Social Work
Accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) June 2007
Mission of the Social Work Program
The mission of the Social Work Program is to prepare students to be competent, effective, and professional generalist social work practitioners at the entry level with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Special attention is given to the needs of rural and developing communities and guided by a person-in-environment construct in a global perspective.
Through mastery of specific competencies and behaviors, students are uniquely prepared to effectively and ethically serve diverse populations in these communities and other contexts. Students are also prepared to engage in practices that demonstrate their commitment to the eradication of persistent poverty, unemployment, discrimination, oppression, and other forms of social injustice, as well as the commitment to continuous professional growth and lifelong learning.
Goals of the BSW Program
1. To prepare students to practice ethically and competently as generalist practitioners with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
2. To prepare students to engage with diverse populations to advance human rights and promote social, economic, and environmental justice in rural, developing, and global communities.
3. To prepare students for graduate study and lifelong learning.
Pre-Professional Social Work Courses
The Six Pre-Professional Courses are: SOWK 205, SOWK 210, SOWK 220, SOWK 247, SOWK 250, and SOWK 260. These courses are designed to introduce students to the social work profession, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics, the rural context, fields of practice, interviewing and intervention skills, dimensions of human diversity, social, economic, and environment justice, the social welfare system and services, and human behavior in the social environment.
These pre-professional courses total 18 semester hours.
Professional Social Work Courses
Students must be admitted to the Social Work program prior to enrollment in the professional social work courses. These courses provide professional foundation content in the areas of values and ethics, diversity, populations-at-risks and social and economic justice, human behavior in the social environment, generalist practice, social welfare policies, and services, research and evaluation, and field education. The seven professional social work courses are: SOWK 367, SOWK 370, SOWK 372, SOWK 390, SOWK 443, SOWK 444, and SOWK 445. These professional courses total 27 semester hours. The following five professional courses must be completed prior to enrollment in Field Education: SOWK 367, SOWK 370, SOWK 372, SOWK 390 and SOWK 443. In addition, 35 semester hours of Liberal Arts and General Education courses should be completed prior to applying for enrollment in SOWK 444 - Field Education and Seminar I.
Students must maintain a 2.50 GPA or higher to continue matriculating in the Professional courses.
Field Education and Seminar
Students must complete the application process prior to entering the Field Experience and Seminar courses.
Field Education and Seminar, Program Option I – Main Campus, occurs during the Fall and Spring semesters of the senior year. The social work field experience includes an internship for students at selected human service agencies two days per week (Tuesday and Thursday), and a weekly seminar class on an alternate day. Students are required to complete an internship that consists of 440 hours (220 hours per semester) in selected public, nonprofit, and for profit human service agencies in North Carolina. Students employed in human service agencies will not be allowed to use their employment or work experiences as a substitute for their field education placements. Students must earn a grade of "C" or higher in all pre-professional and professional social courses social work courses and have a cumulative GPA of 2.50 or higher to be eligible to enroll in SOWK 444 (Social Work Field Education and Seminar I). SOWK 444: Social Work Field Education and Seminar I is offered in the Fall and SOWK 445: Social Work Field Education and Seminar II is offered in the spring. Applications for field education placements must be submitted during the spring semester of the junior year.
Failure to submit an application will result in students not being considered for field education. Students who do not satisfactorily complete Field Education and Seminar forfeit hours earned and must reapply. Incomplete (I) grades are not given for SOWK 444 and 445. Students who are readmitted to Field Education and Seminar are assigned to new agencies. All students must earn a grade of "C" or higher in all required social work courses in order to graduate with
the BSW Degree.
Admission to the Social Work Program
All students who plan to earn the BSW degree must officially select Social Work as their major, complete the Declaration of Major Form, and meet the following Admission Requirements:
• Apply for admission before the end of the sophomore year;
• Return the completed application along with all supporting documents by February 15th;
• Transfer students return the completed application along with all supporting documents by February 15th;
• Completion of ENGL 102, and 103, BIOL 100 or BIO 207, SOC 201, PSY 212, and SOWK
205. A "C" grade or higher is required in ENGL 102 and 103, and SOWK 205;
• A cumulative GPA of 2.50
• Two (2) Letters of Recommendation (faculty member, clergy, counselor or other professionals in the human services field);
• Agree to abide by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics and University policies;
• Approved Personal Statement
The students are only admitted to the Program during the Fall semester of each academic year. Pre-Professional and Professional Social Work courses must be taken in sequential order. The Social Work Program does not grant course credit for employment/work experience.
Transfer Student Policy
Transfer students (including those who have already achieved junior status) and other students who change their major to Social Work must also go through the application process and be officially admitted into the Social Work Program. There is not a guarantee that courses transferred from other degree programs or institutions of higher learning will substitute for required social work courses. Social Work Practice courses from other institutions cannot be transferred.