Social Work Major (B.S.)

Social Work Major (B.S.)

SW students at NH NAMI Walk

WHAT IS SOCIAL WORK?

Social work is about helping individuals, families, and community members with problems in their daily lives and advocating for those who need a voice. Social work promotes social, economic and environmental justice to enhance quality of life for all and improve human and community well-being. As a student in the UNH social work program, you’ll learn about the history, values and ethics of the social work profession and social welfare policy. You’ll gain a solid foundation in the liberal arts while also studying human behavior and social work practices. As a graduate of the program, you’ll be prepared for generalist social work practice or continued education in social work or a related field.

WHY STUDY SOCIAL WORK AT UNH?

As a student in the social work program at UNH you’ll gain valuable, hands-on experience through a 40-hour human service experience at a social service agency and a 450-hourinternship. Students also benefit from the opportunity to work with faculty on various research projects. We maintain one of the top social work programs in the country, meeting rigorous academic standards required for accreditation by the Council on Social Work Education. Our students benefit from a low faculty/student ratio and small classes sizes. Nearly 100%of our graduates secure meaningful employment in the field or enroll in graduate education soon after completing their degree.

POTENTIAL CAREERS

  • Case manager
  • Family social worker
  • Housing specialist
  • Juvenile court liaison
  • Child welfare
  • Peer support worker
  • Rehabilitation specialist
  • Social services administrator
  • Veterans affairs field officer
  • Vocational specialist
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Contact

Department of Social Work
Pettee Hall, 55 College Road
Durham, NH 03824
Phone: (603) 862-1799
Email: unh.socialwork@unh.edu

Curriculum & Requirements

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.

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.

Degree Requirements

Minimum Credit Requirement: 128 credits
Minimum Residency Requirement: 32 credits must be taken at UNH
Minimum GPA: 2.0 required for conferral*
Core Curriculum Required: Discovery & Writing Program Requirements
Foreign Language Requirement: No

All Major, Option and Elective Requirements as indicated.
*Major GPA requirements as indicated.

Major Requirements

Candidates for a degree must satisfy all of the University Discovery Program requirements in addition to satisfying the requirements of the social work major.

Students must maintain a GPA 2.0 and earn a C or better in the 13 social work major courses. In addition, students are expected to successfully complete three additional courses as part of a liberal arts foundation for the major.  Students are required to complete 40 hours of advisor approved human service hours by end of first semester junior year.

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

  • 40 hours of human service related work in an approved agency/program setting by the end of the semester when they apply 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 when to field applications are due.
  • 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. 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.
Required Courses
SW 424Introduction to Social Work4
SW 525Social Welfare Policy: History of Social and Economic Justice4
SW 550Human Behavior and Social Environment I4
SW 551Human Behavior and Social Environment II4
SW 601Research Methods in Social Work4
SW 622Social Work Practice: Interventions with Individuals and Families4
SW 623Social Work Practice: Interventions with Groups, Organizations and Communities4
SW 625Social Welfare Policy in a Global Context4
SW 630Race Equity in Health and Human Services4
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 (1)
Select one of the following4
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 440A
Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Struggle for Racial Justice
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 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 715
Affirming Practice with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer+ 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 740Social Work Field Experience4
SW 740ASocial Work Field Experience I: Seminar4
SW 741Social Work Field Experience II4
SW 741ASocial Work Field Experience II: Seminar4
Total Credits64
  • Student demonstrates ethical and professional behavior.
  • Student engages diversity and difference in practice.
  • Student advances human rights and social, economic and environmental justice.
  • Engage in practice informed research and research-informed practice.
  • Engages in policy practice.
  • Engage with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
  • Assess individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
  • Intervenes with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
  • Evaluates practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

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