Teaching Social Work in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

The history of teaching social work at the universities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is relatively new. The beginnings go back to the years 2006/2007 at the University of Salahaddin in Erbil (USE). A short time later, the department of social work was opened in 2014/2015 at the University of Sulaimani (UoS). Swedish and German universities, UNICEF and DAAD organizations supported both departments. Currently, these are the only two universities that offer this subject in the Kurdistan Region. At the University of Dohuk (UoD), social work is integrated into the course curriculum as part of sociology. However, there is no separate BA program in social work. In Iraq, the degree program is also offered in Baghdad. This chapter seeks to reveal the history of the emergence of the departments and their vision and mission, as well as the opportunities and challenges that social work faces. At the same time, it also details the social work curriculum and its objectives. At the end of this chapter, some questions are raised so that more follow-up can be done in the future.