Program Description

The Department of Social Work's undergraduate program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and must meet rigorous academic standards to retain this accreditation.

The Department of Social Work's undergraduate program offers both a major and a minor in social work. It is a specialized degree that prepares graduates for generalist social work practice with a solid foundation in the liberal arts and in the knowledge, skills, and value base of social work. Through the mastery of core competencies, social work graduates apply their education working with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. In addition, the program prepares qualified students to pursue graduate education in schools of social work and related fields.

To connect the theoretical and conceptual content of the classroom with the practice world, students must complete:

40 hours of volunteer service in an approved agency/program setting by the end of the semester prior to applying to the field. Twenty of the forty hours must be in the same agency/program. The remaining hours may be across multiple sites/programs. This experience may be paid or volunteer and must be pre-approved by the student's faculty adviser. The service hours must be completed post high school and by the end of the semester prior to field application.
Students complete a 450-hour internship over two semesters during the senior year. This is the senior capstone experience. The field placement in the final year of the baccalaureate program is arranged between the student and the field education coordinator. Students are required to pay a liability insurance fee for their off-campus field education experience. In compliance with CSWE accreditation standards, the B.S. in social work program does not grant social work course credit for life or work experience.

Social work majors earn a B.S. degree in social work. Graduates are eligible for practice in a variety of social work settings throughout the United States. In preparation for graduate school, the program offers an Accelerated Masters that qualified students can consider applying for their junior year. In addition, qualified graduates are eligible to apply for advanced standing in M.S.W. programs that offer advanced standing. Depending upon the program, this can mean earning the M.S.W. in one calendar year versus two academic years.

Requirements for the Program

Academic Program

Candidates for a degree must satisfy all of the University Discovery Program requirements in addition to satisfying the requirements of the social work major. Social work majors are required to take:

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Required Courses
SW 424	Introduction to Social Work	4
SW 525	Social Welfare Policy: History of Social and Economic Justice	4
SW 550	Human Behavior and Social Environment I	4
SW 551	Human Behavior and Social Environment II	4
SW 601	Research Methods in Social Work	4
SW 622	Social Work Practice: Interventions with Individuals and Families	4
SW 623	Social Work Practice: Interventions with Groups, Organizations and Communities	4
SW 625	Social Welfare Policy in a Global Context	4
Category I: Anthropology & Sociology
Select one course from the following:		4
ANTH 411	Global Perspectives on the Human Condition: An Introduction to Anthropology
ANTH 500	Peoples and Cultures of the World
SOC 400	Introductory Sociology
SOC 515	Introductory Criminology
SOC 520	Family
SOC 525	Juvenile Crime and Delinquency
SOC 535	Homicide
Category II: Human Biology Requirement
Select one course from the folowing:		4
ZOOL 401	Human Biology
BMS 507	Human Anatomy and Physiology I
BMS 508	Human Anatomy and Physiology II
Category III: Diversity Requirement
Select two courses from the following:		8
ANTH 450	Introduction to Race, Culture, and Power
ANTH 625	Sexuality in Cross-Cultural Perspectives
CMN 567	Gender, Race, and Class in the Media
ENGL 549	In the Groove: African American Music as Literature
ENGL #550	Introduction to the Literature and Culture of Race
GERO 500	I'm Old, So What! An introduction to aging in the United States
HIST 505	African American History
HIST 506	African American History
HIST 532	Modern Latin America
INCO 505A	Semester in the City Becoming a Problem Solver
PHIL 510	Philosophy and Feminism
RMP 444A	Taking the "Dis" out of Disability
SOC #630	Sociology of Gender
SOC 645	Class, Status and Power
SOC 745	Race, Ethnicity, and Inequality
SW 650	Exploring Social Justice and Cultural Competency Using an Experiential Learning Approach
SW 660	Exploring Issues in Housing and Homelessness
SW 697	Special Topics in Social Welfare
SW 706	Social Action in the Dominican Republic
SW 715	Practice with Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People
WS 401	Introduction to Women's Studies
WS 405	Gender, Power and Privilege
WS 444	Trans/Forming Gender
WS 444A	Race Matters
WS 444C	On the Roads to Equality
WS 632	Feminist Thought
Senior Capstone Course Sequence
SW 640	Social Work Field Experience I	5
SW 640A	Social Work Field Experience I: Seminar	3
SW 641	Social Work Field Experience II	5
SW 641A	Social Work Field Experience II: Seminar	3
Total Credits		64

Students must maintain a 2.0 and earn a C or better in the 12 social work major courses. In addition, students are expected to successfully complete four additional courses as part of a liberal arts foundation for the major. Students choose one course from an approved list of courses in two different categories: anthropology/sociology and zoology and then must choose two additional courses from an approved list of diversity courses. These four courses may also satisfy University Discovery requirements. Lastly, students are required to complete 40 hours of advisor approved volunteer community service hours by junior year.