Social Work, major

Owned by Jenni Piper
Last updated: Apr 04, 2024 by Megan Matteson
4 min read

Contacts: Carol Hurst and Deanna Durham
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Semester Hours: 61
Core Intensives: Fulfills all Core intensives.

The mission of the Social Work program at Eastern Mennonite University is to: 

  • Prepare diverse students to serve and lead as generalist social work practitioners, seeking justice and addressing complex challenges, locally and globally.

  • Engage students in rigorous academic curriculum and cognitive and affective processes that form intersectional self-understanding and appreciation for the strengths-based potential of diverse persons, families, and communities.

  • mentor students for trauma responsiveness and equip students with skills to engage/address social, racial, economic and environmental injustices.

Program goals include:

  1. Equip students with social work knowledge, values, and skills for generalist professional social work practice and/or graduate study.

  2. Provide rigorous academic curriculum and meaningful community engagement with diverse individuals, families, communities and organizations.

  3. Mentor students in anti-racist practices with diverse families, communities, and organizations with self-awareness, ethical boundaries and cultural humility.

  4. Support students in collaborating with clients on micro, mezzo, and macro levels through respectful relationships and effective advocacy for persons, families and communities in rebuilding lives and creating hope for a positive future on earth.

Professional social work practice requires grounding in the core values of the social work profession: service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, the importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence, with attention to practices that advance human rights and promote social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.  Throughout the curriculum students grow in self-awareness of their own family backgrounds and their own cognitive and affective responses to trauma, injustice, and oppression of persons.  Ethical boundaries and self-care are emphasized as students learn to provide compassionate presence and healing care to others. Field experience through classes, community engagement, language study, and intercultural experience build capacity to care competently for diverse populations.

The required curriculum includes course sequences in the discipline's focus areas including Human Behavior and Social Environment (HBSE), policy, and practice. HBSE courses provide sociological and developmental perspectives of patterns of human behavior. Policy courses focus on understanding organizations and government and legislative advocacy on behalf of vulnerable populations and social programs. Practice courses provide structured skills practice at the micro or direct one-to-one interpersonal level, at the mezzo or group and family interpersonal level, and at the macro or large system level requiring community and organizational leadership skills.  Students can develop knowledge in particular interest areas through class projects, choice of social work topics course, and through selection of field practicum setting.

Students must apply for formal admission into the social work program after the initial social work courses.  Transfer students apply to the program after their first semester in the social work major at EMU. The social work program does not grant credit for life experience or previous work experience. Admission to and continuation in the social work program is contingent upon academic performance (a minimum of C in all social work/sociology courses required in the major and a minimum overall GPA of 2.5). In addition a Professional Behaviors Rubric is evaluated with each student to determine readiness for practicum. Personal qualities essential for working with people such as a value orientation consistent with the profession, compassionate sensitivity towards others, self-awareness, and a sense of personal and global responsibility are expected to be identifiable prior to practicum placement. 

Graduates are prepared for generalist social work practice with individuals, families, groups, and communities as well as policy and advocacy organizations. The EMU social work program's emphasis on social justice, anti-racist practices and intercultural learning in domestic and international venues is distinctive. The social work major is a professional degree program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), the standard-setting association for social work degree programs in the United States. Graduates qualify for Baccalaureate in Social Work (BSW) licensure exams.   Graduates who meet advanced standing requirements may pursue graduate degrees in social work at CSWE accredited masters in social work programs to finish an MSW degree on an accelerated basis.

Foundation Requirements (15 SH)

  • PSYC 101 General Psychology (3) 

  • PSYC 202 Developmental Psychology (3) 

  • SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology (3) 

  • SOWK 101 Exploring Social Work (3) 

  • Choose one course from this list:

    • ECON 201 Survey of Economics (3)

    • ECON 212 Principles of Macroeconomics (3)

    • PXD 365 Social and Political Economy (3)

Human Behavior & Social Environment (HBSE) Courses (14 SH)

  • SOC 336 Methods of Social Research (3) 

  • SOWK 200 Social Behavior and Diversity (3) 

  • SOWK 210 Social Stratification (3) 

  • SOWK 360 Race and Gender (3) 

  • STAT 120 Descriptive Statistics (2)

Policy Courses (8 SH)

  • POL 111 Comparative Politics (2) OR POL 112 American Politics (2)

  • SOWK 220 History and Philosophy of Social Welfare (3)

  • SOWK 330 Social Policy Analysis (3) 

Practice Courses (24 SH)

  • SOWK 310 Social Work Practice I (3) 

  • SOWK 400 Social Work Practice II (3) 

  • SOWK 410 Social Work Practice III (3) 

  • SOWK 420 Topics in Social Work (3) 

  • SOWK 430 Senior Practicum in Social Work (12)