The Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences Berlin (german: Alice-Salomon-Hochschule Berlin, or ASH) is a

vocational university A university of applied sciences (UAS), nowadays much less commonly called a polytechnic university or vocational university, is an institution of higher education and sometimes research that provides vocational education and grants academic de ...

for social work, public health and early childhood education in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

History

The university was founded in 1899 by

Alice Salomon Alice Salomon (19 April 1872, in Berlin – 30 August 1948, in New York City) was a German social reformer and pioneer of social work as an academic discipline. Her role was so important to German social work that the ''Deutsche Bundespost'' (G ...

, a strong advocate for women's rights and social justice. During its early years it was named the "Social School for Women". In 1925, she created an initiative to train women in pedagogy and social work. Though students were mostly from Germany, the school admitted some foreign students, like Rayna Petkova, who would become one of the first professionally trained social workers of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. The curricula included both theoretical training and required practical experience. Among the courses offered were family problems, pedagogy, population analysis and change, psychology, social health organization, social work as a profession, youth services, among others. Some of the teachers of the courses, besides Salomon, included Käthe Bonikowsky, Margarethe Freiin von Erffa,

Elly Heuss-Knapp Elisabeth Eleonore Anna Justine Heuss-Knapp (''née'' Knapp; 25 January 1881 – 19 July 1952) was a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), social reformer, author and wife of German president Theodor Heuss. She was the founde ...

Hilde Lion Hilde Gudilla Lion (1893–1970) was a German Jewish academic and teacher of social workers who emigrated to England in 1933, after the Nazi seizure of power. She founded Stoatley Rough School in the Quaker tradition for German refugees in 1934 and ...

Elisabeth Nietzsche Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sc ...

, and Helene Weber, among others. It admitted only women applicants until 1945. It was renamed the Alice Salomon School in 1932 in commemoration of Salomon's 60th birthday. In 1933, the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

came to power and Alice Salomon was banned from the school and a large number of instructors of

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish descent were fired. In 1937, Alice Salomon was expelled from Germany and emigrated to the United States. It was not until 1954 that the school reinstated the name "Alice Salomon School". The school was recognized as a State University of Applied Sciences for Social Work and Social Pedagogy in 1971 and was granted the right to confer degrees, although it once again lost the name "Alice Salomon". In 1991, the 'Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences' was established as the official name of the university.

Today

The Alice Salomon University is now Germany's oldest and largest training institution of higher education in

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

. It is recognized as one of Germany's most research-intensive universities of applied sciences in the social field. One of the cornerstones of the university is applied research. The modern university building is situated in the district of Berlin named

Hellersdorf Hellersdorf () is a locality in the borough of Marzahn-Hellersdorf in Berlin. Between 1986 and Berlin's 2001 administrative reform, it was a borough in its own right, consisting of the current area of Hellersdorf as well as Kaulsdorf and Mahlsdo ...

, nicknamed "Helle-Mitte" (Bright Centre). The square on which the building is located is named after Alice Salomon. Cooperation between the university and the district of Hellersdorf include community projects involving children and youth and the issue of urban development.

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Educational institutions established in 1899 1899 establishments in Germany Universities and colleges in Berlin Universities of Applied Sciences in Germany {{Berlin-struct-stub

History

Today

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