Social Work Major (B.A.)
The Department of Social Work offers a program leading to the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Social Work, regarded in the profession generically as the B.S.W. The program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. The curriculum prepares students for entry-level generalist professional practice and qualifies graduates for New Jersey State Certification (C.S.W.) under current licensing requirements. In addition, graduate programs in social work (M.S.W.) typically offer waiver of courses and advanced standing to program graduates whose applications are accepted for M.S.W. education at regional and national graduate schools. The major in social work also provides general preparation for graduate study in law, public administration, and other professions.
Students must have GPAs of 2.5 or higher to declare social work as a minor and 3.0 or higher to declare social work as a major. Although students may declare social work as their major at any time, entry into the Social Work Program as a major requires formal application and acceptance. This application occurs during the spring of Junior Year, with decisions made following the recording of that semester’s grades. Successful applicants must have earned a B in both SOWK 3811 Junior Practicum and SOWK 3611 Theory and Practice I, and a C or higher in all other social work courses at the one, two, and three thousand levels. Students may retake courses in an effort to raise their grades. The application process is outlined in the Social Work Program Handbook. Students who do not meet the application criteria will meet with the Social Work Program Director for advisement and consideration of alternative majors.
The profession of social work is strongly committed to the amelioration, prevention, and elimination of social problems. The program places strong emphasis on human diversity, discrimination, and oppression within a context of social justice and the values of professional social work. All courses offered by the program emphasize and reinforce these issues. Using a problem-solving approach to professional practice, in conjunction with systems strengths, cultural competence and evidence-based thinking, the program helps students to further understand and build upon the capacities possessed by individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Students will understand, comprehend, competently apply, and internalize the knowledge, skills, and values of the profession. Social work courses are taught by full-time faculty, as well as adjunct faculty who represent a wide range of diversity of demographic variables and types of social work practice. This helps to further reinforce the generalist orientation of the curriculum that is grounded in person-in- environment theory.
Undergraduate study in social work is designed to assure competence in generalist social work practice at the beginning (B.S.W.) level. This competence is to lead to employment, licensure, as well as potential for advanced standing in graduate social work education. Thus, social work is studied in preparation for a career of service to others.
Operating under philosophies of best practices and continuous self-evaluation, the program prepares students to be competent, generalist professionals at the entry level of practice. Specifically, the program emphasizes and requires for completion of the course of study in social work, the following competencies:
- Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior
- Engage anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion in practice;
- Advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice;
- Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research;
- Engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to deliver effective social work services;
- Engage, assess, plan, and intervene with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities; and
- Evaluate practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
Social work is practiced in many different types of organizations and agencies and the generalist curriculum is designed to facilitate professional practice in a broad array of settings. In adequately preparing students for professional practices, they complete professionally supervised internships, described further below. The internship experience, also referred to as “field” and/or “practicum”, is an integral part of the total education program and provides significant opportunity to apply and gain further competency. Field education is the signature pedagogy of social work education. There is never any credit awarded by the program for social service activities conducted outside of the formal internship curriculum.
Internship sites include, but are not limited to:
- healthcare facilities
- mental health centers
- schools, corrections and other criminal justice programs
- child welfare agencies
- poverty programs
- senior citizen programs
- community action programs
- multi-service centers
- family service agencies
- child guidance programs
- legal services
- substance abuse treatment and prevention programs, and
- others.
Field or practicum opportunities and sites are consistently being expanded based on student interests and trends in professional practice. Efforts are strongly made to link students with internships that are compatible with their career interests.
Program advisers who are full-time faculty assist students by means of consultation and guidance in developing individualized study plans within the overall curriculum design. These advisors also help students explore the appropriateness of social work as a career choice. Prospective social work students should seek advisement as early as possible. The Social Work Program Handbook is available on the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice website. This Handbook is designed to fully communicate the details of educational requirements in the Program; albeit in conjunction with individualized advisement.
Incorporating the values of professional social work and, the theoretical framework assures competence in the problem solving method, a systems approach to practice, building upon strengths of the client/client systems, critical thinking, and evaluation. The social work curriculum is integrated and cumulative such that the various courses in the explicit curriculum help students learn and develop respective competencies applicable to that course and build upon competencies from previous courses. In addition to other requirements for entry into social work practicums, prospective students are required to hold malpractice/liability insurance, undergo a criminal background check that includes fingerprinting, and hold membership in the National Association of Social Workers. These matters are addressed through individual student advisement and consultation, as well as the formal application to senior year for majors.
The Social Work Program participates with other baccalaureate social work programs and NASW-NJ in the New Jersey Baccalaureate Child Welfare Education Program (BCWEP). This program offers a limited number of full scholarships to senior students who meet BCWEP requirements and are interested in a career in child protective services. This program is coordinated at Seton Hall University by Professor Mary Landriau. This scholarship program is grant-supported and thus is subject to change in the number of students who may be accepted in any given year.
The Social Work Program participates in Alpha Delta Mu, Social Work Honor Society. Membership application for the Honor Society is done in the early Spring of the senior year. The Honor Society advisor is Dr. Dawn Apgar.
The Student Social Work Association is an integral component of the educational milieu for social work at Seton Hall. The organization is designed to enable students to have a venue for service, self-directed learning, consultation with the program, and mutual information sharing. The Student Social Work Association is advised by Professor Anthony Nicotera.
Majoring in social work also provides opportunity for “outside” learning experiences such as conferences and workshops offered by the Social Work Program, The National Association of Social Workers, and other organizations.
Major Program in Social Work
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Major Requirements | ||
| SOWK 1111 | Introduction to Social Work | 3 |
| SOWK 3201 | Social Problems and Programs | 3 |
| SOWK 3301 | Social Policy Analysis | 3 |
| SOWK 3335 | Ethics in Social Work Practice | 3 |
| SOWK 3511 | Behavior and Environments | 3 |
| SOWK 3512 | Behavior and Environments II | 3 |
| SOWK 3611 | Theory and Practice I | 3 |
| SOWK 3811 | Junior Practicum | 3 |
| SOWK 3910 | Research Methods Social Work | 3 |
| SOWK 4811 | Senior Practicum I | 6 |
| SOWK 4812 | Senior Practicum II | 6 |
| SOWK 4911 | Theory and Practice II | 3 |
| SOWK 4912 | Theory and Practice III | 3 |
| SOWK 5111 | Senior Research Seminar | 3 |
| Subtotal | 48 | |
| Additional Requirements | ||
| Cognate Courses | ||
| BIOL 1101 | Introduction to Biology | 3 |
| MATH 1203 | Stats Models for Soc Science | 3 |
| PSYC 1101 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| SOCI 1101 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| Subtotal | 12 | |
| Electives | ||
| Select two of the following: | 6 | |
| Introduction to Gerontology | ||
| Child Welfare Policy-Practice | ||
| Trauma-Informed Social Wk Prac | ||
| Social Work and the Law | ||
| Current Issues-Trend Social Wk | ||
| Social Wrk Approach Race Bias | ||
| Family Violence | ||
| Substance Abuse Asmnt-Interven | ||
| Psycho-Soc Aspects of Aging | ||
| Subtotal | 6 | |
| Total Hours | 66 | |
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