The Department of Social Work is a community of scholars who are committed to the advancement of scholarship and the provision of high quality social work education underpinned by strong commitments to social justice and social welfare, particularly for the disadvantaged, deprived and the marginal. The Department regards social work as a culture and context bound profession that aims to empower individuals, groups and communities so that they could utilize their strengths to face with life hazards and be able to mobilize social and community change for the betterment of lives. The Department is dedicated to the development of professional competence for students and social workers for meeting the changing needs and dealing with human sufferings at both macro and micro levels.

The Department offers a Bachelor of Social Work programme, plus three taught postgraduate programmes, including Master of Social Work, Master of Social Sciences in Youth Counselling and Master of Social Sciences in Social Work. In addition, the Department also offers research opportunities for suitable candidates to pursue MPhil and PhD degrees. All full-time faculty members in the Department are actively engaged in research and/or consultancy work locally in Hong Kong, mainland China, Macao, Taiwan and other places. The main research themes include youth work and youth studies, mental health, social policy in East Asia, and social work education. The Department now has a team of more than fifty full-time and part-time teaching and research staff members.