Social Work, Bachelor of Social Work (594P, 594)
Department website: http://www.wku.edu/socialwork
Program Coordinator
Simon P. Funge, simon.funge@wku.edu, (270) 745-4149
The Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). During the four semesters required for completion of the social work major, students acquire knowledge, skills, and values that demonstrate competency in generalist social work practice. The major includes a 400-hour Field practicum or internship at a social service agency where students apply classroom learning under the supervision of a professional social worker. As a bachelor level social worker, graduates may work with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and/or the entire community with a primary focus on coordinating services in a variety of settings with multiple populations. For this reason, graduates must be flexible enough to work with people of various ages, backgrounds and cultures. With a BSW students are eligible to apply to any CSWE-Accredited Advanced Standing (accelerated) Master of Social Work program in the U.S. (Application requirements vary by program.)
The Social Work major consists of 54 semester hours, 42 core hours in social work and 12 hours in supportive courses. It is not necessary to have a minor for graduation.
Consistent with the program’s emphasis on a liberal arts foundation, during the freshman and sophomore years, students will take courses in English, political science, economics, math, biology, sociology, psychology, and also public speaking and history. These courses will also fulfill several of the Colonnade requirements. A list of the required liberal arts and sciences courses that must be taken as prerequisites for applying to the social work major is available on the departmental webpage or can be obtained from the department.
A student receiving a “D” or lower in any course used for the social work major will be required to repeat the course. If it is a core social work course, then the course must be repeated before proceeding to the next course in the sequence.
Admission Requirements
The academic advisor reviews the student’s academic status. If necessary, students are advised to fulfill prerequisites for admission to the program. Upon completion of prerequisite courses, including SWRK 101, students must complete an application process for formal admission to the social work program. The BSW Admissions and Retention Committee reviews each application. Students must have attained a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 and sophomore status in order to be admitted. Guidelines for admission and retention are stated in the BSW Student Handbook, which is available in the departmental office or on www.wku.edu/socialwork. The following 24 hours are required for admission:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| SWRK 101 | Foundations of Human Services | 3 |
| ENG 100 | Introduction to College Writing | 3 |
| Select one of the following courses: | 3 | |
| Introductory Statistics | ||
| Social Work Statistics and Data Analysis | ||
| Using Statistics in Sociology | ||
| Statistics in Psychology | ||
| Biostatistics in the Health Sciences | ||
| PS 110 | American National Government | 3 |
| ECON 150 | Introduction to Economics | 3 |
| or ECON 202 | Principles of Economics (Micro) | |
| or ECON 203 | Principles of Economics (Macro) | |
| PSY/PSYS 100 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| or PSY/PSYS 220 | Introduction to Lifespan Developmental Psychology | |
| SOCL 100 | Introductory Sociology | 3 |
| or AGRI 108 | Rural Sociology | |
| BIOL 113 | General Biology | 3 |
| or BIOL 120 | Biological Concepts: Cells Metabolism and Genetics | |
| or BIOL 131 | Human Anatomy and Physiology | |
| Total Hours | 24 | |
Program Requirements (54 hours)
A baccalaureate degree requires a minimum of 120 unduplicated semester hours. More information can be found at www.wku.edu/registrar/degree_certification.php.
Students who began WKU in the Fall 2014 and thereafter should review the Colonnade requirements located at: https://www.wku.edu/colonnade/colonnaderequirements.php.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| SWRK 101 | Foundations of Human Services | 3 |
| SWRK 301 | Social Work Practice for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | 3 |
| SWRK 330 | Human Behavior in the Social Environment | 3 |
| SWRK 345 | Social Work Research Methods | 3 |
| SWRK 357 | Case Management | 3 |
| SWRK 375 | Social Work Practice I | 3 |
| SWRK 378 | Social Work Practice II | 3 |
| SWRK 379 | Introduction to Social Work Communication Skills | 3 |
| SWRK 381 | Social Work Practice III | 3 |
| SWRK 395 | Social Welfare Policy and Issues | 3 |
| SWRK 480 | Social Work Field Practicum I | 3 |
| SWRK 481 | Social Work Field Seminar I | 3 |
| SWRK 482 | Social Work Field Practicum II | 3 |
| SWRK 483 | Social Work Field Seminar II | 3 |
| Electives 1 | 12 | |
| Select two of the following: | ||
| Mental Health and Social Policy | ||
| Diversity and Social Welfare | ||
| Environmental Justice: Theory, Policy, and Practice | ||
| Opioid Epidemic | ||
| Social Work & Women in Society | ||
| Services for the Older American | ||
| Services for Juvenile Offenders and Their Families | ||
| Ethical Issues and Dilemmas in Social Work | ||
| Services to Children | ||
| Military Social Work | ||
| Understanding Trauma | ||
| Child Maltreatment | ||
| Child Maltreatment Interventions | ||
| Selected Topics in Social Work | ||
| Directed Study | ||
| Directed Study | ||
Select six hours in consultation with advisor and must be unduplicated. 2 | ||
| Total Hours | 54 | |
| 1 | Approved by the advisor. Six hours of the electives must be in social work. Must be unduplicated. |
| 2 | Advisor consent electives are AFAM 190, ACCT 420, CD 489, COMM 345, COMM 349, COMM 362, CNS 110, CNS 432, CRIM 101, CSJ 200, EDU 276, ENG 301, ENG 306, ENG 307, FACS 3**, 4**, FIN 161, FLK 280, FLK 3**, FLK 4**, GERO 100, GEOG 350, GEOG 352, GEOG 480, HCA 340, HIST 320, HIST 321, HIST 364, HMD 211, LEAD 200, LEAD 3**, LEAD 4**, MGT 210, MGT 311,MGT 333, PH 165, PH 3**, PH 4**, PHIL 315, PHIL 320,PHIL 322, PHIL 330, PHIL 350, PHIL 401, PHIL 426, PSY 3**, PSY 4**, REC 220, REC 302, RELS 305, RELS 320, SOCL 309, SOCL 3**, SOCL 4**, SWRK 270, SWRK 300, SWRK 305, SWRK 324, SWRK 325, SWRK 326, SWRK 356, SWRK 433, SWRK 436, SWRK 437, SWRK 438, SWRK 450, SWRK 451, GWS 200, and GWS 400. |
Finish in Four Plan
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| SWRK 101 | 3 | MATH 183 | 3 |
| HIST 101 or HIST 102 | 3 | ENG 100 | 3 |
| COMM 145 | 3 | Minor/Elective or World Language (if needed) | 3 |
| SOCL 100 or AGRI 108 | 3 | PS 110 | 3 |
| PSY 100 or PSYS 100 | 3 | BIOL 113, BIOL 120, BIOL 121, or BIOL 131 | 3-4 |
| 15 | 15-16 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ECON 150 | 3 | Colonnade - Natural & Physical Sciences (not Biology) | 3 |
| Colonnade - Arts & Humanities | 3 | Connections - Social & Cultural | 3 |
| Major Social Work Elective #1 | 3 | Major Advisor Consent Elective #1 | 3 |
| ENG 200 | 3 | Minor/Elective | 3 |
| Minor/Elective | 3 | Minor/Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| SWRK 301 | 3 | SWRK 357 | 3 |
| SWRK 330 | 3 | SWRK 378 | 3 |
| SWRK 375 | 3 | SWRK 379 | 3 |
| Connections - Local to Global | 3 | ENG 300 | 3 |
| Major Advisor Consent Elective #2 | 3 | Connections - Systems | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| SWRK 345 | 3 | SWRK 395 | 3 |
| SWRK 381 | 3 | SWRK 482 | 3 |
| SWRK 480 | 3 | SWRK 483 | 3 |
| SWRK 481 | 3 | Major Social Work Elective #2 | 3 |
| Minor/Elective | 3 | Minor/Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Total Hours 120-121 | |||