Social Work, B.S.W.

The mission of the social work program is to prepare students to be engaged generalist social work practitioners committed to achievement in human and community well-being through embracing values of service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity and competence.  

The goals of the BSW program at Maryville University are as follows:

1. To prepare students with the knowledge, skills and values to become generalist social work practitioners or to pursue graduate studies in the field of social work;
2. To create innovative transformational educational experiences that encourage students to grow professionally and challenge themselves to confront injustices and change the world;
3. To serve self, individuals, families, groups, communities and organizations with compassion, cultivating a culture of acceptance and inclusivity that emphasizes self-care along with the well-being of diverse others;  
4. To mentor/foster/build a diverse community of social work learners connected to each other and engaged in promoting the global well-being of ALL people, regardless of identity.   

All courses for the BSW program are offered in an 8-week format, online, with the exception of the field work courses. The field work practicum courses are completed within each student’s own community over 16 week periods. The program is seeking accreditation through the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and is on track to receive initial accreditation in June of 2022. The program is currently in the Candidacy phase of the accreditation process (see https://cswe.org/Accreditation for more information about the accreditation process).  

The General Education Requirements (GER) and social work courses are described below.