← Back to Program ListSocial Work
Social work promotes human well-being by strengthening opportunities, resources, and capacities of people and communities and by creating policies and services to correct conditions that limit human rights and quality of life, with a special focus on ending poverty, discrimination, and oppression. Using a person-in-environment perspective and respect for human diversity, social work promotes social justice on behalf of individuals, families, groups, and communities.
Social workers practice in a wide range of service areas providing a variety of services, as the following description illustrates. They work with families in economic distress, offering help with basic needs such as food and housing. They work with persons with physical and mental disabilities and with older adults, providing care management connecting these clients to resources in the community that promote their ability to live independently. They investigate allegations of child abuse and neglect, and provide counseling to families to correct these problems. They work with children in foster care, helping them adjust to new families and schools. They work with people with substance abuse problems, helping them find ways to recover from addiction and to become productive members of their communities. They work with communities to help members organize and advocate for changes that will promote a better quality of life for all. In all of these settings, social workers use the knowledge and skills acquired in undergraduate education for social work.
Admission Requirements
It is recommended that students entering from high school have a high school GPA of at least 3.0 and the following test scores: ACT: 21 Combined and/or SAT: 980 Combined (excluding the Writing). UC admits students based on academic and non-academic factors. For more information please visit the UC Admission Requirements website.
Career Possibilities
Social workers are employed in both the public and private social service sectors. Social workers work in community-based agencies that provide resources to meet basic human needs. They work with people facing difficult life situations, such as homelessness and domestic violence in shelters. They provide counseling and case management services for people with mental health problems in community mental health centers, psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers, corrections, and family service agencies. They work with people experiencing disability and health problems in hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics. They provide support to children and their families in schools and agencies serving youth. In the child welfare field, they are employed by adoption, foster care and family preservation agencies, and protective service agencies dealing with neglect and abuse of children. Other social workers work on policy and program development in government agencies. They may advocate on behalf of causes and communities in a variety of voluntary agencies.
Additional career options are listed on the Career Development Center's Web site.
Special Opportunities
The BSW program is fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. A degree from this program will allow you to sit for the licensing exam in all states that require licensing at the BSW level, including Ohio.
The BSW degree will be recognized by every master's in social work (MSW) graduate program in the United States. You can receive advanced standing credit toward the MSW degree in programs that offer this option.
We work with more than 200 social service agencies in the tri-state area. As a result, you will have a wide variety of agencies to consider when deciding on a field experience.
Contact
Email: cahs.advising@uc.edu
Phone: 513-558-7495
1521B French West
Cincinnati,OH 45221-0108
