Undergraduate Catalog

Social Work

Associate Professors Baker, Brun (chair), Myadze
Assistant Professor Kinsel, Twill

The Bachelor of Arts program in social work prepares students for beginning employment in social work or for graduate study. Students considering social work as a career should be interested in people of widely varying ages, abilities, and backgrounds; these students must also be disciplined, emotionally stable, and intellectually creative. Social workers typically find employment in adult daycare family services, children's services, home health care for older adults, hospitals, mental health centers, nursing homes, and probation and parole boards. While most social workers perform direct practice duties, others are employed as outreach workers, community organizers, and administrators in public, voluntary, and for-profit agencies.

The baccalaureate program is fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.

Requirements for admission to the social work program include completion of SW 270, 271, and 272 with a grade of C or higher; an overall GPA of 2.25 or higher; related social science courses; human biology courses; and either the writing portion of the Pre-Professional Skills Test or at least two General Education courses that are writing intensive.

Applications are accepted two times per year: March 1 and November 1. Admissions to the social work major are selective. Not all persons meeting the minimum requirements can be accepted into the major. Students should see the department's academic advisor if they have questions about the application criteria.

To graduate with a social work degree, a grade of C or higher is required in all social work courses.

Degree Requirements-Social Work

Bachelor of Arts Degree
See General Education Requirements

General Education Requirements	56

Required Courses:
Area III: EC 200, PLS 200, PSY 105
Area V: BIO 107
Area VI: SW 272
Departmental Requirements	56

SW 270, 271, 375, 380, 470, 481, 482, 483, 484, (487, 488, 489-field practicum), 490, 491
Related Requirements	11

COM 102
PSY 341
SOC 200
SW 291 (Descriptive Statistics) required
Foreign Language and Research Methods Requirement	24-32
Electives	37-45

Total (minimum requirement)	192

Social Work Honors Program

The Department of Social Work recognizes superior achievement by social work majors with an honors program that allows students to graduate with the designation of honors in social work. Students in the program have an opportunity to pursue original research and analysis that goes beyond the requirements of their course work.

Junior and senior university honors students with a minimum 3.0 overall GPA and a 3.5 average in social work may apply. Students must initiate and successfully complete an honors project. The department suggests that honors students take at least one UH 400 interdisciplinary seminar before starting their honors project.

Certificate in Gerontology

The certificate in gerontology program offers students academic preparation and practical experience in the growing field of gerontology:

Knowledge about the aging process (physical, social, and psychological) throughout the life span
Knowledge about current social and health policies, as well as programs developed to meet the increasing needs of older people
Skills to work as a team member in an interdisciplinary setting designed to help older people
Sensitivity about the values necessary to work with older people

Contact the department chair for more information.

Child Welfare Workforce Professional Education Program

This partial tuition reimbursement program prepares students to enter the field of public child welfare upon graduation with a degree in social work. The requirements of the program include passing two required courses on child welfare, completing the senior practicum in a public child welfare agency, and gaining employment in a public child welfare agency for at least one year after graduation.

Contact the Child Welfare Workforce Profesional Education Program or CWWPEP coordinator at (937) 775-2585, for more information.

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