BSW in Social Work
Degree Program Description
The Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) Program is a professional program that prepares students for immediate entry into direct human service professional positions, graduate-level education, and life-long learning. BSW-level social workers assist individuals, families, small groups, organizations, and communities to effectively resolve problems, deal with their relationships, and function optimally within their environment. Graduates are employed in many different settings, including nursing homes, hospices, hospitals, home care agencies, family service agencies, children and youth services, aging services, residential treatment programs, domestic violence shelters, criminal justice agencies, schools, and legal services agencies.
Major Program Requirements
Required Entry-Level Courses: Specific liberal arts requirements for graduation are listed below (* denotes a prerequisite course to the BSW professional program that must be completed before beginning social work core courses).
Students must complete all university requirements, including general education, in addition to the degree requirements below.
Students must earn and maintain a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA in all college-level coursework. Students must complete all BSW Program Prerequisites and BSW Program Requirements with grades of C- or higher and may have no more than two grades of C+ in the BSW courses.
| BSW Program Prerequisites | ||
| ENGLSH 1000 | Writing and Rhetoric * | 3 |
| MATH 1100 | College Algebra (or equivalent) * | 3 |
| or MATH 1050 | Quantitative Reasoning | |
| BIO_SC 1010 | General Principles and Concepts of Biology * | 3 |
| or BIO_SC 1500 | Introduction to Biological Systems with Laboratory | |
| or BIO_SC 1030 | General Principles and Concepts of Biology with Laboratory | |
| Anthropology (student’s choice) (Recommend ANTHRO 1300, ANTHRO 1350, ANTHRO 2030) * | 3 | |
| PSYCH 1000 | General Psychology * | 3 |
| SOCIOL 1000 | Introduction to Sociology * | 3 |
| American History/American Government * | 3 | |
| ECONOM 1014 | Principles of Microeconomics * | 3 |
| or ECONOM 1015 | Principles of Macroeconomics | |
| or ABM 1041 | Applied Microeconomics | |
| COMMUN 1200 | Public Speaking * | 3 |
| Philosophy (student's choice) (Recommend PHIL 1000, PHIL 1100, PHIL 1200) * | 3 | |
| BSW Program Requirements | ||
| History or Political Science (student's choice, but must be selected from the subject area not chosen for American History/American Government) | 3 | |
| PSYCH 2310 | Social Psychology | 3 |
| or SOCIOL 3310W | Social Psychology - Writing Intensive | |
| SOC_WK 3320 | Understanding Personality in a Social Context | 3 |
| or PSYCH 2320 | Introduction to Personality | |
| Exploration of Power, Privilege, & Oppression (PPO) coursework: 1 | 6 | |
3 additional hours of approved PPO coursework 2 | ||
| Professional BSW Core Courses | ||
| SOC_WK 2220W | Human Behavior in the Social Environment - Writing Intensive (May be taken before or during the professional phase.) | 3 |
| or SOC_WK 2220 | Human Behavior in the Social Environment | |
| SOC_WK 4710 | Social Justice and Social Policy | 3 |
| SOC_WK 4730 | Introduction to Social Work Practice | 3 |
| SOC_WK 4740 | Introduction to Community and Organizational Processes | 4 |
| SOC_WK 4750 | Interaction Skills Workshop | 3 |
| Social Work Elective (4000-level) in a field of practice | 3 | |
| SOC_WK 4310 | Social Statistics | 3 |
| SOC_WK 4711 | Social Justice and Social Policy II | 3 |
| SOC_WK 4720 | Variations in Human Behavior | 3 |
| SOC_WK 4760 | Theory and Practice of Social Group Work | 3 |
| SOC_WK 4951 | Research for Social Work Practice | 3 |
| SOC_WK 4770 | Strategies of Direct Practice | 3 |
| SOC_WK 4952 | Research Methods for Social Work | 3 |
| SOC_WK 4970 | Senior Professional Seminar | 3 |
| SOC_WK 4971 | Undergraduate Field Practicum | 6 |
| Recommended Courses | ||
| Social Work Electives | ||
| SOC_WK 1110 | Introduction to the Social Work Major | 1 |
| SOC_WK 1115 | Social Welfare and Social Work | 3 |
- 1
Exploration of Power, Privilege & Oppression: Social Work BSW majors are required to take SOC_WK 2000 or SOC_WK 2000W to count for three credit hours of the six credit hours requirement. Students should select one additional course that reflects the cultural diversity of our society; often selected from social work, sociology, anthropology, peace studies, English, religious studies, human development and family science, black studies, and women and gender studies. Students can find a complete list on the School of Social Work website.
- 2
Students cannot double-count BSW Program Prerequisite, BSW Program Requirement, or field of practice elective courses with Exploration of Power, Privilege and Oppression (PPO) courses (e.g., ANTHRO 1350 can count toward the Anthropology program requirement OR the PPO requirement, but not both).
Capstone Requirements
All students accepted into the professional BSW program must take SOC_WK 4971 Undergraduate Field Practicum and SOC_WK 4970 Senior Professional Seminar to complete their capstone requirement. Please note: As a student, if you have acquired any criminal background history which includes misdemeanors or felony charges your choices of placements may be affected. In an effort to assist you we strongly encourage you to make an appointment with the Director of the Undergraduate Program to assist in facilitating options for your completion of educational requirements.
Semester Plan
Below is a sample plan of study, semester by semester. A student's actual plan may vary based on course choices where options are available.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| ENGLSH 1000* | 3 | MATH 1100* | 3 |
| BIO_SC 1010* | 3 | SOCIOL 1000* | 3 |
| BIO_SC 1020 | 2 | ANTHRO 1300* | 3 |
| PSYCH 1000* | 3 | COMMUN 1200* | 3 |
| SOC_WK 1110 (Elective) | 1 | SOC_WK 1115 (Elective) | 3 |
| History (Constitution)* | 3 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| PHIL 1100* | 3 | ECONOM 1014* | 3 |
| PSYCH 2310 | 3 | Humanities | 3 |
| SOC_WK 2000W | 3 | SOC_WK 2220W | 3 |
| Political Science | 3 | SOC_WK 3320 | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| SOC_WK 4710 | 3 | SOC_WK 4310 | 3 |
| SOC_WK 4730 | 3 | SOC_WK 4711 | 3 |
| SOC_WK 4740 | 4 | SOC_WK 4720 | 3 |
| SOC_WK 4750 | 3 | SOC_WK 4760 | 3 |
| Field of Practice Elective | 3 | SOC_WK 4951 | 3 |
| 16 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| SOC_WK 4770W | 3 | Power Privilege & Oppression | 3 |
| SOC_WK 4952 | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| SOC_WK 4970 | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| SOC_WK 4971 | 6 | Elective | 3 |
| Elective | 2 | ||
| 15 | 14 | ||
| Total Credits: 120 | |||
Degree Audit
The degree audit is an automated report reflecting a student’s academic progress toward the completion of a degree.
MU students can request a degree audit by logging in to myDegreePlanner. Students may also access myDegreePlanner via myZou, in the Student Center, click on the Academic Progress Tile, then select Request Degree Audit. The audit automatically pulls in the student’s MU course work, transfer courses and courses in progress. This is available to current students, admitted students, and those who last attended less than three terms ago.
Past MU students can request a degree audit by contacting the Academic Advising Unit of the division in which they were last enrolled at MU. For contact information, go to https://advising.missouri.edu/contact/.
Prospective students, can access a preliminary MU degree audit via https://www.transferology.com. Information on the college credits already earned will have to be manually entered before it can be evaluated against current degree requirements.
For additional details on degree audits, go to https://registrar.missouri.edu/degrees-audits/degree-audits/.
Major and Career Exploration
The University of Missouri has many resources to assist you in exploring majors and career possibilities. For guidance, visit the Majors and Careers website or view specific resources below.
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If you are considering a change of major or are exploring multiple majors, schedule an appointment with an advisor in the Discovery Center by calling (573)884-9700 or through MU Connect Discovery Center service in you success network.
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If you have decided on a major, visit an academic advisor in the School or College that you are interested in to discuss the process of declaring the major.
- If you would like to learn more about your career interests, abilities, values and talents, visit the MU Career Center. No Appointment is necessary to explore career options with one of our staff members.
- If you would like information about MU majors and degree programs, visit:
- the Degrees, Majors (Degree Programs), Emphasis Areas, Minors and Certificates page in the catalog,
- the MU Majors website.
For additional major and career exploration resources, visit Major & Career Exploration in the catalog.