Before considering a career in social work, read about what the career requires or talk to a professional about her job. Social work is very demanding and can be emotionally challenging. Carefully decide whether this is a profession you want to pursue, and whether you can handle working with people from all backgrounds, being sensitive to their feelings and the problems they face.
Students must go through several steps before being admitted into a social work program. Procedures include an application that reflects students' emotional stability for social work, as well as several interviews with members of the social work department. Students are also required to attend orientation and sign a statement indicating the adherence to the National Association of Social Work Code of Ethics.
There are two phases of coursework to complete a degree in social work. The first phase is the social work pre-major, consisting of basic courses in liberal arts. To be eligible to apply for the social work major, students must complete courses in composition, history, math, human biology, oral communications, philosophy and sociology. The student must earn at least a 2.0 in each course before moving on to the second phase of the BSW degree program.
For the social work major phase, the student must apply to the admissions committee, which decides whether to admit the student to the program. Some courses included in this phase are generally Human Behavior and Social Environment I &II, Research in Social Work, and Social Work Practice.
Field education, typically working at an agency, gives social work majors a chance to understand firsthand what to expect as a professional social worker and to develop their analytic skills under the direction of an experienced social worker.