Social Work , B.S.W.

The Department of Social Work offers an undergraduate curriculum leading to the bachelor of social work (BSW) degree. The program provides a basic knowledge of the social welfare system, the social work profession, and the professional knowledge, values, and skills necessary for entry-level professional social work practice as a generalist. The program also prepares students to pursue graduate study in social work and related professions.

The program builds upon a liberal arts base and encompasses an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing from such fields as psychology, sociology, political science, and human biology.

The program’s overall mission is to prepare students with the competencies that reflect the core values and ethical obligations necessary for generalist practice in the social work profession. The mission of ETSU’s BSW program is consistent with ETSU’s mission and supports the philosophy and purpose of social work in promoting human dignity and community well-being through the promotion of social and economic justice, the prevention of conditions that limit human rights, the elimination of poverty, and the enhancement of the quality of life for all persons. The total program functions to provide leadership and instruction that will ensure preparation of a continuous pool of social work graduates who are able to assume professional positions in a variety of social welfare settings, especially in Northeastern Tennessee and the southern Appalachian region.

The faculty believes that the philosophy of social work must be demonstrated as it is taught and, as such, must be incorporated into not only faculty-student relationships but also relationships between the program and the social work practice community. The social work faculty believes that social workers should function in accordance with the profession’s purpose and with adherence to the profession’s ethical canon and therefore programmatically emphasizes acceptance of difference between and among individuals, as well as within and among groups and other larger systems.

The Baccalaureate social work program’s mission, which is consistent with ETSU’s mission, is reflected and implemented in the six broad goals of the program. The BSW program aims to:

provide a sound educational environment that nurtures learning, stimulates self-reflection, encourages open dialogue, and is characterized by honesty, integrity, trust, and respect;
draw on students’ liberal arts foundation to build the knowledge, skills, values, ethics, and professional identity necessary for competent entry-level generalist practice in various contexts and all levels of practice;
ensure a knowledge base in human behavior theories that supports intervention at multiple levels in order to improve the quality of life for all citizens, especially those who are disadvantaged;
prepare students to comprehend current social welfare policies’ history, socio-politico-economic contexts, provisions, and consequences of client systems, as well as to advocate for more effective policies, programs, and services to advance social well-being;
motivate and prepare students for use of research tools to critically evaluate the program and service delivery systems that employ social workers;
prepare students to meet social welfare needs in a culturally competent manner with diverse populations, giving attention to Northeast Tennessee and surrounding areas.