The history of the Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences is very closely tied to the development of modern social work and social reforms. The institution’s roots reach back into the 19th century, when systematic training for social work was first established in Germany in the form of one-year courses. "Those single-year courses drew on the experiences of the Girls and Women’s Groups for Social Aide Work, which was founded by social reformers and feminists in Berlin in 1893. The establishment of the courses was encouraged by Jeannette Schwerin (1852-1899). The success of the courses under the leadership of Alice Salomon (1872-1948) led to the establishment, in 1908, of the two-year Women’s School of Social Work in Berlin’s Schöneberg district, with support from the Pestalozzi-Fröbel Institute. The school became a model for the establishment of other schools and helped to shape the development of social work in Germany. The most important principles – interdisciplinarity, a close linkage between theory and practice and an international orientation – are still fundamental elements of the education offered today. The Social School for Women served as headquarters for the Conference of Social Schools, the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), founded in 1929, and the German Academy for Women’s Social and Educational Work, an early example of tertiary-level training for social work. In 1932, the school was renamed the Alice Salomon School. "