Pictured | Katelyn McBride | Social Work / Minors in History and Sociology | La Grange, Indiana (hometown)
Club Affiliations | Honors Program; The National Society of Leadership and Success; Theta Phi Alpha
Bachelor of Social Work
This Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.) prepares you for entry-level generalist practice. In this program students develop competence in the knowledge, skills, values, and cognitive/affective processes to engage in practice with individuals, small groups, organizations, and communities. The B.S.W. equips students to work with people who are encountering problems related to personal or social circumstances. In addition, B.S.W. graduates may be eligible for advanced standing to the IU South Bend School of Social Work or other M.S.W. programs nationwide. Advanced standing reduces the length and cost of the M.S.W. degree.
Social workers promote social, environmental, and economic justice and are involved with people of many cultures and ethnic backgrounds. They are prepared to work with people to identify strengths and resolve problems related to their personal or social circumstances. This can take place in a variety of settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, schools, youth centers, mental health or substance abuse facilities, etc. They work with individuals or groups, often with the cooperation of several social service agencies to accomplish this goal. Social workers are always advocates for vulnerable people. They work with community leaders and organizations to develop policies that help to build and strengthen the social resources of our society.
Degree-seeking undergraduates must complete the campuswide General Education requirements prior to graduation with a Bachelor of Social Work degree.
The Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.) degree requires 120 credit hours. (Students may graduate with more credits due to transfer credit and the need to take support courses such as math and English.) This includes 42-45 hours of general/supportive liberal arts courses and 52 credit hours in social work courses. The remainder of credits are electives, general education requirements, and Social Work support courses. The School of Social Work requirements sometimes overlap with the GenEd requirements for the IU South Bend campus.
Application Process
Enrollment in the B.S.W. program requires formal admission to the IU School of Social Work based on Council on Social Work accreditation standards.
The following are the minimum requirements for admission consideration:
- Regular admission to IU South Bend.
- Completion of a minimum of 12 credit hours.
- Satisfactory completion (grade of C or higher) of the required course SWK-S 141 Introduction to Social Work.
- A minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. Students who earn less than 2.5 may be conditionally admitted until they raise their GPA to 2.5.
- Evidence of characteristics or potential required for competent social work practitioners as defined in the mission statement of the School of Social Work. Such evidence may be derived from application materials, letters of reference, relevant work or volunteer experience, and performance in SWK-S 141 Introduction to Social Work.
- Complete and submit the current B.S.W. application.
Academic Advising
Social Work students are required to meet with their advisor prior to every semester for which they plan to enroll.