Program Overview

University of South Florida School of Social Work

The University of South Florida offers a program leading to a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree in the School of Social Work within the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences. The BSW Program is fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, the national accrediting body for social work education programs.

Program Overview

The primary objective of the BSW Program is the preparation of the graduate for beginning level practice as a social work generalist. Students can expect to develop an understanding of the following:

• Dynamics of human behavior in individual, group, community, and organizational contexts
• Influences of the social cultural environment upon those behaviors
• Social welfare systems and institutions
• Social, economic, and political processes affecting policy development and program implementation
• Utilization of basic social work research skills

Program Structure

The BSW Program comprises a total of 41 credit hours and can be completed in four semesters. It is a full-time, lock-step structured program with two different modalities:

• The in-person cohort takes their coursework through the Tampa campus. Students will generally be on campus three days a week.
• The online cohort takes their coursework through the Sarasota-Manatee campus. It is a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous coursework, which means there will generally be two days of the week in which students are expected to be signed online for live virtual class sessions.

Field Placement

Both cohorts include a 460-hour in-person field placement in the final semester of the program.

Program Documents

The following documents are available for the BSW Program:

• BSW Program Brochure
• Social Work Career Competencies
• Social Work Career Guide
• Child Welfare Certification Pathway
• BSW Student Handbook
• BSW Fact Sheet

Program Fees and Costs

In addition to USF undergraduate Tuition and Fees, there are other costs that students should plan for associated with the BSW program:

• Distance Learning Fee (for online courses only): $30 per credit hour
• Field Lab Fee for SOW4510C: $23.33 per credit hour
• Tevera field placement tracking software: $215 through Tevera directly or $286 through USF Bookstore
• Field Placement required background check: Most placements require a level 2 background check and in some cases students are required to cover this cost, approximately $50-$100
• Field Placement required vaccinations, immunization records, medical testing, drug testing, etc.: Some placements may have these additional requirements and may or may not cover the cost for students.