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2022-2023

Social Work, Bachelor of

VCU

Community college:
A.A.&.S. or A.S. in General Studies or Social Sciences (Virginia Community College System)
Virginia Community College System
Associate degree

A.A.&.S. or A.S. in General Studies or Social Sciences

Program description

The goals of the profession of social work are to provide services to persons who are vulnerable due to a lack of personal, social and/or institutional resources to meet their emotional, health and economic needs. Social work practice is the application of professional knowledge, skills and values across a range of settings and populations. The focus of practice is on individuals, couples, families, groups and communities.


In addition to direct clinical social work practice, social workers are involved in the administration of human service programs, social planning, the development of social policies, research and evaluation, and teaching. In order to achieve the goals of promoting social justice and enhancing well-being for individuals, families, groups and communities, social workers provide a variety of services primarily in public and nonprofit organizational contexts. Examples of the range of settings in which social workers practice include community centers, public social services, child welfare, residential treatment facilities, schools, community mental health agencies, family and children’s service agencies, psychiatric and acute care hospitals, substance abuse treatment facilities, services for the elderly, court services and adult and juvenile rehabilitation facilities.


Social work practice is designed to enrich quality of life by enabling individuals, groups, communities and organizations to achieve their greatest potential development. The goal of the School of Social Work at VCU is to provide professional education in response to these needs.

Career opportunities

A B.S.W. enables our graduates to empower others and effect change in prevalent areas such as addiction, substance abuse and behavioral health, aging, child welfare, community development, corrections/justice, developmental disabilities, employment/occupational social work, family services/group services, health care services, homelessness/housing, international social work, mental health, public welfare, rehabilitation, and school social work. When our students enter the field as professionals, they do so equipped with a nuanced understanding of the day-to-day demands of the job and a commitment to meeting the challenges of social work with strength and compassion.

Bachelor-level job titles
  • Child, Family, and School Social Worker
  • Community and Social Service Specialist, Other
  • Community Health Worker
  • Health Educator
  • Healthcare Social Workers
  • Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker
  • Patient Representative
  • Probation Officer and Correctional Treatment Specialist
  • Social and Human Service Assistant
  • Social Workers
Graduate and professional level job titles
  • Clinical Social Worker
  • Counselor
  • Government Agency Administrator
  • Higher Education Administrator
  • Policy Advocate
  • Supervisor
  • Therapist
Contact information

 

VCU Transfer Center

Telephone: (804) 827-1349

Email: transferinfo@vcu.edu

Transfer Advising Request

VCCS Transfer Planning Checklist


Office of Admissions

Telephone: (804) 828-1222 or (800) 841-3638

Email: ugrad@vcu.edu
Apply Here.

Guaranteed transfer admission requirements

Completion of associate degree
Minimum GPA of 2.5
All courses must be completed with a grade of "C" or better

Degree requirements in Bulletin
Plan of study in Bulletin
Requirements
Highest level of math required
  • MATH 131
Science required
  • 1-2 additional science courses
Foreign language requirements
  • Yes
Additional tuition/fees
  • Yes
GPA requirements (to progress/graduate in the major)
  • 2.5+ cumulative GPA to declare, 2.0+ cumulative GPA to graduate
VCU Major Maps

View VCU Major Map for Social Work

Transfer major map
Visit majormaps.vcu.edu for the online version with links.
Sponsored by the Office of the Provost
Major map compass icon
2022-2023

Social Work, Bachelor of

Virginia Community College System (A.A.&.S. or A.S. in General Studies or Social Sciences)

MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
Explore Year 1
  • Schedule an appointment with your community college advisor to map out your associate degree course plan.
  • Enroll in the SDV student success course.
  • Complete your math and english requirements in your first year.
  • Be prepared for academic challenges and utilize tutoring resources to get ahead.
  • Explore GRASP financial aid resources and submit the FAFSA on time.
  • Identify a mentor in a diversity organization.
  • Attend diversity-focused events on your community college campus and in your community (e.g., international festival).
  • Make friends with people with diverse perspectives and join a cultural or identity-related student organization.
  • Create a weekly and monthly budget.
  • Prepare for a career after college by creating a brand for yourself.
  • Develop personal and career goals and create SMART steps for 2-3 "dream jobs."
  • Practice independent living skills such as money and time management, self-care, and personal responsibility.
Experience Year 2
  • Be prepared for academic challenges. Use tutoring resources to get ahead.
  • Meet with your community college advisor to finalize plans to complete your associate degree.
  • Submit a transfer advising request to the VCU Transfer Center.
  • Research scholarship opportunities and explore your eligibility for the Two-Year College Transfer Grant.
  • Submit the FAFSA on time.
  • Apply to VCU.
  • Visit the VCU campus and attend a transfer admission session.
  • Research housing options for next year.
  • Attend a talk or other event sponsored by the VCU School of Social Work, consider joining a VCU club, or meeting with VCU students to make professional and personal connections.
  • Consider learning a foreign language to open doors to international organizations and future study.
  • Learn about short-term, semester and year-long study abroad options.
  • Attend VCU cultural events, including the monthly Global Café, VCU Diversity Scholars in Research week, or VCU School of Social Work-related events.
  • Check out the VCU Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) and follow @vcuomsa.
  • Find out about VCU REAL and learn about VCU's REAL graduation requirement.
  • Attend Career & Internship Fairs throughout the year.
  • Acquire career related experience (e.g., job, internship, organization involvement).
  • If your GPA is 3.5 or higher, consider applying for the VCU Honors College.
  • Using LinkedIn, connect to at least 10 people. Check out the VCU alumni page in My Network.
  • Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of career interest.
  • Use the cost calculator to estimate your tuition/fees as an upperclassman at VCU.
  • Explore the types of aid available at VCU.
  • Consider who you would like to have serve as professional and academic references for future letters of recommendation.

Explore
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
  • Schedule an appointment with your community college advisor to map out your associate degree course plan.
  • Enroll in the SDV student success course.
  • Complete your math and english requirements in your first year.
  • Be prepared for academic challenges and utilize tutoring resources to get ahead.
  • Explore GRASP financial aid resources and submit the FAFSA on time.
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
  • Identify a mentor in a diversity organization.
  • Attend diversity-focused events on your community college campus and in your community (e.g., international festival).
  • Make friends with people with diverse perspectives and join a cultural or identity-related student organization.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Create a weekly and monthly budget.
  • Prepare for a career after college by creating a brand for yourself.
  • Develop personal and career goals and create SMART steps for 2-3 "dream jobs."
  • Practice independent living skills such as money and time management, self-care, and personal responsibility.

Experience
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
  • Be prepared for academic challenges. Use tutoring resources to get ahead.
  • Meet with your community college advisor to finalize plans to complete your associate degree.
  • Submit a transfer advising request to the VCU Transfer Center.
  • Research scholarship opportunities and explore your eligibility for the Two-Year College Transfer Grant.
  • Submit the FAFSA on time.
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
  • Apply to VCU.
  • Visit the VCU campus and attend a transfer admission session.
  • Research housing options for next year.
  • Attend a talk or other event sponsored by the VCU School of Social Work, consider joining a VCU club, or meeting with VCU students to make professional and personal connections.
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
  • Consider learning a foreign language to open doors to international organizations and future study.
  • Learn about short-term, semester and year-long study abroad options.
  • Attend VCU cultural events, including the monthly Global Café, VCU Diversity Scholars in Research week, or VCU School of Social Work-related events.
  • Check out the VCU Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) and follow @vcuomsa.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
  • Find out about VCU REAL and learn about VCU's REAL graduation requirement.
  • Attend Career & Internship Fairs throughout the year.
  • Acquire career related experience (e.g., job, internship, organization involvement).
  • If your GPA is 3.5 or higher, consider applying for the VCU Honors College.
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Using LinkedIn, connect to at least 10 people. Check out the VCU alumni page in My Network.
  • Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of career interest.
  • Use the cost calculator to estimate your tuition/fees as an upperclassman at VCU.
  • Explore the types of aid available at VCU.
  • Consider who you would like to have serve as professional and academic references for future letters of recommendation.
Recommended courses
Major map compass icon
2022-2023

Social Work, Bachelor of

Virginia Community College System (A.A.&.S. or A.S. in General Studies or Social Sciences)

Virginia Community College System courses
Course Title Equivalent course Credits Requirements
Students who earn this associate degree before enrolling at VCU will be eligible for a waiver of VCU's general education requirements.
SDV 100 or 101 College Success Skills UNIV 101 1 Elective
ENG 111 College Composition I Note: students with credit for AP English Language and Composition will only receive credit for UNIV 111 at VCU and should take ENG 112 to fulfill the VCU composition requirement. UNIV 111-112 3 General education
ENG 112 College Composition II UNIV 200 3 General education
MTH 154 Quantitative Reasoning MATH 131 3 Major (Ancillary)
World Language or ASL World Language I or ASL 101 VCU equivalent 3 Major (Ancillary)
World Language or ASL World Language II or ASL 102 VCU equivalent 3 Major (Ancillary)
BIO 101 General Biology I BIOL/Z 151 4 Major (Ancillary)
BIO 102 General Biology II BIOL/Z 152 4 Major (Ancillary)
PSY 200 Principles of Psychology PSYC 101 3 Major (Ancillary)
PSY 230 Developmental Psychology PSYC 304 3 Major (Ancillary)
SOC 200 Principles of Sociology SOCY 101 3 Major (Ancillary)
SOC 211 Cultural Anthropology ANTH 103 3 Major (Ancillary)
PHI 220 Ethics PHIL 201 3 Major (Ancillary)
History Select any approved history class HIST 3 Major (Ancillary)
Complete general education and elective requirements for associate degree VCU equivalents 18 Elective
Community college credits transferred to VCU 60
VCU courses
Course Title Credits Requirements
Your GPA Doesn't Transfer With You Although you worked hard to earn your grades at your current institution, they will only be considered by VCU for an admission decision. Once you enroll at VCU, your GPA will reset to 0.0, and your new GPA will be determined by your level of success in your classes at VCU.
SLWK 201 Introduction to Social Work (prerequisite for upper-level SLWK courses) Note: consider taking this course in the summer prior to your fall enrollment at VCU. 3 Major
SLWK 230 Communication in the Helping Process (prerequisite for upper-level SLWK courses) Note: consider taking this course in the summer prior to your fall enrollment at VCU. 3 Major
SLWK 311 Social Work and Oppressed Groups 3 Major
SLWK 313 Person in Society I 3 Major
SLWK 330 Person in Society II 3 Major
SLWK 332 Social Work Practice: Fundamentals 3 Major
SLWK 380 Foundations of Social Work Research I 3 Major
SLWK 381 Foundations of Social Work Research II 3 Major
SLWK 393 Junior Field Instruction 3 Major
SLWK 422 Social Welfare Legislation and Services 3 Major
SLWK 431 Person in Society III 3 Major
SLWK 441 Social Work Practice I 3 Major
SLWK 442 Social Work Practice II 3 Major
SLWK 494 Senior Field Instruction I 3 Major
SLWK 495 Senior Field Instruction II 3 Major
SLWK 499 Senior Seminar 1 Major
PSYC 407 Psychology of the Abnormal 3 Major (Ancillary)
Open electives 11 Elective
Credits completed at VCU 60
Minimum credits required for bachelor's degree 120