Social Work BSW

Program Description

Social workers provide a variety of services to individuals, families, groups, and communities across the United States. They work in family and child service agencies, hospitals, schools, criminal justice agencies, nursing homes, and other places, providing intervention, resources, assessment and evaluation, and counseling services. If you want to enter this challenging but rewarding field, the U’s Social Work (BSW) program will provide you with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills you need to be a professional in the helping professions. Students in the program complete coursework in the following areas: human behavior and social environment, social work as a profession, social diversity and cultural understanding, research and evaluation, and welfare policy, as well as courses to demonstrate skills through practice. In preparation for professional practice, students also complete a supervised internship, called practicum, in the field.

The BSW program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and may be completed in person or 100% online through UOnline.

The Student Experience

Additional academic opportunities for students include undergraduate research projects or learning abroad programs, allowing you to explore an idea or culture. If you want to get involved in your community both on and off campus, the College of Social Work has several clubs and community service organizations. BSW students become members of the Bachelor of Social Work Student Association (a BSW club) and can become involved in other groups like the Initiative for Transformative Social Work (ITSW, a group that diminishes power discrepancies and seeks to create equity in the College), or Neighbors Helping Neighbors (NHN, a program that provides services to older adults).

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the BSW program are prepared to practice generalist social work across the United States and may go on to become licensed Social Service Workers in the state of Utah. Students have the benefit of choosing from a number of different career paths. Work in child welfare, public welfare, gerontology, or school social work as a case manager or advocate. Positions in healthcare, mental health services, hospice, or rehabilitation are also possible. Students can additionally find work in criminal justice or corrections, social justice and advocacy, and policy. If you decide to attend graduate school, you can become a clinical mental health social worker, licensed clinical social worker, professor, or administrator.

Graduates of the U’s BSW program have the opportunity to apply for Advanced Standing Master of Social Work programs at the U and other CSWE-accredited institutions.

More Info

• College of Social Work
• Department Advising
• Career & Professional Development Center

Catalog

• Social Work Major BSW

Exploratory Classes

• SW 1010 - Social Work and Social Welfare: The Profession and Institution