About the Bachelor in Social Work Degree Program
Highlights:
- 125 semester hour degree program
- 30 hours of coursework in human behavior, practice, research, and policy
- 480 clock hours of fieldwork in a social services agency
A Bachelor's in Social Work (BSW) combines liberal arts with social work classes to prepare individuals for entry into direct human service professional positions.
BSW students learn to work collaboratively in a variety of settings and learn skills including assessment, interviewing, service planning, case management, crisis intervention, problem solving, program evaluation, community outreach, community organizing, advocacy, research and networking. As a student in the School of Social Work you will receive the training you need to seek an exciting professional career and land employment in many different public and private work settings.
Graduates of our BSW program enhance the well-being of their clients, contribute to the development of social policies, assist in the operation of organizations that provide services to individuals and promote social and economic justice.
The Bachelor of Social Work degree includes 125 hours of coursework, with an emphasis on academic/theoretical material as well as skills and practice experience. Students begin the program as pre-social work majors and complete Area requirements in language arts; social and behavioral sciences; math and natural sciences; and the humanities.
After completing specified pre-requisites, eligible students may make application to the upper-division professional sequence as a social work major. Those students admitted into the sequence as majors take primarily social work courses in the junior and senior years, and complete a supervised internship (480 clock hours) in a social services agency in the last year.
All pre-social work and social work majors are considered social work students and are under the auspices of the School of Social Work.
Majoring in social work at UT-Austin provides students with many opportunities. Social work students can take advantage of all the university-wide and community activities, and at the same time enjoy the benefits of a small program which provides a great deal of personal attention. There are approximately 300 undergraduate students enrolled in the School. Class sizes are usually between 30-50; the seminar which accompanies the students' senior internship has 15-20 students. The School enjoys one of the most diverse faculty, staff and student bodies at The University. The School also has an active student council which holds a variety of academic, social, and social services-related activities each year.
The School of Social Work is a newly renovated facility. The complex includes enough self-contained classrooms and seminar rooms, plus a small auditorium, so that all social work classes are conducted in the same building. The School has several state-of-the-art instructional technology classrooms. The School's Learning Resource Center includes a reference library, study space, multimedia and audio-visual laboratories, and a computer lab. The student lounge has vending machines, kitchen facilities, and a spacious comfortable design for casual meetings and group work.
