Mission

The mission of the Bachelor of Social Work Program at Winston-Salem State University is to provide undergraduate instruction that will equip social work graduates with the skills they need to become beginning generalist social work practitioners. The program will provide students with the knowledge and skills needed in direct service positions in order to be able to work with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.    

Our graduates will be able to employ integrated strategies in assessing human needs. In addition, graduates will also be able to affirm the dynamics of different groups, taking into consideration their unique racial, ethnic, gender, physical and cognitive characteristics.

Social Work Program Goals

The Social Work Program at Winston-Salem State University will seek to provide a generalist (broad-based) level of preparation intended to equip undergraduates with competencies, such as critical thinking skills, which are needed to work with diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.  Students will receive high quality instruction from seasoned professors who hold terminal degrees and graduate degrees in the field. Student instruction will be based on an interdisciplinary/liberal-arts curriculum that includes courses in Human Behavior, Social Work Practice, Mathematics, Economics, Psychology, Research Methods, Music/Art, Field Education, Science, History, and Sociology.  Furthermore, because of the ethnic diversity of our local community, the Social Work Program at Winston-Salem State University will strive to help its graduates integrate knowledge and ethical values with social work skills in order to promote an effective and culturally competent practice.

Specific program goals and objectives are listed below.

Program Goals

1. Address the need for competent entry-level, beginning generalist social workers who can work on the micro, mezzo and macro levels of social work practice.
2. Address social and economic injustices within the context of the political economic structures currently in society.
3. Address issues surrounding social work values, ethics, and skills in professional practice.
4. Address the need for students and graduates to become critical thinkers through their professional careers.
5. Address the need for students to attend professional and continuing education seminars through their professional careers.
6. Address the need for students and graduates to become sensitive to the diverse needs of multi-ethnic populations and at-risk populations.

Social Work Program Objectives 

1. To provide a historical background for the social work profession and current social work practice.

2. To prepare undergraduate students to identify social, political, and economic injustices that impact oppressed populations such as people of color, women, LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning) persons, and the elderly.

3. To prepare undergraduate students for employment as beginning generalist social work practitioners who will work with individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations.

4. To provide an undergraduate generalist curriculum that facilitates the acquisition and demonstration of knowledge in social work values, human behavior and the social environment, social welfare policy, research, practice methods, cultural diversity, populations at risk, along with social and economic justice.

5. To prepare undergraduate students to affirm and adhere to the basic values and ethics that guide social work practice.

6. To prepare undergraduate students to appropriately use supervision in beginning generalist social work practice.

7. To prepare students for graduate and professional education.

8. To prepare and equip students with basic research competence within the context of social work practice.

    

REQUIREMENTS FOR A BACHELOR OF SOCIAL WORK DEGREE

Although the student is chiefly responsible for completing the 123 semester hour, Bachelor of Social Work curriculum, students must be accurately advised by the social work program faculty to ensure that each student matriculates through the curriculum within the university-targeted four to five year time period.  Each student will be assigned a faculty advisor by students’ last name.  The student and advisor must meet a minimum of twice during the academic year to ensure sequential selection of courses and to avoid delays in the student completing the Bachelor of Social Work degree program.

 Students seeking the BSW degree must take a minimum of 43 credit hours of social work courses and complete the following with a grade of C or better: 

SOW 3363 Introduction to Social Work	3
SOW 3368 Social Welfare Policy I	3
SOW 3369 Social Welfare Policy II	3
SOW 3375 Social Work Methods I	3
SOW 3376 Social Work Methods II	3
SOW 3302 Social Work Research	3
SOW 3370 Human Behavior and the Social Environment I	3
SOW 4340 Human Behavior and the Social Environment II	3
SOW 3641 Field Instruction I	6
SOW 4641 Field Instruction II	6
SOW 4343 Ethics in SW Practice	3
SOW 3101 BSW Professional Seminar	1
SOW 4302 Applied SW Research	3
	43

 

In support of the social work major, students are required to take:

CSC 1306     Computer and Its Use or
MIS 1385      Introduction to Data Processing	3
SOC 2301     General Sociology	3
PSY 2301     General Psychology	3
ECO 2312     Principles of Macroeconomics	3
MAT 2326    Elementary Statistics	3
SOC 2356     Marriage and Family	3
PSY 4321     Group Dynamics	3
SOC 4364     Race and Culture or
SOC 3343     Cultural Diversity	3
	24

In addition, all students must complete General Education courses as well as special interest electives.

A minor in some other discipline is not required of Social Work majors.

A minor in Social Work is not offered.

Acceptance into the Bachelor of Social Work program is effective fall 2008.  Students must apply to the BSW Program in the early spring of each academic year. At the time of application, a student must have successfully completed SOW 3363:  Social Work as a Profession with a grade of “B” or better and obtained an overall GPA of 2.5. 
 
A transfer student may declare social work as his or her [pre-] major; however, formal admission to the social work program is dependent upon the following: 
 

• Completion of the general education courses with a minimum GPA of 2.5
• Completion of SOW 3363 with at least a “B,” and
• Completion of an application process after fulfilling these two requirements. 
   

The Social Work Program Committee will review applications for acceptance each spring semester and admit qualified students into the program.  Please contact the Social Work Program director for all exact deadline dates.

Academic credit for life experience and previous work experience is not given, in whole or in part, in lieu of the field practicum or for courses in the professional foundation areas specified in the EPAS.  Social Work credit earned at a school accredited by the Council on Social Work Education is reviewed and evaluated by the BSW Program Coordinator for transferability.  No social work credit is given for credits earned at a non-accredited school.

Students must apply for Social Work Field Placement separately in the senior year, in accordance to the deadline set by the Social Work Program faculty.

The Social Work Program is currently seeking accreditation with the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).