Social Work, B.S.W.

The primary objective of the Social Work curriculum is to prepare students for general professional social work practice. Students selecting Social Work are required to complete a strong liberal arts curriculum and a core of basic social and behavior science courses including theory, research methods, and statistics.

The professional Social Work curriculum consists of a sequence of 14 courses or 46 semester hours. The courses within the sequence are designed to provide a comprehensive study of social welfare systems, social work as a profession, social policy analysis, social human behavior and the social environment, practice methods, evaluation of practice, and field placement practicum. The major social work values essential for professional practice are important parts of the curriculum. Students are expected to finish the program having the basic skills essential for entry-level professional social work practice.

The major objective of the Bachelor’s in Social Work degree (BSW) is to prepare students for generalist professional social work practice. Other program objectives for the program include:

1. Prepare students to work with families in poverty and minority populations;
2. Prepare students for graduate social work education;
3. Prepare students for graduate education in related areas;
4. Expose non-majors to the field of social welfare and to social work profession; and
5. Impact the local community outside the university through social policy research and active participation in empowerment efforts.

Admission Policy

Students desiring to enter the BSW Program may select Social Work as their major at the time of admission to the University, or, in the case of currently enrolled students, a declaration of major form indicating Social Work as their major of choice should be submitted to the Office of the Registrar before the end of the second semester of their sophomore year. However, to be formally admitted to the BSW Program, students must meet the established minimum admission criteria, as follows:

1. Satisfactory completion of two prerequisite courses – SOCW 2500  (Social Work as a Profession) and SOCW 3410  (Social Welfare as an Institution).
2. A GPA of 2.5 (C+) in the above listed prerequisite courses.
3. A cumulative GPA of 2.5 or a SWAI (Social Work Admission Index) score of 70 or better.

The Social Work Admission Index (SWAI) Score.

If a student does not meet the cumulative GPA requirement of 2.5; a minimum SWAI score of 70 (on a scale of 70-100) is required for formal acceptance into the program. The following are factors making up the SWAI score: