The Social Work Curriculum

A comprehensive accredited program at TSU has been designed to provide a generalist foundation for your future career in the social work profession. This foundation is grounded on a liberal arts basis and enhanced by social work courses and content designed to provide the knowledge, values, and skills required of entry-level generalist practice social workers. Required Social Work courses are:

• Introduction to Social Welfare and Social Work*
• Social Welfare Legislation and Policy*
• Human Behavior in the Social Environment
• Generalist Practice
• Seminar in Helping
• Theories in Social Work Practice
• Practice Research and Evaluation
• Field Instruction Practicum*
• Field Instruction Seminar

*In order to encourage practical experience with clients, agency-based field placements are required at various times during the freshman, sophomore, and senior years. Though final matches between students and agencies are made by the course instructor, the Director of Field Education and or the Field Liaison, students are readily encouraged to request practice experiences in areas of their own choosing.
Because students receive a professional degree, social work graduates do not undertake a minor area of concentration. However, Social Work majors may pursue additional special interests such as the following:

• Social Work and Law
• Family Violence and Abuse
• Gerontology
• Child Welfare Services
• Dying & Death
• Health Care Social Work
• School Social Work
• Drug Use and Abuse
• Crisis Intervention/Case Management
• Other Special Topics

Social work majors may enroll in up to 6 hours of upper division courses in other departments.

Employment Settings

As a result of the growing demands of our society, there has been an increasing need for baccalaureate professional social workers. A few practice settings available to recipients of the BA in Social Work include the following:

• Community Development Agencies
• Children and Family Agencies
• Social Service Agencies
• Health / Mental Health
• Drug Abuse Programs
• Nursing Home Facilities
• Public Schools
• Programs for the Homeless
• Correctional Facilities
• Transitional Living Centers
• Churches
• Multi-Service Centers
• Community Based Organizations
• Court Systems
• Community Crisis Centers / Shelters
• Head Start Programs

Students wishing to pursue the undergraduate degree offered through the Department must first gain admission to the University, must obtain academic and professional advising from department faculty, eradicate any and all identified deficiencies related to foundation courses  and must apply to the Department following completion of SOCW 145, 246 and 340. No academic credit is given for prior-life experiences.