The purposes of application and admission to the major are: 1) to provide the opportunity for the student to make a thoughtful and deliberate choice of major 2) to provide a formal opportunity for faculty to assess a student's goodness of fit with the knowledge, values and skills necessary for the profession 3) to begin or enhance the student-faculty advising relationship and 4) to identify and plan for completion of courses for the social work major.

Admission Criteria

Students can be admitted to the major when they have successfully completed the following:

1) SW 101 Introduction to Social Work and Social Justice

2) SW 102 Field Experience

3) Satisfactory evaluation of professional and ethical conduct in field (measured by field supervisors’ evaluation in SW 102),

4) Completion of or enrollment in SW 201 Fundamentals of Practice I.

5) Cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher (4.0 scale) at the time of admission.  Applicants with a GPA  below 2.5 will be  required to develop an academic learning plan with their advisor, with follow-up with the advisor each semester.

6) Completion of Social Work Application to the major

7) Completion of an interview with social work faculty

8) Disciplinary release

Admissions Process and Requirements

In the admissions process for the social work major, the faculty is evaluating four basic characteristics that it believes are essential to becoming a beginning level generalist social worker.  The four characteristics are:

1. Potential for academic success in the social work major.

2. Demonstrated ability to engage in a process of self-discovery and self-awareness and self-improvement, especially as it relates to professional behaviors.

3. Demonstrated ability to engage in productive interpersonal relationships and willingness to refine this skill.

4. Commitment to the social work professional values of: service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence.

Additional information about the admissions process and retention in the major can be found in the Social Work Student Handbook.