Graduates of the undergraduate social work program are prepared for entry-level positions in the full range of social and human services agencies, organizations, institutions, and community-based programs. Child welfare, health care, services for the aged, mental health, drug and alcohol abuse, family services, and work with youth are among the fields of practice in which B.S.W. social workers are employed.

Students graduating from the undergraduate social work program should be: 

• Knowledgeable about various forms of societal oppression based on class, race, gender, and sexual orientation, and committed to empowerment-oriented practice;
• Aware of their attitudes and values as they affect their interest in and ability to fulfill diverse roles in social work;
• Aware of and committed to the active and full participation of service consumers at every stage of the problem-solving process;
• Committed to the pursuit of a just and equitable society;
• Committed to continued professional growth and development;
• With appropriate social work supervision, competent in the use of social work skills and knowledge. 

The Bachelor of Social Work degree requires the successful completion of a minimum of 124 s.h., completion of all University Core Curriculum, School of Social Administration, and degree requirements, including entrance deficiencies, if any. 

Field Work Practice:
Learning by Doing

A minimum of 544 hours in supervised field settings is required. Students are directly involved in actual professional tasks in the agency and in the community. This intrinsic part of the professional educational process provides experiential learning for the students in a variety of carefully selected health, welfare, and educational settings.

Supervision or field instruction is provided by qualified, trained, and experienced practitioners in the agencies. Some of the fields of practice in the five county area in which majors do their field work are:

• Aging: including adult service centers; assistance in a variety of public and private organizations, treatment and protective functions; 
• Children and Youth: child abuse, foster care and adoption agencies, parenting and support services;
• Community Organization/Planning: public issues and policies, neighborhood services at settlements, Y's, community centers; 
• Correctional/Justice: probation, parole, prison, community rehabilitation organizations; 
• Developmental Disabilities: community living arrangements, day programs, other public and private functions; 
• Education: schools and alternative education programs; 
• Family Services: material aid, crisis intervention, ongoing counseling;
• Health/Hospitals: advising, counseling, direct service with and on behalf of patients; a variety of functions in hospitals and community health centers;
• Legal: public agencies assisting low income population in matters relating to law, housing, discrimination, etc.; 
• Mental Health: small and large institutions, community based units, public and private auspices; 
• Substance Abuse: counseling, direct service in a variety of settings, both public and private; 
• Violence and Domestic Issues: domestic violence of all kinds, sexual assault, child abuse, in a wide variety of settings. 

The Social Work Curriculum consists of three components: (a) general education, the liberal arts base, including the Core Curriculum; (b) professionally related education content from other disciplines which informs professional education; and (c) professional education, the content and experience of social work theory and practice. The components are interrelated and are selected to reflect the sources from which social work knowledge is derived, the mission and philosophy of the School, the needs of society, the demands of the profession, and the educational needs of the students. The program allows for different experiences, builds on a variety of disciplines, and promotes a developmental, sequential, and integrative education. 

Required Course Sequence 

Professional social work courses and courses in the arts and sciences support each other. The student's academic adviser will help to assure that prerequisite courses and other sequencing are within the appropriate time-frames for moving through the B.S.W. curriculum. For transfer students, summer school attendance may be necessary in order to fulfill the B.S.W. requirements in a timely way. 

Freshman Year 

Fall Semester 

• English C050 College Composition 
• History C068 American History 1877 to Present or African-American Studies C068 
• International Studies Anthropology C061 Cultures of the World 
• Biology C071 Human Biology 

• Psychology C050 Psych. as a Social Science
• Intellectual Heritage X051 
• Sociology C050 Introduction to Sociology International Studies II Elective or Foreign Language 0061 

Fall Semester 

• Math C055 College Mathematics
• Social Work 0051 Helping Process in Social Work I (includes Practicum) 
• Social Work 0372 Social Worker in the Group or Social Work C060 Human Behavior in the Social Environment 
• Intellectual Heritage X052 

• Social Work 0052 Helping Process in Social Work II (Practicum continued) 
• Social Work 0053 Communications Lab 
• Social Work 0372 Social Worker in the Group or Social Work C060 Human Behavior in the Social Environment 
• Political Science C051 American Political Systems 
• Science Level II 

Fall Semester 

• Social Work C121 History and Values of Social Welfare 
• Social Work 0365 Institutional Racism 
• Math. Level II 
• Arts Elective or Child and Family Course 

• Social Work 0122 Social Welfare in U.S. 
• Social Behavior Upper Level 
• Economics Elective or Child and Family course 
• Political Theory 
• B.S.W Elective

Fall Semester 

• Social Work 0280 Patterns of Social Service Delivery 
• Social Work W285 Senior Seminar in Social Work Practice 
• Social Work 0290 Practicum III 
• Social Work 0390 Introduction to Social Work Research

• Social Work W286 Senior Seminar in Social Work Practice 
• Social Work 0291 Practicum IV 
• Social WOrk 0391 Evaluating Programs & Practice in Social Work (applies to student admitted to the major for Fall, 1999 and thereafter)
• Elective 

During their course of study, social work majors are required to take one elective offered by the School of Social Administration and five writing intensive courses, including IH X051, IH X052, SW W285, SW W286, and one additional W or X course.