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2017-2018 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog

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Bachelor of Social Work

Undergraduate Social Work Admission

Social Work Majors

The B.S.W. degree requires successful completion of 120 semester hours of college credits. The program is built on a liberal arts foundation plus 34 hours of cognate and international courses. These required courses augment, complement, and supplement the 45 credit hours of professional social work courses, which include emphases on social work values and ethics, social and economic justice, diversity, and populations at risk in the human behavior and social environment, social welfare policy and services, generalist social work practice, social work research, and field education practice sequences.

  • The Bachelor of Social Work degree program is a secondary admission program, which only admits students one time per year. An eligible applicant must:
  • Have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.500 or above;
  • Have all admission prerequisite coursework successfully completed or in progress at the time of application;
  • Earn a C or better in all admission prerequisite coursework (excluding General Education requirements and MTH 110);
  • Adhere to the SSW course repeat policy which states that a student may not repeat a required course more than once.

The B.S.W. program starts in the Fall semester and the SSW admits students one time per year.

At the time of graduation, all students must have earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.500 and a 3.000 GPA in their social work major courses.

Admission Prerequisite Courses

All admission prerequisite courses must be completed with a C or better and the cumulative grade point average for these course must a 2.500 or above. These courses may be repeated no more than once.

* BIO 104 is the recommended Life Science choice for social work majors.

  • Social Problems/Social Inequality elective Credits: 3

Students must also demonstrate a MTH 110 proficiency and have completed their general education Foundations (excluding Mathematical Sciences); these requirements do not require C or better.

Required Courses in the Major

The student must earn an overall G.P.A. of 3.0 in social work courses and not have repeated a course more than once. Also included are six credits from the list of social work electives, as well as three credits from the list of international program courses.

Courses Required Prior to Second Year of Social Work Program

The following required courses must be completed by the student before starting field education:

  • Culture and environment elective Credits: 3

Courses Required Prior to Graduation:

The following courses must be completed prior to graduating with their B.S.W.:

  • Interprofessional practice elective Credits: 3
  • Social Work electives Credits: 6
  • International relations elective Credits: 3

Course Lists

Social Problems/Social Inequality Course (3 credits)

Culture and Environment Course (3 credits)

Culture and environment course must be completed prior to entering field education.

*Courses cannot be used to satisfy both the culture and environment and social work elective requirements.

Interprofessional Practice (3 credits)

Interprofessional practice course must be completed prior to entering field education.

Social Work Electives (6 credits)

International Relations Program (3 credits)

Note: Students are not restricted to this list; students may ask the B.S.W. director to consider additional courses.

Recommended Free Electives

Note: Students are not restricted to this list.

Transfer Students

A student planning to transfer to GVSU from another college or university should work closely with their local academic advisor. As a transfer student, be sure to carefully review your GVSU transcript evaluation upon admission to the university. To be considered for the Social Work program, a student must be admitted to GVSU and have declared social work as a major prior to application. Transfer students are able to declare Social Work as their major at transfer orientation.

An eligible applicant must

  • have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.500 (including transfer credits);
  • have all admission prerequisite coursework successfully completed or in-progress at the time of application;
  • earn a C or better in all admission prerequisite coursework (excluding general education requirements and MTH 110);
  • adhere to the SSW course repeat policy which states that a student may not repeat a required course more than once;
  • successfully complete SW 300 within their first year of the B.S.W. program, as most transfer institutions do not offer an equivalent; and
  • demonstrate MTH 110 proficiency via MTH Placement test, ACT or SAT scores, or through successfully completion of a MTH 110 equivalent.

The B.S.W. program starts in the fall semester and the SSW admits students one time per year.

Given extenuating circumstances, the director of the Bachelor of Social Work program reserves the right to work with students on a case by case basis when making admission decisions.

Once admitted into the School of Social Work, all transfer students must satisfy all university and major requirements prior to graduation.

Suggested Order of Coursework for a Social Work Major

Fall Semester - Year One (15 credits)

Winter Semester - Year One (15 credits)

Fall Semester - Year Two (15 credits)

  • Social Problems/Social Inequality elective Credits: 3
  • International relations program course Credits: 3
  • General education course (choose from ART, P and L, or HST) Credits: 3
  • General education course (choose a US Diversity) Credits: 3

Winter Semester - Year Two (15 credits)

  • General education course (choose a World Perspectives) Credits: 3
  • General elective Credits: 3

Fall Semester - Year Three (15 credits)

  • Culture and environment elective Credits: 3

Winter Semester - Year Three (15 Credits)

  • General Education Issues Credits: 3
  • General Elective Credits:3

Fall Semester - Year Four (15 credits)

  • Social work elective Credits: 3
  • Interprofessional practice elective Credits: 3
  • General elective Credit: 1

Winter Semester - Year Four (15 credits)

  • Social work elective Credits: 3
  • General education Issues: Credits: 3
  • General elective Credits: 2

Note:

This is a sample curriculum guide. It may not be applicable for every student and is not a replacement for meetings with an academic advisor.

Social Work Program Description

Click here for the program description.


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