Home / Academics / Undergraduate / Find a Program / Bachelor’s in Social Work (BSW) Program | Ursuline | Ursuline - Liberal Arts College in OH
Advance social and economic justice through a strengths-based BSW program.
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If you feel called to advocate for others, Ursuline's online Social Work program may be for you. You'll experience a collaborative and challenging curriculum, a sense of community in each class, and field placements that will kick-start your professional career. You may complete the program through either one of two admissions pathways:
The undergraduate degree in social work will prepare you for entry level social work practice, admission to graduate school, and the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) licensure exam offered in Ohio and other states where social workers are licensed at the Bachelor’s level.
Through the program's strengths-based approach, you'll become a competent social work professional, ready to work with diverse populations, those who are at risk of oppression, especially women, and to advance social and economic justice through leadership.
You’ll be individually matched with agencies and organizations for fieldwork practice based on your interests. Your professors will know you well enough to place you in agencies doing work you are passionate about, connect you with mentors you will click with, and seek out fieldwork environments that match your post-college goals.
What sets our Social Work program apart from all other traditional undergraduate programs at Ursuline is that in Social Work, you'll take classes on campus for the first two years, and then the second two years -- including two summer classes between junior and senior year -- you'll take Social Work courses online.
Typically, you'll focus on core courses and electives during your first two years at Ursuline. You may choose to live in a residence hall or compete in athletics. You'll be a traditional undergrad.
Junior and senior year, you may continue to live on campus, but the courses in your major you will take online. This will include independent work online; collaborative work between students and instructors on-screen via Zoom; and “town hall” style gatherings on screen with all social work students. This way, you'll get to know your classmates, both the traditional students like yourself and the working adults in the fully online, accelerated program. This diverse group of learners of all ages will become your community, your future colleagues!
And taking those two summer courses between junior and senior year will help lighten your course load during the semesters you are in field placement, gaining invaluable real-world experience.
You'll meet with Social Work faculty members all four years for advising and academic planning to make sure you stay on track for your goal!
As a graduate of Ursuline's Bachelor's in Social Work (BSW) program, you will be eligible for advanced standing in CSWE-accredited Master of Social Work (MSW) programs across the United States, including both traditional and online programs. This may allow you to complete your master's in a shorter period of time.
Ursuline's fully online, accelerated version of this undergraduate social work curriculum is especially well suited to working adults. Learn more.
This program is fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. Learn more about Ursuline College's social work accreditation and licensing. View the Council on Social Work Education’s Commission on Accreditation assessment summary.
Ursuline's Social Work program is ranked among the nation's best by College Values Online.
Interested in understanding the effects of trauma as you prepare for trauma-responsive work?
Explore Ursuline's 3-course Trauma-Informed Care Micro-credential.
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U.S. News and World Report ranks social work in the Ten Best Social Service Professions. By 2022, the field is expected to grow by 19%. Here is just a sample of the community agencies and organizations employing our Social Work graduates:
The estimated annual salary of our bachelor’s in social work graduates is $51,564, well above the national average of $50,470 (source: bls.gov). This field is expected to grow much faster than average from 2019 to 2029.
Admission to the Social Work Program and admission into field education is a joint process which occurs in your junior year when you are enrolled in SW 338 Sociological Theory.
In your initial interview when you're inquiring about the Social Work major, we will discuss program admissions criteria, curriculum, and faculty. Faculty will explain that there is a specific entry point into the professional component of the social work major. The Student Handbook, which is posted in all Social Work courses in D2L, the Learning Management System, provides detailed information regarding the admissions process.
The faculty instructor of SW 338 will review the application process with you, including the forms and the requirements to apply formally for admission to the Social Work Program and to the field placement. While enrolled, you'll make formal application to the professional component of the major. You'll complete the application to the Social Work Program and the Application for Field Placement. In order to qualify for admission to the Program, you should:
