Bachelor of Social Work
About the Program
A BSW degree prepares students with the knowledge base, professional values, and skills to professionally intervene with individuals, families, groups, and communities in diverse practice settings. The BSW program prepares students to be generalist social work practitioners or to go on to study in a Master of Social Work (MSW) program. In most states, students who have a BSW degree are eligible to apply for social work licensure.
SBU’s BSW program is built upon a liberal arts foundation and emphasizes the integration of Christian and social work values. Students benefit from the faculty’s professional experience and dedication to serving, mentoring, and educating others. Volunteer experiences and field placements also provide students with hands-on learning and opportunities for academic and professional growth.
Mission
The mission of SBU’s social work program is to prepare students in a Christian context to practice as competent generalist practitioners in diverse settings worldwide.
Goals
The social work program at SBU has three primary goals:
- Equip students with the knowledge, values and skills to be competent generalist practitioners in local and global settings.
- Inform students about compassion and respect for all humanity, based upon an understanding of God’s grace, the teachings of Christ, and the Bible’s instructions concerning poor and oppressed groups, in order to promote attitudes and actions of service and advocacy.
- Promote an atmosphere that values and encourages leadership and continued development as social work professionals through lifelong learning, professional development, research, service, and graduate education.
Employment
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the social work profession is growing faster than average for all occupations, especially in the areas of aging and health care services. There are currently more than 640,000 professional social workers employed in the United States.
Social workers work in a wide variety of employment settings, such as:
- Hospitals
- Schools
- Hospice Agencies
- Child Welfare Organizations
- Adoption Agencies
- Mental Health Organizations
- Aging Services
- Correctional Institutions
- Homeless Shelters
- Domestic Violence Programs
- Military
- Churches
- Government
- Pregnancy Resource Centers