School of Social Work | University of Missouri

Admission to the Professional BSW Program is determined by application on a competitive basis. (View application eligibility requirements.). Students interested in the Professional BSW Program may declare the social work major when entering MU or may transfer into the School under certain conditions (see transfer conditions below). An advisor will be assigned from the School of Social Work. However, declaring or transferring into the social work major does not guarantee admission to the Professional BSW Program.

All students must submit an application for admission to the Professional BSW Program in accordance with the guidelines below. Prior to consideration for admission, students must complete a minimum number of credit hours and a range of liberal arts courses to be used as a foundation for the Professional BSW Core Courses and electives. Students who are at least second-semester sophomores (42+ hours completed), and who will complete a minimum of 55 hours prior to beginning the first semester of the Professional BSW Core Courses are eligible to apply beginning February 1* for fall admission based on the following guidelines:

1. A 2.5 GPA is required.
2. The following Liberal Arts Pre-requisites Courses (or their equivalents) must be completed prior to beginning the first semester of the Professional BSW Core Courses. All courses, excluding Anthropology and American History or Government, require a grade in the “C” range or higher.
   • Anthropology (student's choice)
   • Biology 1010
   • College Algebra
   • Communications 1200
   • Economics (macro or micro)
   • English 1000
   • History (1100, 1200, 1400, 2440, 2210) OR Political Science (1100, 1700, 2100)
   • Philosophy (1000, 1100, or 1200 recommended)
   • Psychology 1000
   • Sociology 1000

To apply for admission to the Professional BSW Program, review the BSW application instructions. Students are encouraged to obtain applications no later than January of the calendar year in which they wish to be considered for fall semester admission. The regular deadline for submission of the application is February 1 by 4:00 p.m., and the *late deadline is June 15 by 4:00 p.m. If the deadline falls on a weekend or MU holiday, the deadline is the first business day thereafter.

Transfer of Division (Change of Major) for MU Students

MU students who wish to declare the social work major may transfer into the School of Social Work if one of the following conditions has been met:

1. Students with fewer than 55 credit hours must be in good academic standing (2.0 GPA); and
2. Students with more than 55 credit hours must be in good academic standing with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher on all college work attempted.

A Transfer of Division Application must be submitted to the Undergraduate Program Staff person. Transfer students should schedule a meeting with the Student Services Coordinator for orientation to the School, a plan of study and advisor information. Continuing MU transfer students are not guaranteed admission to the Professional BSW Program (see Admission Requirements.)

Transfer of Division (Change of Major) for MU Students

MU students who wish to declare the social work major may transfer into the School of Social Work if one of the following conditions has been met:

1. Students with fewer than 55 credit hours must be in good academic standing (2.0 GPA); and
2. Students with more than 55 credit hours must be in good academic standing with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher on all college work attempted.

A Transfer of Division application must be submitted to the Undergraduate Program Staff person. Forms are available from the student’s current department or the School of Social Work. Transfer students should schedule a meeting with the Student Services Coordinator for orientation to the school, to develop a plan of study, complete the Transfer of Division form and receive advisor information. The School of Social Work will forward the transfer application to the Registrar’s office for processing.  Acceptance as a social work major is not and does not guarantee acceptance into the BSW Professional Program (see Admission Requirements).

Transfer Students from Other Institutions

Students accepted to MU from other institutions who wish to declare the social work major should complete the MU Undergraduate Admissions Application and indicate “Social Work” as the intended academic major. Students may transfer into the School of Social Work if the following conditions have been met:

1. Students must be accepted as social work majors by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Students with more than 55 credit hours must have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher on all college work attempted.
2. Acceptance as a social work major is not and does not guarantee acceptance into the BSW Professional Program. Students must submit an application for admission to the Professional BSW Program in accordance with the Admission Requirements above.
3. Students with Associate of Arts degrees from Missouri community colleges are exempt from MU’s general education requirements. However, Liberal Arts Pre-requisites Courses (or their equivalents) must be completed prior to beginning the BSW Core Courses and most must be completed with a grade in the “C” range or higher.

Students who transfer to MU with junior standing are advised that four semesters may be required in order to complete all BSW Program requirements for graduation.

A maximum of 64 hours from a two-year institution can be used toward the BSW degree.

The College Level Examination Program (CLEP) is a national program of credit-by-examination that offers students the opportunity to earn college credit for achievement acquired through previous study, personal experience, adult learning, and other sources. CLEP provides general examinations and subject examinations, however, credit may be awarded for CLEP subject exams only. CLEP general exams are not considered. Credit must be applicable in a student’s program of study.

It is important that students check with their academic advisors on the types of courses and number of credits that can be applied towards their program of study PRIOR to making an appointment and completing the CLEP exam. Only students who have fewer than 90 semester hours of college credit are eligible to take CLEP exams. (View the University of Missouri's policies regarding CLEP). Students can retake the same CLEP test after 6 months.

The Professional BSW Program is based on a broad liberal arts foundation that covers seven areas.

- Prerequisite course for the Professional BSW Program (Must be completed prior to beginning BSW Core Courses).
- Graduation requirement
- BSW Professional Courses

English Composition (3 hours)

Grade must be in the “C” range or better.

• English 1000

Writing Intensive Classes (6 hours)

After completing English 1000, two more courses in the student's program must be designated "Writing Intensive" by MU. Students accepted into the Professional BSW Program must take SW 2220 Human Behavior and the Social Environment and SW 4951 Research for Social Work I, both designated WI. No additional WI courses are necessary for Social Work students.

Humanities (9 hours)

• Philosophy (1000, 1100 or 1200 are recommended) with grade in the “C” range or better.
• Communications 1200
• Three additional credit hours of humanities - NOTE: One course in Humanities or Biological, Physical or Mathematical Sciences must be at the 2000 level or higher.

Humanities include art and music history and appreciation classes, classical studies courses, foreign civilization courses, literature courses in English or other languages, and religious studies courses. Applied art and music performance courses do not count toward the humanities requirement. Students are urged to check for approved courses on the MU General Education Distribution page. Click on Distribution of Content List and look for courses marked with a "H". BSW students who take SW 4310 Social Statistics will meet the General Education Distribution of Content upper-level (2000+) requirement in mathematical science and can choose a lower-level humanities course from the list above.

Biological, Physical and Mathematical Science (9 hours)

• Human Biology (generally Biology 1010) with grade in the “C” range or better.
• Physical science or mathematical science: A list of approved science courses can be found on the MU General Education Distribution website. Click on Distribution of Content List. An approved statistics course counts as mathematical science for social work students.
• Lab: at least one of the science courses must have a lab.

NOTE: One course in Humanities or Biological, Physical or Mathematical Sciences must be at the 2000 level or higher. BSW students who take Biology 1010 (lecture), Biology 1020 (lab) and Social Work 4310 (Social Statistics) will need just 1 additional hour of any approved science to complete the science requirement; and will meet the General Education Distribution of Content upper-level requirement (2000+) in a course outside the major area.

College Algebra and Math Reasoning Proficiency (MRP) (6 hours)

• College Algebra, Math 1120 or a higher level math course with grade in the “C” range or better. Students with a math ACT score above 26 may elect to test out of Math 1120.
• Approved statistics class with grade in the “C” range or better

After completing Math 1110 or 1120, all students must take an approved statistics course that counts as the Math Reasoning Proficiency Requirement. SW 4310 is the recommended course for social work students. (Statistics 1200, 1300 and ECP 4170 are also approved for social work students at MU and may be taken in lieu of SW 4310. Students who take a lower level stat course will need to insure that they take a 2000 level or higher course in another approved distribution of content area, ie, Humanities.)

Social Science (12 hours)

• Economics (student’s choice) with a minimum grade in the “C” range
• Anthropology (student’s choice)
• History *
• Political Science

* Either the history or political science course must meet the state-mandated American History or Government requirement. This may be satisfied by Political Science 1100, 1700, or 2100 or History 1100, 1200, 1400, 2440, 2210. The other course is the student's choice.

Behavioral Science (15 hours)

• Sociology 1000 with a minimum grade in the “C” range
• Psychology 1000 with a minimum grade in the “C” range
• Personality Theory (SW 3320 or Psychology 4310)
• Social Psychology (Sociology 3310 or Psychology 2310)
• Human Behavior in the Social Environment (SW 2220 - Writing Intensive except in the summer session).

Cultural, Ethnic, & Racial Diversity (6 hours)

Two courses must be taken that reflect the cultural diversity of our society. Courses are selected in conjunction with an advisor, from certain offerings in Anthropology, Asian Studies, Black Studies,Chinese, English, French,History, Human Development and Family Studies, Italian,Japanese, Korean, Peace Studies, Psychology, Religious Studies, Rural Sociology, Russian, Spanish, Social Work, Sociology, Therapy, Women's and Gender Studies. A list of courses that can count as cultural diversity credit can be found below or on the BSW Student Blackboard site.

• ANTHRO 1350, 1300, 2030, 3700
• BL STU (any)
• CHINESE 2310
• ED & COUNS PSY 3085, 4087
• ENGLSH 2400, 2180, 2770, 3420, 3180, 4420, 4480, 4120, 4181, 4400, 4770
• FRENCH 2310
• GERMAN 2310, 2320, 2470, 2480
• HDFS 2300, 4300, 4670
• HIST 1410, 1520, 1580, 1610, 1800, 1810, 1830, 1820, 2400, 3200, 3800
• ITAL 2310
• JAPANESE 2310, 2320
• KOREAN 2310, 2320
• PEA ST 1150, 2410
• Psych 4815, 4825
• REL ST (any)
• RU SOC 1150
• RUSS 2310, 2320, 2330, 2540, 2550
• S ASIAN ST 1152, 2100, 3200, 3240, 3245, 4300
• SOC WK 2000, 4360, 4380, 4455
• SOCIOL 1360, 2200, 2230, 2210, 2310, 3320, 3450, 4220
• SPAN 2310, 2330, 3400
• THEATRE 4240
• WGST (any except 1100)

New courses are developed on a regular basis; be sure to check with your advisor.

Electives (20+ hours)

120 credit hours are required to graduate with the BSW degree. In addition to the liberal arts and the 49 hour professional BSW courses (inclusive of SW 2220 and SW 4310), students select electives to fulfill the credit hour requirement. The following social work electives are strongly recommended.

• Social Work 1115- Social Welfare and Social Work
• Social Work 1110- Introduction to the Social Work Major

Please note that no more than four hours may be taken from "skills" courses to count toward the 120 hours. More skill classes may be taken, but will be in excess of the 120 hours. Examples of skills courses are P.E., applied art, music performance, computer skills, self defense, and first aid.

All Professional BSW Core Courses require admission to the program except SW 2220-Human Behavior and the Environment. Professional BSW Core Courses are sequenced over three semesters and must be taken in the proper order. The only variation is the upper division elective in social work which may be taken at any time.

First Semester Professional Program—Fall

• SW 2220 Human Behavior & the Environment (WI) (if not already completed) (3)
• SW 4710 Social Justice and Social Policy (3)
• SW 4730 Introduction to Social Work Practice (3)
• SW 4750 Interaction Skills Workshop (3)
• SW 4310 Social Statistics (if not already completed)  (4)
• Social Work Field of Practice elective* (if not already taken; can be taken later if necessary) (3)

Second Semester Professional Program—Spring

• SW 4720 Variations in Human Behavior (3)
• SW 4740 Introduction to Community and Organizational Processes (4)
• SW 4760 Theory and Practice of Social Group Work (3)
• SW 4711 Social Justice and Social Policy II (3)
• SW 4951 Research Methods for Social Work I (WI)

Third Semester Professional Program—Fall

• SW 4770 Strategies of Direct Practice (3)
• SW 4952 Research Methods for Social Work II (3)
• SW 4970 Senior Professional Seminar (3)
• SW 4971 Undergraduate Field Practicum (6)

* Field of Practice Elective Options:SW 4330 Addiction Treatment and Prevention
SW 4101 Helping Strategies with Older Adults
SW 4330 Addiction Treatment and Prevention
SW 4360 Working with Minority Youth
SW 4370 Delinquency, Corrections & Social Treatment
SW 4380 Social Work Practice with Minorities
SW 4390 Helping Strategies with Children and Adolescents
SW 4400 Domestic Violence
SW 4410 Law & Social Work Practice
SW 4430 Latino/a Immigrants and Receiving Communities
SW 4450 Introduction to Child Welfare

The Undergraduate Field Practicum (SW 4971) is a six credit hour (400 clock hours) course taken during the third (fall) semester of the Professional BSW Core Courses. Students begin their field instruction placement one week prior to the beginning of the semester and spend 24 hours per week (usually Monday, Wednesday and Friday) in a field placement agency assigned by the Director of Field Education. Placements are generally made within local agencies that have been approved by the School and that meet students' educational needs and areas of interest as closely as possible. Refer to the Field Instruction Manual for additional information.

Students who are within 15 hours of graduation, and who meet other GPA requirements may be permitted to dually enroll in up to 6 credit hours of graduate coursework while still an undergraduate. BSW seniors who meet eligibility requirements and have completed all other BSW graduation requirements can use their final semester to take up to 6 hours of coursework toward the MSW degree. More information on dual enrollment.

An undergraduate student must complete a minimum of 120 semester credit hours and have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 for graduation. At least 30 of the last 36 hours for degree must be completed with MU courses. Based on a course equivalency assessment, credit towards graduation may be given for work completed in other colleges and universities and for course work completed through University of Missouri Independent Study Center.

Professional BSW Core Courses must be taken in proper sequence, requiring a minimum of three semesters to complete the program. Students must achieve a grade of "C+" or better in all required BSW Core Courses in order to qualify for the BSW degree. In the third semester of the Professional BSW Program (fall semester of the senior year), each student spends three full days a week- Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in a social service agency for supervised field instruction, and two days (Tuesday and Thursday) on campus.

Advanced Standing Status

Students who graduate with a MU BSW degree are eligible to apply for Advanced Standing status in Master of Social Work (MSW) programs. The MU MSW Advanced Standing program grants a waiver of up to 21 credit hours for an accelerated 39 credit hour MSW degree

Prerequisite course to the Professional BSW Program to be completed prior to beginning BSW Core Courses
Graduation requirement
Professional BSW courses

Freshman Year

Sophomore Year

If all requirements have been fulfilled, apply to BSW Program in the Spring Semester of your Sophomore Year by February 1. If accepted, begin BSW Core Courses in Fall Semester of Junior Year.

Junior Year

Senior Year

Total Hours to Graduate: 120

This sample program of study allows for graduation within 4 years with no summer session courses. Individual schedules may vary. Please note that when a course number is not referenced, more than one course will fulfill the requirement. Consult the MU Schedule of Courses and your Academic Advisor for guidance.

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