About

Do you consider yourself a people person? Are you interested in helping individuals, families, groups and/or communities to enhance their individual and collective well-being?

East Carolina University's Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program prepares students for beginning professional generalist practice and for graduate study in social work. Students will take courses in human behavior and diversity, social work practice with individuals, families, groups and communities, assessment, problem-solving, critical thinking, social policy and research, as well as complete a semester-long internship. Most of these courses are taught through hands-on and experiential methods, as well as traditional teaching modes.

Social work students at ECU have many career options upon graduation, including working with communities, organizations, families and individuals through a variety of human service settings and governmental agencies. Graduates' roles include, but are not limited to, case managers, counseling service providers, behavioral and/or mental health care providers, child welfare workers, family-related service providers, adult protective service workers, correctional officers, medical social workers, geriatric social workers, advocates, community organizers, social planners and policymakers. In addition, students may become candidates for school social work licensure by completing three courses and a one-semester internship in a public-school setting.

ECU Advantage

The BSW degree at East Carolina University was accredited in 1974 by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and is one of the oldest accredited programs in the United States. Since then, our program has educated and trained students to conduct themselves in a way that will assure them a career in the field of social work. Our nationally recognized faculty members are devoted to the student's education and willing to help them succeed at East Carolina.

Upon graduation, our alumni often find employment in the same communities in which they did their field internship, but many continue on to the Master of Social Work (MSW) program here at East Carolina University. In fact, BSW graduates with high GPAs can get an MSW degree in only one additional year following completion of their undergraduate degree.

What You Will Study

Program Coordinator: Abby Schwartz (114 Rivers Building; 252-328-4209; schwartza15@ecu.edu)

The Social Work, BSW is a program of classroom study and fieldwork. The program supports the concept that professional social work practitioners in human services have a strong professional knowledge, skill, and value base from which they offer services. Thus, the Social Work, BSW ensures graduates master the following nine generalist practice social work competencies:

The Social Work, BSW requires the completion of 63 semester hours of social work core/tier and elective courses. The program trains generalist practice social workers who have a broad range of knowledge and skills, who draw on several practice theories and models, and who can move with minimal difficulty from one field of practice to another. The social worker utilizing the generalist perspective is able to focus on a variety of factors that may contribute to problems in social functioning. The generalist social worker is prepared to work with a variety of client systems from individuals to organizations.

Mission and Goals

The BSW program aligns with the School's mission of preparing graduates with the knowledge, skills, and professional values and ethics necessary to inspire positive change and to succeed in a global, multicultural society.  Based on the profession's values and ethics, and social work education's generalist practice competencies, graduates of the BSW program are prepared to:

The goals of the BSW program include:

    Admission

    Admission to the Social Work, BSW is by application only.  Application to the program is made in the academic year preceding upper-division courses. Admission decisions are made in the spring semester preceding fall admission into the major. Students may be admitted provisionally.  

      Admission Requirements

      A student is eligible to apply for admission to the Social Work, BSW program when the following conditions are met: completion of a minimum of 32 s.h. of general education credit; an overall 2.5 GPA; and completion of SOCW 1010 and SOCW 2010 with a 2.5 GPA in these courses. Students not meeting the required GPA may apply for provisional acceptance to the major. The BSW Admissions Committee will review provisional admissions and submit recommendations to the program coordinator.

      Students who plan to transfer to East Carolina from an institutionally accredited university or college must meet the following conditions for admission into the BSW program: admission to ECU; completion of a minimum of 32 s.h.; an overall ECU GPA of 2.5; and completion of the equivalent of SOCW 1010 and SOCW 2010 with a 2.5 GPA in these courses. Students who plan to transfer to East Carolina from a junior or community college are encouraged to take a four-year college preparatory curriculum that includes human biology. The Social Work, BSW program will not accept or substitute major core upper-level courses (numbered 3000 and 4000 at East Carolina) taken at a junior or community college. If transferring from a four-year college or university, the BSW program coordinator will determine the applicability of upper-level courses taken at senior colleges in meeting the Social Work, BSW degree requirements.

        Academic Performance (Progression Requirements)

        Students must maintain an overall GPA of 2.5 or higher once accepted into the Social Work, BSW program. Failure to maintain a 2.5 GPA will result in probation and possible dismissal from the program. If a student earns lower than a C (2.0) in a tier/core course, they will remain on probation and be required to retake the course. If upon retaking the tier/core course the student fails to earn a 2.0 or higher, they will be dismissed from the program.

          Degree Requirements

          The degree requires a minimum of 120 s.h. as follows: 

            1. General education requirements including those listed below - 40 s.h.

            (For information about courses that carry general education credit view the General Education Program section.)

            • BIOL 1050 - General Biology
            • BIOL 1051 - General Biology Laboratory
            • BIOL 1060 - Environmental Biology
            • ECON 2113 - Principles of Microeconomics
            • MATH 1050 - Explorations in Mathematics or higher approved general education math course
            • POLS 1010 - National Government
            • PSYC 1000 - Introductory Psychology
            2. Cognates (social and behavioral science core) - 15 s.h.
              History

              Choose one course from the following: 

              • HIST 1051 - American History Since 1877
              • HIST 3240 - The Age of Franklin Roosevelt, 1919-1945
              • HIST 3245 - The United States Since 1945
              Psychology

              Choose two courses from the following: 

              • PSYC 2777 - Ethnocultural Psychology
              • PSYC 3206 - Developmental Psychology
              • PSYC 3221 - Social Psychology
              • PSYC 3300 - Psychology of Personality
              • PSYC 3375 - Abnormal Psychology
              Sociology

              Choose two courses from the following: 

              • GENS 2400 - Introduction to Gender Studies
              • SOCI 1010 - Race, Gender, Class
              • SOCI 2110 - Introduction to Sociology
              • SOCI 2111 - Modern Social Problems
              • SOCI 3289 - Community Organization
              • SOCI 4347 - Social Inequality
              • SOCI 4350 - Social Change
              Note:

              Students may submit a written request for the consideration of a cognate course substitution.

            3. Social work tier core courses - 57 s.h.
            • SOCW 1010 - Introduction to Social Welfare and Social Work
            • SOCW 2010 - Introduction to Social Work Practice with Special Populations
            • SOCW 3101 - Human Behavior and the Social Environment I
            • SOCW 3201 - Social Work Practice I
            • SOCW 3202 - Social Work Practice II
            • SOCW 3306 - Social Work Policy I
            • SOCW 3401 - Social Work Research I: Quantitative Methods and Statistics
            • SOCW 3402 - Social Work Research II: Qualitative Methods
            • SOCW 3501 - Writing for Social Work
            • SOCW 4102 - Human Behavior and the Social Environment II
            • SOCW 4203 - Social Work Practice III
            • SOCW 4306 - Social Work Policy II
            • SOCW 4980 - Pre-Field Capstone
            • SOCW 4990 - Field Education and Seminar
            • Choose 6 s.h. SOCW electives
            • Choose 6 s.h. SOCW electives
            4. General electives to complete requirements for graduation.
              Note:

              Students will be encouraged to choose electives which will strengthen their total program.

              Professional Performance (Ethics)

              The Social Work, BSW program fully subscribes to and is guided by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics. Applicants and students are expected to demonstrate professional behavior which reflects a commitment to the values and ethics of the social work profession as exemplified in the Code of Ethics. Behavior and statements contrary to these ethics or the technical standards for professional and ethical behavior may be cause for denial of the applicant's admission to or a student's dismissal from the programs. Examples of behavior which would warrant a review include, but are not limited to, derogatory oral and/or written statements toward students, staff, faculty, agency representatives or clients. Derogatory statements concerning racial, ethnic, cultural background, ability status, religion, socio-economic background, gender or gender expression, sexual orientation, or other status may also warrant review. Social workers work with people from a variety of backgrounds and with a wide range of issues and concerns. It is important that the social work student not permit personal issues and/or conditions to interfere with this role.

                For more information about this degree visit the university's academic catalogs.
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