-
Gretchen Bean
CLINICAL ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR -
Kelsey Boucher
CLINICAL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR -
Martha Byam
CLINICAL ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR -
Vernon Carter
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR -
Christie Davis
CLINICAL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR -
John DeJoie
LECTURER -
Chung Hyeon Jeong
Postdoctoral Research Assoc -
BoRin Kim
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR -
Will Lusenhop
CLINICAL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR -
Joanne Malloy
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR -
Jerry Marx
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR -
Katie McCoy
Clinical Assistant Professor -
Brian Miller
CLINICAL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR -
Patrick Shannon
ASSOCIATE PROFESSORAssociate ProfessorCoordinator, Graduate Certificate Program in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities -
Anita Tucker
PROFESSOR
Social Work Major (B.S.)
Social Work Major (B.S.)

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 this 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, a 450-hour internship and the opportunity to participate in faculty research projects. We maintain one of the top social work programs in the country, meeting the rigorous academic standards required for accreditation by the Council on Social Work Education. Our students benefit from a low faculty/student ratio and our graduates have a 95 percent placement rate, meaning they gain employment in the field or enroll in further education soon after completing their degree.
Potential careers
- Case manager
- Child welfare
- Family social worker
- Housing specialist
- Juvenile court liaison
- Peer support worker
- Rehabilitation specialist
- Social services administrator
- Veterans affairs field officer
- Vocational specialist
Contact
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.
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.
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:
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.