Program Overview
Social Work, BSW
The Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree prepares students as beginning-level professional social workers. Undergraduates in the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work receive a liberal arts education in the social and behavioral sciences and their application to human problems.
Bachelor of Social Work Mission and Goals
The Bachelor of Social Work's mission is to provide social work education that will nurture competent, ethical entry-level social work professionals committed to scientific inquiry, evidence-based practice, respect for human diversity, the promotion of human and community well-being, human rights, and social, economic and environmental justice.
Certificate Programs
Students in the Social Welfare major or the Bachelor of Social Work degree often choose from a variety of certificate programs available, including African American Studies, American Indian and Indigenous Studies, Business, Chicano/a and Latino/a Studies, Criminal Justice, Gender and Women's Studies, Global Health, LGBTQ+ Studies, South Asian Studies, and Southeast Asian Studies, among others.
Master of Social Work Advanced Standing
Bachelor of Social Work students may be considered for advanced standing if they apply and are accepted to one of the Master of Social Work programs. Advanced standing qualifies a student to exempt out of all or part of their generalist year.
How to Get in
Students enter the Bachelor of Social Work program by first declaring the Social Welfare major. Later, if a student applies to and is accepted into the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program, their degree program is changed to BSW.
- Students in the BSW program must be in the College of Letters & Science.
- Applicants may be enrolled in another School or College, but must transfer to Letters & Sciences if they are accepted into the BSW program and choose to pursue the degree.
Declaring the Social Welfare Major
Students must declare the Social Welfare major prior to applying to the BSW Program.
Admission to the BSW Program
Students who meet the following eligibility criteria as of spring of their junior year may apply for admission to the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program:
- SOC WORK 205 and SOC WORK 206 completed
- Declared in the Social Welfare major
- Statistics completed (or concurrent enrollment)
- Second-semester junior status (minimum of 71 credits completed)
- Minimum of 2.500 cumulative GPA from all colleges attended
University General Education Requirements
All undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are required to fulfill a minimum set of common university general education requirements to ensure that every graduate acquires the essential core of an undergraduate education.
College of Letters & Science Degree Requirements: Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)
The Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work is a professional school within the College of Letters & Sciences (L&S). The College confers the BSW degree.
Bachelor of Social Work Degree Requirements
Students pursuing a Bachelor of Social Work degree in the College of Letters & Science must complete all of the requirements below.
- Mathematics: Complete the University General Education Requirements for Quantitative Reasoning A (QR-A) and Quantitative Reasoning B (QR-B) coursework.
- Language: Complete either the fourth unit of one language or the complete the third unit of one language and the second unit of one additional language.
- Breadth in the Degree: Complete 12 credits of Humanities, including at least 6 credits of Literature breadth, 12 credits of Social Science breadth, and 12 credits of Natural Science breadth.
- Ethnic Studies: Complete at least 6 credits of coursework with the Ethnic Studies designation.
- Liberal Arts and Science Coursework: Complete at least 108 credits.
- Depth of Intermediate/Advanced Coursework: Complete at least 60 credits at the Intermediate or Advanced level.
- Major: Gain admission to and complete the Bachelor of Social Work degree program.
- Total Credits: Complete at least 120 credits.
- UW-Madison Experience: Complete both 30 credits in residence, overall, and 30 credits in residence after the 86th credit.
Requirements for the Program
Complete a minimum of 47 credits, to be attained via the requirements detailed below.
Social Welfare Policy & Services
Complete both:
- SOC WORK 205: Introduction to the Field of Social Work
- SOC WORK 206: Introduction to Social Policy
Social Science Concentration
Complete two Intermediate or Advanced level courses and at least 6 total credits from one of the following social science concentration areas:
- African American Studies
- American Indian and Indigenous Studies
- Anthropology
- Asian American Studies
- Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies
- Economics
- Gender and Women's Studies
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Sociology
Human Behavior & the Social Environment
Complete all:
- SOC WORK 457: Human Behavior and the Environment
- SOC WORK 612: Psychopathology in Generalist Social Work Practice
- SOC WORK 640: Diversity, Oppression and Social Justice in Social Work
Social Work Practice Sequence
Complete all:
- SOC WORK 400: Field Practice and Integrative Seminar I
- SOC WORK 401: Field Practice and Integrative Seminar II
- SOC WORK 441: Generalist Practice with Individuals, Families and Groups
- SOC WORK 442: Generalist Practice with Communities and Organizations
Statistics and Research
Complete one course from:
- STAT 301: Introduction to Statistical Methods
- STAT 371: Introductory Applied Statistics for the Life Sciences
- PSYCH 210: Basic Statistics for Psychology
- SOC/C&E SOC 360: Statistics for Sociologists I And complete one course from:
- SOC WORK 650: Methods of Social Work Research
- PSYCH 225: Research Methods
- SOC/C&E SOC 357: Methods of Sociological Inquiry
Electives
Complete two Intermediate or Advanced level SOC WORK courses and at least 6 total credits of Social Work electives.
Residence and Quality of Work
- 2.000 GPA in all SOC WORK courses and all major courses (cumulative)
- Minimum 2.000 GPA on 15 upper-level major credits, taken in residence
- 15 credits in SOC WORK, taken on campus
Footnotes
- Social Science Concentration courses listed are a selected list of eligible courses. Consult with a Social Work advisor for other exceptions or additions to the list.
- BSW students take two semesters (16 hours per week256 hours/semester) of field education during their senior year (SOC WORK 400 fall semester, SOC WORK 401 spring semester).
University Degree Requirements
To receive a bachelor's degree from UWMadison, students must earn a minimum of 120 degree credits. The requirements for some programs may exceed 120 degree credits.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the BSW program, students will be able to:
- Articulate and demonstrate foundational ethical and professional behavior
- Identify the historical foundations of the US social welfare system and the social work profession.
- Recognize and engage in foundational practices to advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
- Demonstrate foundational knowledge, critical reflection, and analytic skills that inform anti-oppressive and anti-racist practice.
- Demonstrate a foundational understanding and ability to use research to inform practice and to use practice experiences to inform research.
- Describe and demonstrate foundational policy practice skills.
- Describe and demonstrate foundational knowledge and skills in engaging, assessing, intervening, and evaluating practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
Four-Year Plan
This Four-Year Plan is only one way a student may complete an L&S degree with this major.
Three-Year Plan
This Sample Three-Year Plan is a tool to assist students and their advisor(s).
Advising and Careers
Students interested in either the Social Welfare major or Bachelor of Social Work meet with the Social Work advisors to discuss degree requirements; explore career paths; declare the major; and confer on student issues and concerns.
Field Education
The Director of Field Education makes final unit placement decisions and field instructors make final agency-placement decisions.
Certification/Licensure
The United States Department of Education (via 34 CFR Part 668) requires institutions that provide distance education to disclose information for programs leading to professional certification or licensure.
Professional Certification/Licensure Disclosure (NC-SARA)
UW-Madison has taken reasonable efforts to determine whether this program satisfies the educational requirements for certification/licensure in states where prospective and enrolled students are located.
Accreditation
The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accredits the BSW program.
Social Work Competencies
At the conclusion of the BSW program, we expect students to have achieved the following core competencies at a generalist level:
- Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior
- Advance human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice
- Engage anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) in practice
- Engage in practice-informed research and research-informed practice
- Engage in policy practice
- Engage with individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations
- Assess individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations
- Intervene with individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations
- Evaluate practice with individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations