2021-2022 University Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2021-2022 University Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Social Work, B.S.W.


Social Work, B.S.W. Locations  

The Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) prepares students for beginning professional social work practice across a wide variety of social service settings. As generalist social work practitioners, graduates will be prepared to work collaboratively from a strengths based approach with diverse populations. Ecosystems Theory, Strengths Perspective, Multicultural Competence and Social, Economic & Environmental Justice within a global perspective, all serve as overarching conceptual frameworks across the curriculum. All aspects of student learning (curricular and professional) are integrated with the senior year field education practicum experience. Note: The BSW Program at Park University was granted full re-affirmation of accreditation by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) in Spring 2019. The BSW Program is accredited through Spring 2025.

BSW Program Application Criteria & Admission Guidelines

Students must complete all Liberal Education (LE) and BSW Program prerequisites prior to applying for admission to the senior year of the BSW Program. Application and admission to the professional undergraduate BSW Program is a separate process from application and admission to Park University. Declaring Social Work as a Major does not guarantee admission into the Program. Procedures 1-3 below must be completed before a student is eligible to apply to the BSW Program. Procedures 4 and 5 provide brief guidelines of the application submission and review process.

  1. DECLARATION OF MAJOR (DOM) in Social Work (SW)
    Applicants must be admitted to Park University and have submitted a DOM in SW. A Minor is not required. Once a SW Major is declared, Park assigns the student a BSW Faculty Advisor. The student should contact this advisor and schedule an appointment. Please note: a DOM in SW does not mean the student has been admitted or in any way guarantees admission into the Program.
  2. BSW PREREQUISITE
    Academic Advising with BSW Faculty is a critical component of the BSW Program. During initial advising, students share their educational goals and collaborative planning begins. The SW advisor and student will work together to ensure all required prerequisite courses are completed.
  3. ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS
    1. Completion of a minimum of 60 credit hours of undergraduate college coursework; including all 43 credit hours of required LE courses, with LE 300*  (or equivalent or an earned AA or AS degree).
    2. A cumulative undergraduate Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.50 or higher on a 4 point scale. Cumulative GPA is a calculation of all undergraduate grades shown on all transcripts; considered during the application review. A 2.50 GPA must be maintained throughout the Program. If GPA falls below 2.50, this may result in dismissal from the Program.
    3. Completion of the following courses (or equivalent), with a grade of C or better: SO 141 Introduction to Sociology ; PS 101 Introduction to Psychology ; MA 120 Basic Concepts of Statistics ; SW 205 Introduction to Social Work ; SO 302 The Study of the Family ; PS 309 Human Sexuality ; EN 306B Business Communications ; SW 325 Human Diversity and Social Justice ; SW 330 Social Welfare Policy and Programs ; and two consecutive Modern Language courses. BSW Application Packet may be submitted one term prior to completing EN 306B , SO 302 , PS 309 , SW 325 , SW 330  or 2nd modern lanaguage; but are not considered for ‘Full’ admission until all courses are completed.
    4. Integrative seminar for social work minors, requires 40 hours of service learning where students may apply skills learned in the classroom in a structured human service setting, military base, etc. This capstone course must be taken in the last semester before graduation.
  4. APPLICATION SUBMISSION
    All application materials must be submitted to the Department of Social Work, no later than Fall semester of the student’s Junior year, for admission consideration for the following academic year. Once the application packet is submitted to the SW Office, it becomes the property of the Department and its content will not be returned to the applicant under any circumstances, including reference letters.
  5. APPLICATION REVIEW
    The Review is conducted by the BSW Admission & Review Committee. In evaluating applicants, Committee reviewers consider the applicant’s: academic performance; GPA; participation and performance in SW courses; written and verbal communication skills; applicant’s commitment to social work and suitability for the profession; work and volunteer experiences; and references. A personal interview may be required. The Committee determines the applicant’s admission status as either: Full, Provisional, Probationary, Deferred or Denied. The BSW Program Director shares admission decision with applicant via student’s Park email. In accordance with CSWE accreditation standards, the BSW Program does not grant course credit for life experience or previous work experience. However, these experiences are carefully considered during the application review process. Therefore, make sure to clearly note these experiences on your résumé.

Requirements For: B.S.W. Major – 45 hours, 2.5 GPA, Grade of C or better


Notes:


Conditional Admission to the BSW program (referred to as Pre-Major status). Students who have successfully completed Criteria 1 through 3 may be conditionally admitted to the BSW program and begin taking those social work courses not restricted to social work majors. Full admission to the major is contingent upon completion of Criteria 1 through 5. Students who have met the pre-requisites may apply to the BSW program by the end of fall semester with approval from the student’s social work advisor and, if admitted, may be granted permission to enroll in SW 400 - Human Behavior in the Social Environment I  (Fall semester prior to senior year) and SW 405 - Human Behavior and Social Environment II  (Spring semester prior to senior year). 

Liberal Education Requirements 40 CR.


Writing Seminar 6 cr.


EN 105  and EN 106  

Math Requirement 3 cr.


Select one of the following:

MA 120 MA 135 , or higher math course excluding MA 208  

Science with a lab Requirement 4 cr.


Select one of the following:

BI 101 BI 111 BI 211 BI 212 BI 223 BIO 221 BIO 225 BIO 325 BIO 327 BIO 330 BIO 337L  and BIO 337 BIO 350 BIO 378 BIO 400 BIO 410 BIO 411 BIO 417 CH 101 CH 105  CH 107L  and CH 107 CH 108L  and CH 108 CH 317L  and CH 317 CH 318L  and CH 318 CH 328 CH 329 CH 337L  and CH 337 CH 405 CH 440 GGP 115 GGP 205 GO 130 GO 141 GO 151 GO 200 GO 310 GO 320 GO 330 PY 155 PY 156 PY 205 , or PY 206    

Ethics Requirement 3 cr.


Select one of the following:

AC 435 CA 302 CS 300 EDU 310 MG 495 NS 306 PA 380 PH 102 PH 221 PH 224 PH 308 PS 220 SO 220  or SW 492   

Communications Requirement 3 cr.


Select one of the following:

CA 103 CA 105 , or TH 105  

Citizenship Requirement 3 cr.


Select one of the following:

PO 200 PO 210 HIS 111 HIS 112 , or HIS 113  

Humanities Requirement 6 cr.


Select one of the following Art or English: 

AR 115 AR 215 AR 216 EN 201 EN 221 EN 232 EN 234  

And one of the following:

AR 115 AR 215 AR 216 EN 201 EN 221 EN 232 EN 234 CA 104  , CA 116 CA 235 , FR 201 ML 235 ,ML 251 PH 101 PC 202  ,PH 205 RE 109 SP 110 , SP 201 , SP 202 TH 100 TH 101 TH 201 TH 216   

Natural Science Requirement 3 cr.


Select one of the following:

BI 214 CH 101 CH 102 CH 105 CH 107  and CH 107L CH 108  and CH 108L GGP 115 GGP 120 GGP 205 GO 125 GO 130 GO 141 GO 151 GO 200 NS 220 NS 241 PY 101 PY 155 PY 156 PY 205 , or PY 206  

*Computer Science and PE courses excluded.

Social Science Requirement 6 cr.


Select two of the following:

AN 100 CJ 100 CJ 200 EC 141 EC 142  , EDU 210 FI 201 ,  GGH 110 GGH 200 HIS 104 HIS 105 PO 216 PS 101 PS 125 PS 205 SO 141 SO 206 , or SW 205  

Seminar: Integrative & Interdisciplinary Learning 3 cr.


Select one of the topics for LE 300*  

Graduation Requirements


Student Seminar 3 CR.


LE 100 - First-Year Seminar  (required for all incoming first-time freshman and highly encouraged for transfer students)

Upper Division Requirements 36 cr.


36 hours of upper division (300-400) level course work

Writing Across the Curriculum 9 cr.


3  hours of Professional Writing (EN 306*  or equivalent from the list below) plus 6 hours of Writing Intensive coursework is required.

EN 306A EN 306B EN 306C ,  EN 307 EDU 300 CJ 450 HIS 452 HIS 454 HIS 455 MG 306 NS 306  , PA 430 PO 405 PS 300 PS 406 , or SO 300  

 

6 credit hours to fulfill the Writing Intensive requirement must be chosen from among the courses designated in the catalog as “WI” (Writing Intensive ), composed as follows:

  • 3 of the credit hours must come from a WI course outside the student’s major(s); that is, the course must be offered by a program other than the one(s) that house(s) the student’s major area of study at the time the course is taken.
  • 3 of the credit hours must come from a WI course that is offered by the student’s major program; that is, the course must be offered by the same program that houses the student’s major at the time the course is taken.

AR 316 AR 498 BIO 498 CA 218 CA 318 CH 342 CJ 221 CS 300 EDU 310 EN 201 EN 221 EN 232 EN 234 EN 490 FW 190 GGP 350 HIS 261 HIS 453 LE 410 MA 301 ML 251 MG 495 NUR 460 PA 432 PO 210 PS 315 SO 141 SP 320 SW 325  

Modern Language Requirement


Completion of two, 4-hour elementary level modern language courses (103 and 104); or the second 4-hour elementary level modern language course (104) and one, 3-hour intermediate course (201); or one, 3-hour intermediate course (201).  Placement will be determined through a Modern Language Placement test.

Elementary Level 8 cr.


FR 103  and FR 104  ;GE 103  and GE 104 SP 103  and SP 104  or transfer equivalent 

Or 

Secondary Level 7 cr.


FR 104  and FR 201 GE 104  and GE 201 SP 104  and SP 201 ; or transfer equivalent

Or

Intermediate Level 3 cr.


FR 202  or GE 202  or SP 202  or transfer equivalent 

Additional Requirements


Park University grants the Bachelor of Social Work upon completion of the following requirements:

  • Completion of a minimum of 122 semester hours with a cumulative 2.5 GPA (or higher dependent on major).
  • Satisfaction of all requirements for a major.
  • Completion of degree specific requirements.
  • Completion of Liberal Education requirements.
  • Completion of residency requirement, 30 hours of earned and graded (A, B, C, D) college hours at Park University. At least 15 of these 30 hours must be in the major.
  • Application to BSW Program required.
  • Submission of an Application of Graduation.