Social work is a dynamic, changing, and challenging profession with a vast range of career opportunities for personal job satisfaction. The social work profession has its own body of knowledge, code of ethics, practice standards, credentials, state licensing and a nationwide system of undergraduate and graduate accredited educational programs.
A professional social worker assists people in coping with complex interpersonal and social problems and helps to obtain the resources people need to live with dignity. At the same time, the social worker is also committed to making society more responsive to people's needs. The contemporary social worker assists people from all walks of life, with all kinds of problems, in all kinds of settings - in public agencies, in nonprofit agencies, in hospitals and clinics, in schools, in the workplace and in the community.
It is the special mission of the combined programs in this Social Work program to prepare social workers for culturally competent practice with Latinos/as, African Americans, Asian Americans and native Americans, and those communities, groups, families and individuals in California who are disenfranchised, oppressed and/or marginalized. Within this special focus, the transcultural social work perspective developed by the combined programs promotes commitment of students, faculty and alumni to advocate for social justice, to build upon the strengths of diverse cultures, and to enhance the well-being of individuals and their communities.
The BASW curriculum provides a professional social work foundation that is transferable to different settings, population groups and problem areas. This generalist foundation includes content on social work practice, human behavior in the social environment, social welfare policy, research, human diversity, populations-at-risk, values and ethics of the profession, and social and economic justice.
Field practicums, the placement of students in agency settings, are an integral component of the BASW curriculum. Field practicums engage the social work student in supervised social work practice and provide opportunities to apply classroom learning in the field.
Through their field practicum, BASW students refine their professional social work skills and integrate classroom course content with on-the-job experience in service provision, outreach, networking and resource development.
The liberal arts perspective is fulfilled through General Education requirements. Courses in human biology and elementary statistics are required. Courses in macroeconomics, sociology, psychology, political science and ethnic studies and/or cultural anthropology are recommended.
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Social workers have traditionally been employed in public and private social service agencies, schools, children and youth service agencies, family service agencies, juvenile justice agencies, residential treatment programs, substance abuse programs, domestic violence programs, homeless shelters, mental health agencies, hospitals, services for the elderly, hospices, developmental service agencies, community action agencies, child and adult day care centers and community organizations.
While the majority of social workers are employed by these traditional agencies providing case management, advocacy, counseling and other direct services to individuals, families and groups, more social workers are becoming involved in administration, planning, program development and evaluation, research and community development.
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