Social Work, Bachelor of Social Work
This program leads to a profession which requires an occupational license as defined under Texas Occupations Code 58.001. This requires that all applicants seeking to become licensed must undergo a criminal background check prior to licensure.
The School of Social Work at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley offers a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree program which is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The BSW is a professional degree built on a liberal arts foundation with supporting social and behavioral sciences coursework. Graduates of our program will qualify to take the Texas licensing examination to become a Licensed Baccalaureate Social Work (LBSW).
Core Curriculum - 42 Hours
The Core Curriculum serves as a broad foundation for the undergraduate degree. All candidates for a bachelor’s degree must achieve core student learning outcomes, including communication, critical thinking, empirical and quantitative skills, teamwork, personal responsibility and social responsibility, by completing courses within each category or component area of the Core Curriculum as outlined below.
The University has approved specific courses that satisfy Core Curriculum Requirements. Approved courses can be found on the Core Curriculum Page. Students seeking the most efficient way to complete the core curriculum and major or minor requirements are advised to take approved courses that can fulfill both requirements. Although core curriculum courses can also be used to fulfill major or minor requirements, earned credits hours are only applied once. The courses listed below fulfill core curriculum and major requirements. Students who have completed a core curriculum category with courses other than those listed below will still be required to take the listed course(s) to meet major requirements.
080 Social and Behavioral Sciences - 3 hours
Choose one:
020 Mathematics - 3 hours
Choose one:
Major Requirements - 72 hours
Required Courses - 39 hours
Choose one of the following six-hour options:
Prescribed Electives - 21 hours
Advanced Restricted Electives - 12 hours
Choose from any advanced CRIJ, REHS, SOCW, PSY, SOCI, POLS, or ANTH courses
Spanish Language Electives - 6 hours
Choose one pair:
Social Science and Behavioral Sciences - 3 hours
Complete the social and behavioral science course not completed from the requirements listed in the core curriculum.
Choose one:
Support Courses - 12 hours
Required
Choose one:
Choose one:
| PSYC 3337 | Developmental Psychology: Lifespan | 3 |
| PSYC 3332 | Developmental Psychology: Infancy Through Adolescence | 3 |
| PSYC 3333 | Psychology of Adulthood: Maturity and Old Age | 3 |
Choose one:
Free Electives – hours will vary
Free electives credit hours required may vary to achieve the institutional minimum of 120 hours for a degree.
Total Credit Hours: 42
Total Credit Hours: 120
Major Admissions Requirements
Admission requirements required for this program beyond university admission requirements.
Requirements include:
- 2.7 cumulative GPA
- At least 30 hours of University General Education Core Curriculum requirements, with a 2.0 GPA
- SOCW 2361 Introduction to the Social Work Profession, with a grade of ‘C’ or higher,
- 6 hours of freshmen Rhetoric and Composition, with a grade of ‘C’ or higher (ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302)
- 3 hours of college algebra or higher-level mathematics, with a grade of ‘C’ or better.
Major Progression Requirements
Progression requirements required for this program.
A minimum grade of ‘C’ is required for SOCW 3323 (Practice I) as a prerequisite for enrollment in SOCW 4301 (Practice II) and SOCW 4302 (Practice III). A minimum grade of ‘C’ is required in both SOCW 4301 and SOCW 4302 in order to progress to SOCW 4353 (Integrative Field Seminar) and SOCW 4619 (Field Education Block) or SOCW 4354 and SOCW 4355 (Field Education I and Field Education II).