Social Work

If you want a career that offers deep personal meaning, action, diversity, satisfaction and an abundance of options, Social Work may be your perfect fit. With a Bachelor of Social Work degree (BSW) you’ll be prepared to apply your passion for helping others in a fulfilling career promoting social justice, community, family and personal well-being.

Social workers provide invaluable service on the front lines of

Their work environments and areas of specialization range from

Working closely with our engaged faculty, you’ll learn the researched and proven ways to solve problems for the greater good—one person and family at a time. You’ll collaborate with faculty and human service providers to help persons at risk, intervene with families in crisis, make connections and change the social environment to support the families of today and tomorrow. You’ll be a change agent promoting causes to eliminate economic and social injustice.

The Kutztown University BSW program is nationally accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. The degree will qualify you as a generalist practitioner. Generalist social workers take a “strengths perspective” to identify, recognize, support, and build upon the innate capabilities of each person and family. They seek out and build on the strengths within and among diverse groups.

As a BSW candidate, you’ll learn how to structure a planned change process to engage, assess, broker services, advocate, counsel, educate, and organize with and on behalf of clients. Your coursework will prepare you to advocate for social welfare policies that best serve the needs of clients and engage in community development.

Graduates of the BSW program are eligible for admission into a Master of Social Work (MSW) program with advanced standing. They can complete an MSW at KU or any other accredited social work program in the U.S. in as little as one calendar year. MSW candidates develop further specialization through elective course offerings and a 960-hour agency-based practicum experience. This specialized program of study is achieved through each student's choice of six, 1-credit elective courses from a broad range of topics, from therapeutic interventions to agency administration and policy development.

Potential areas of specialization are wide and varied:

• Child and Family Social Workers support troubled parents, advocate for children’s rights in court, and help youth find homes through adoption.
• Criminal Justice Social Workers assist the incarcerated, ex-offenders, their families, or crime victims to help them move forward.
• Medical Social Workers work in hospitals, homecare, or rehabilitative settings.
• Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers service people with clinical mental health or addiction.
• School Social Workers advocate for the fair and equal treatment of all students and they work to remove barriers and connect families with resources in public and private education settings.

Minor in Social Work

Students may elect to add Social Work as a minor. This program includes 18 semester hours of required courses in the social work field.

Sample Career Options

Student Learning Outcomes