Program Overview

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Program Overview & Highlights

The Social Work and Women’s Studies program at the University of Windsor offers a unique opportunity for students to combine their passion for social work and women’s studies. This program is one of the only combined BSW programs in Social Work and Women’s Studies in North America.

Program Details

• Honours 4-Year Program
• Combined Honours Programs Available
• B.S.W.

Program Highlights

• Gain 700 hours of real experience working in local schools, hospitals, and non-profits in our 4th year practicum course
• Hands-on experiential learning opportunities to prepare you for a successful career
• Join a tight-knit community of like-minded peers in the Social Work Student Association and participate in workshops, galas, and more

Faculty & Staff

Student Recruitment Officer

• Selena Randhawa
• Recruiter - Business, FAHSS, Law, Education

Recruitment & Outreach Coordinator

• Sheri Lowrie
• FAHSS Recruitment and Outreach Coordinator

Admission Requirements

High School Student from Canada

• Course Requirements: English/ENG4U (min. avg. 60%)
• Minimum Average: 70%
• Mean Average: 80%

High School Student from Outside Canada and the United States (International)

• Course Requirements: Grade 12 English
• Minimum Average: 70%
• Mean Average: 80%

Career Tracks

• Victim advocate
• Human rights advocate
• Crisis counsellor
• Women’s shelter service worker
• Child and youth protection worker
• Social worker
• Law enforcement officers
• Settlement worker
• Counsellor
• Family service worker
• Lawyer
• Parole officer

Related Programs

• Social Work
• Social Work and Disability Studies
• Family and Social Relations
• Women’s and Gender Studies

Plan Your Program

Term: Fall 2025

Important Notes

1. ENGL-1010 is required for all FAHSS Majors. Students with 80% or higher in Grade 12 ENG4U (or equivalent) are exempt from this course requirement and will substitute it with an additional course from any area of study.
2. All FAHSS programs require students to take one course with Indigenous content, perspectives, or materials. This can be done at any time during the student’s undergraduate education. It is recommended that co-op students fulfill this requirement in the summer term. See this link for course options: Not all Indigenous content courses are offered every term.
3. Language courses count as Arts or Science courses.

Required Course Notes

Major Courses

• SWRK 1170
• ICWG-1000 (previously WGST 1000)
• One of the following WGST 1** courses:
  • ICWG-1200 (previously WGST 1200)
  • ICWG-1300 (previously WGST 1300)

Required Course:

• ENGL 1010

Recommended Other Courses

• GART 1210 (see note 2)
• One course from any area excluding Women’s and Gender Studies and Social Work

Required Courses

ENGL 1010: Academic Writing

An introduction to the fundamentals of effective writing in academic contexts. Topics may include language, essay writing conventions, critical thinking, research, editing and revising, and academic integrity. (1.5 lecture, 1.5 laboratory hours per week.) (Arts elective only; does not count for credit in the major or minor course requirements of any English or English and Creative Writing degree programs.) (Credit cannot be obtained for both ENGL 1010 and ENGL 1001 or GART 1510.)

SWRK 1170: Meeting Human Needs through Social Welfare

This course examines the historical, philosophical and political aspects of the development and delivery of the Canadian Social Welfare System. Special attention will be focussed on ways to identify and assess the needs of, and services to, vulnerable populations within the context of social and cultural diversity.

WGST 1000: Women in Canadian Society

This course illustrates and account for the position of women in Canadian society. We explore how gender identities are informed by the process of social construction which privileges some women while disadvantaging others.

Recommended Courses

GART 1210: An Introduction into Indigenous Topics

This course introduces students to Indigenous histories, perspectives, and modern realities through an Indigenous lens. The role of colonization is introduced as Indigenous relationships on Turtle Island changed as a result of contact and colonization. This survey course provides a learning opportunity for students to engage in Indigenous pedagogy and worldview as they learn how history impacts the contemporary lives of Indigenous people. Through exploring relationships, this course engages critical reading, writing and thinking skills through course lectures and seminar activities. The history of relations assists in understanding how colonization’s policies and statutory documents thereafter affected Indigenous peoples, such as the Royal Proclamation, Treaties, the Indian Act, the British North America Act (1867), and the Constitution Act (1982). Today, these colonial-state governance documents are a significant part of Indigenous-Crown and Indigenous-settler relations. (2 lecture hours and 1 tutorial hour per week.) (Also offered as SOSC-1210.)

WGST 1200: Gal Pals: Women and Friendship

This course examines a diverse range of women’s friendships. Through discussion, reading, and films we will explore topics such as the meaning of friendship for women, how women’s friendships have been portrayed in literature and film, the link between friendship and social activism for women, and the political meanings of women’s friendship in cultures resistant to woman-centered consciousness. (Can be taken for Social Science or Arts credit.)

WGST 1300: Imagining Women

This course examines a broad cross-section of historical and contemporary representations of western women in popular culture, and visual media – photographs, film and video, the fine arts, and advertising. The student will be introduced to feminist and gender-related theories of representation. (Can be taken for either Social Science or Arts credit.)