The Social Work B.S.W. provides a comprehensive study of social welfare systems, social work as a profession, social policy analysis, social human behavior, and the social environment, as well as practice methods, an evaluation of practice and a field placement practicum. Students finish the program with the skills needed for entry-level professional social work practice.
The mission of NCCU's Bachelor of Social Work degree program is grounded in the concept of social and economic justice with a focus on diverse and vulnerable populations. Our Bachelor of Social Work degree program is committed to the education of generalist social work practitioners who are life-long learners and skilled in the promotion of social justice and social change at the individual, group, organizational and community levels of interventions, furthering the achievement of social and economic justice.
The CSWE is a national accrediting body for social work programs across the United States. Beyond following accreditation standards for North Carolina Central University, NCCU’s Department of Social Work is required to uphold standards from CSWE. We received our accreditation in 1998 and plan to continue providing excellent programming to maintain accreditation.
B.S.W. Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes
Students remain with University College advisors until they have earned 55 credits. University College has access to our curriculum and will ensure that students are on track for our social work program once that transfer happens. If students have questions prior to being transferred, they are welcome to reach out to the Social Work advisors; however, all registering and advising will need to remain with University College advisors.
Our social work classes have a capacity of 25 per class, and our seminar classes have a capacity of 18 students. This means you will have the opportunity to engage with your professors and with other students in your cohort. Every social work class has at least one group project per semester. In social work, we do our best work as a team to ensure that we are providing the best care or making the best programmatic recommendations.
We highly recommend declaring your major in social work as soon as possible. This allows us to see your name and interest and invite you to events happening within our program. Declaring your major also ensures that you can sign up for our 2000- and 3000-level courses
As part of our CSWE requirements, social work students are required to apply to our program for acceptance before they can move on to 4000-level courses and their internship. This application resembles a graduate school application, with part of the goal being that you are thinking about yourself as a social worker (personal narrative of why you want to go into social work) and showing you understand some beginning concepts of the profession (diversity and difference in practice).
In addition, we are training you for the social work profession in our program, and this process helps us determine whether students are serious about their education.
An internship is required during your senior year. You must be accepted into our program before you can do your internship, and your internship will be coordinated by our field department. You do not find your own internship.
Your internship is 400+ hours. If you are scheduled to do your internship in the summer, then you will complete it for 10 weeks over Summer Sessions 1 and 2; it is a 40-hour-per-week commitment. If you are scheduled to do your internship over the Fall/Spring, then you will complete it two days a week for 8 hours per day (16 hours per week). All internship hours are traditionally done during the work day (9–5).
Master of Social Work (M.S.W.)
If you earn a 3.0 or higher with your B.S.W. degree, you can apply to an Advanced Standing Master of Social Work Program. This allows you to obtain your M.S.W. in 1 year instead of the traditional 2 years. Though we love to see our double Eagles, a B.S.W. earned from our institution is honored at any university in the US that offers the Advanced Standing Option. (Note: A 3.0 does not guarantee admission, but it is a common standard to get your application reviewed).
Gap Year
If you want more experience before entering the field or attending graduate school, consider an AmeriCorps Opportunity. This is a full-year service opportunity with which you can put your skills to practice in an environment that is supportive and expectations are that you are learning new skills.
You are paid a living wage (about $30k), receive full health benefits, and often receive housing compensation, and your loans go into forbearance (do not need to pay loans for the year). At the end of your service year, you receive just under $7,000 to use toward repaying student loans.
Some examples of AmeriCorps opportunities are College Advising Corps and Hunger Corps. The main website where you can get more information is https://americorps.gov/. There are opportunities locally and nationally, and we have alumni who can talk about their experiences.
Working with Your B.S.W.
Many of our students choose to go to work with their B.S.W. degree. This degree works as many humanities degrees work as well. In North Carolina, some of your options include working for a non-profit, at the county (social services), for the public school system and as a case manager.
Applications are accepted to the B.S.W. program from September 1 through October 1 for Fall applicants and from February 1 through March 1 for Spring applicants.
Eligibility Checklist:
To prepare, we highly suggest you take a look at this link to view the application requirements (personal narrative, diversity essay, recommendations, etc):