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Department of Social Work
About the Department
BSW Program
The Department of Social Work provides an undergraduate program in social work which prepares students for beginning generalist social work practice. This program currently has approximately 240 majors. Completion of 122 semester hours is required for graduation. The undergraduate social work program is a 41-hour major with two community-based volunteer placements and a 440-hour internship during which students apply theoretical knowledge and skills with diverse client groups in over 50 community social welfare and educational agencies and organizations.
Joint Masters of Social Work (JMSW) Program
The Department of Social Work implemented a collaborative graduate program in social work with North Carolina A & T State University in fall 1997. This Master of Social Work program requires completion of 60 credit hours and is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. Each MSW student completes 1108 hours of internships in community agencies. A 45 credit hour Advanced Standing option is available for highly qualified students who have graduated from a CSWE-accredited BSW Program; these students complete a 672 hour internship.
Research and Scholarship
Our research is applied and aimed at understanding and solving problems in social welfare. Our work is developed in partnership with community agencies and provides opportunities for undergraduate and graduate student participation as well as publication in high quality refereed journals. For the period of 2004-2008, we received more than $9,000,000 in external funds. Social work faculty had 47 publications and gave 116 conference presentations during this time. Areas of faculty research include:
- Effective interventions with at-risk children and youth
- Social agency program development and evaluation
- Social work practice methods
- Social work with families
- Homelessness
- Mental Health
- International social welfare
- Family crisis intervention
- Intervention with the elderly
- Religious congregations in human services
- Social and economic impacts of unemployment and income deficiency upon older workers
International Education Opportunities
International study opportunities are available through our relationship with the Glasgow School of Social Work at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland and Costa Rica.