Department of Social Work
What Can Graduates Do With a BSW?
Students who earn a BSW degree are trained as social work generalist practitioners. This means that they are provided with opportunities to acquire the knowledge, values, and skills required to intervene with individuals, families, organizations, and communities. They can work with clients of all ages and assist them in facing an array of life challenges.
BSW Graduates are prepared to:
- Seek admission to MSW Programs as "advanced standing" students, provided they meet MSW requirements for admission. This means that if students meet the criteria for advanced standing admission (including GPA and satisfactory field evaluations) the BSW work they have already completed counts toward their MSW degree, allowing them to finish their MSW sooner
- Apply to take the licensing exam for bachelor's level social workers (LSW) upon graduation
- Enter the workforce as a practitioner and obtain employment in a variety of settings, including work with children, the elderly, immigrant populations, patients in hospitals, to name a few
- Pursue additional professional BSW level social work credentials, including:
- Social Worker in Gerontology (SW-G)
- Certified Children, Youth, and Family Social Worker (C-CYFSW)
- Certified Hospice and Palliative Social Worker (CHP-SW)
- Certified Social Work Case Manager (C-SWCM)
In order to be eligible to graduate, successful BSW students must:
Course Work
- Earn a minimum of 128 credits (with an overall GPA of 2.0)
- 12 courses in the College Core Curriculum
- 13 required Social Work courses (B+ or better course grade), plus one pre-requisite
- 5 general electives
Field Work
- Complete social work field placement requirements
- Service-learning hours (may be waived for transfer students)
- 40 hours as freshmen
- 80 hours as sophomores
- Field Placement & Instruction
- 100-hour formal field placement in the junior year
- 425-hour formal field placement in the senior year
