Undergraduate Majors: Bachelor of Social Work & B.A./B.S. in Social Welfare

Program Overview

The School of Social Work offers two majors: social welfare and social work. These majors prepare the student for further academic study or for employment in selected human service arenas. The social welfare major offers an overview of pressing, current social problems; the social work major specifically prepares students as beginning-level professional social workers.

The undergraduate curriculum provides an education in the social and behavioral sciences and their application to human problems. Majors in social welfare and social work receive a liberal arts education that prepares them to be informed citizens involved in human services or social welfare problems and policies. Majors take courses in a variety of social sciences to enable them to view social welfare in its broad social, economic, and political contexts.

About the Majors

All undergraduate students in good standing are eligible to fulfill the requirements for the Social Welfare major. Sophomores need to have taken SW 205 and SW 206 to declare the major, see the L&S Undergraduate Catalog.

The social work major is limited to 25-30 students who have excellent grades and meet the eligibility criteria below. To be admitted to the social work major, students must apply by February 22 and:

• have completed Social Work 205, 206
• have completed or concurrent enrollment in statistics
• be second-semester juniors (for registration purposes)
• rank among the top 25 students (overall cumulative grade-point average) who apply for the social work major*

*A very limited number of students who have grade-point averages above 2.5 and bring unique attributes and qualifications may also be considered for admission. See the advisers for more information.

Curriculum and Major Requirements

Please see the L&S Undergraduate Catalog for curriculum information.