an agreeable climate. Accepting and promoting awareness of multiculturalism and I found positivity in studying and living in a culturally diverse community. Townsville UNIVERSITY NAME campus has 11500 students where 1500 are international students. Around 1,400 students live on campus in colleges and halls of residence, giving the campus a true community atmosphere.
Course requirements/understandings of my selected Australian academic program
The Master of Social Work (Professional Qualifying Program) having CRICOS code ….. is aimed to graduates of Social Sciences and other Human Services programs who wish to achieve a professional qualification in social work. This course is a 2 years course which has 48 credit points where 11 core subjects are included. The course has reasonable fee structure of AUD 29400 $ annually, total fee of course duration is 58,800 AUD $. The course structure MSW (Professional Qualifying Program) includes Post-Graduate Research Methods for the Social Sciences, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Skills and Frameworks for Practice, Social Welfare Practice with Children and Families, Social Work and Mental Health, Theories for Social Work Practice, Social Policy Analysis, Community Development, Field Education 1, Foundations for Social Work Practice, Advanced Social Work Practicum, Professional Development for Social Work Practice as core subjects.
Students are required to obtain Suitability to Work with Children Card (which involves a criminal history check undertaken by the Queensland Police) before the start of the first placement. During the course we are given valuable opportunities to network and gain practical professional experience in social welfare agencies as placements because this course offers maximum study flexibility through its limited attendance study mode, which are available in Townsville. The course also supports through annual compulsory, on-campus residential workshops, consistent lecturer support and feedback, and a wealth of online materials to direct and augment our learning.
Relevancy of my selected academic program to my past education:
The four year bachelors on Social Science had 40 subject’s where subjects like Social impact Assessment sociology, human geography, Social Anthropology, Social psychology, crime and society, public policy, gender and society, heritage and culture, Social mobilization, GIS, indigenous people and society and many more, which builds a great foundation with approximately 90% of the relevancy with my desired future course to study for post-graduation level.
My future career plans upon successful completion of my selected course of study from Australia
My experiences of being nurtured and grown in country like Nepal have contributed me in realizing for my potentials, weaknesses, an finally to my ambition in life because of which I made a wise decision to go Australia for better MSW (Professional Qualifying Program) degree ,after receiving I am confident that I will return home with head high making family and country proud of me. I want to make a real difference and be an important asset in Nepal and make my family proud. After my course is completed I want to utilize my Post study work period of two years in a such manner that the experience I gain in social sector of Australia’s welfare organization will build a strong base for me to work smoothly and confidently in my home country. This instance first intrigued me and urged the real necessity of good leadership and managerial skills in social organization. I scanned to websites of some employment portals https://merojob.com/, https://nepalijob.com/job-category/ngoingosocial-work/ , http://www.educatenepal.com/ from where I knew that there are wide range of platforms in a social work areas where organizations have requirements for the master graduates, Nepal has reached to developing phase and the coming decades already hold a plenty of plans, projects, development approaches therefore I believe that MSW(PQ) course would be the better choice that helps me to be placed in leading positions like program officer, senior EIA officer, research coordinator and earn acceptable income of 1,50,000 NRs per month equivalent to (AUD 1,949) in some of biggest employers such as in social organization, Non-governmental and international non-governmental organizations like Maiti Nepal, Batas foundation, Lutheran world federation Nepal, ABC Nepal, Hope foundation. Care Nepal, UNWOMEN, UNESCO, UNICEF etc. Rehabilitation centres like Nar Conon rehabilitation centre, WOREC Nepal ,Autism care Nepal, mental asylums like Patan hospital and Old age houses such as Pashupati bridha aashram run by Nepal Government, help age Nepal, Hope hermitage Nepal and many more. I can also work as a Counsellor, project officer, team coordinator, psychologist, consultant Officer, mental Analyst, etc. I am a decent individual, consider myself as good learner with cooperative, friendly nature, and have enthusiasm to explore more and acquire new knowledge/skills to be successful in my life as a professional. With experience in academic field, I would like to extend my knowledge in core aspect of social work and believe that MSW would be ideal course for making me calibre and productive in my home country. Social Workers as an individual are highly recognized individual for having leading post for big organizations undertakings as well as government organizations in my home country Nepal. Ultimately I believe that my aim to be a social innovator and establish an institution for needy people will be fulfilled after I spend some years of career in gaining experiences and gathering the concrete bases.
Return Intention in Nepal
I undertake myself as aspiring person who always strive to be worthy and useful for fellow citizens of my country Nepal, therefore keeping in mind I have decided to complete my two years of Master’s Degree in University Namecome back my country Nepal, and utilize my education best way possible for the welfare of Nepalese society especially for elderly citizens who would need a helping hand at their phase of life. I am positive and confident that the international degree will directly contribute to a vibrant career of mine in leading organizations of my country. I have a strong family bonding, I owe certain responsibilities towards my father-in-law and mother-in-law who are getting aged, they need our support to take care of the ancestral lands and assets so being a daughter-in-law my responsibilities towards them and take care of my in-laws and the properties, my ambition to contribute to my country obliges me to return back home.
Reason for accompanying my spouse with me in Australia
I am a Married woman; I was married to Mr. Badri Nath Mainali on 12th may 2017. It’s been two years of our marriage. The reason for me to come along with him is firstly for companionship as it would be new place for me I might be unable to sort out obstacles by myself that might come forth. Once I start my studies I need to pay attention and give my best for that I need him to support me emotionally , morally and besides that his assistance on performing household works would keep me away from disturbances in between. Presence of my husband would fulfil the loneliness and play a role in motivating me in each path during the temporary stay in Australia.
Understanding the visa conditions that I must satisfy whilst studying in Australia
In conclusion I have understood as an international student on a student visa Subclass 500, I must study with an institution and in a course that is registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS). I want to say that I have fully understood the visa condition of Student Visa (Subclass 500) which states that I should score satisfactorily in each subject in order to pass, I should maintain not less than 80% attendance, I am allowed to work up to 20 hours a week and 40 hours a fortnight while my course is still in progress. I have understood about Credit transfer rules which will be in accordance with the AASW Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards and is limited to graduates of ACWA approved degree programs, and transfers between AASW accredited Social Work programs. In case of if I change the address or contact details, I must report to university/DIBP within 7 days.
Declaration
I hereby certify that the above information which has been supplied in support of my decision to complete my master’s level in Australia is genuine. I understand that if any incorrect misleading or non-genuine information is found in this SOP my study enrolment might be affected. Therefore I would like to offer my full cooperation in case of any queries and discrepancies arouse during enquiry.
Thank you,
Sincerely Yours,
Applicant Name