Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences in Social Work
The BAASSW allows students who have earned educational credits towards an associate degree to complete a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences in Social Work. Students transfer up to 27 hours of approved workforce education courses as program electives. Most workforce courses focused on social work and related topics such as Substance Abuse/Addiction Counseling, clinical gerontology, clinical psychology, counseling, group work, interviewing, and clinical ‐ psychiatric/mental health service will be transferable.
The BAASSW curriculum integrates substantial coursework where students are still required to complete social work courses exploring topics in human behavior, crisis intervention, client case management, interviewing strategies, race and ethnic relations, assessment, evaluation and more. The service-oriented coursework includes an Applied Learning sequence design where students complete a portfolio which includes a developed macro intervention for a community-based agency. In addition, students complete a 400-hour internship in their field placement. The BAASSW is fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
Tarleton’s bachelor’s program is committed to strengthening marginalized and oppressed populations. We respond to the various needs of multicultural communities. Our classrooms expand into the community as our faculty engage students in research and community-based projects, providing real-life experience and know-how in conjunction with an excellent curriculum.
With a holistic approach to problem solving, we prepare you to earn your social work license while adhering to the profession’s core values of service, dignity and worth of the person, social justice, integrity, competence and recognizing the importance of human relationships.
What is Social Work?
Social work helps hurting people across the lifespan overcome difficult challenges and improve their social functioning. As advocates for change, social workers build relationships with people in the context of their environment, meeting them where they are, helping them plan a course of action and connecting them with available resources.
How to Become a Social Worker
Earn your Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences in Social Work (BAASSW) and pass the licensing exam for social work. The professional license is required in order to call yourself a social worker in the state of Texas, and only graduates with a social work degree from an accredited school can take the exam. Our accredited BAASSW helps you achieve both.
What Can You Do With Your Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work?
With a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences in Social Work from Tarleton, you will develop social work skills in nine competency areas, including assessment, intervention and evaluation, as well as advancing human rights and engaging in practice-informed research and research-informed practice.
After graduation, you will be able to practice in a variety of areas related to social service, healthcare, research and policy. Settings for social work careers include:
- Hospitals and clinics, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, mental health centers, veterans, service agencies, substance abuse programs, home care agencies, vocational rehabilitation centers, residential treatment programs
- Schools, early childhood programs, adoption agencies
- Protective services, prisons, victim’s advocacy programs, police departments, court systems
Many graduates pursue additional social work schooling, such as the Master of Social Work program at Tarleton.
Estimated Completion
120 Credit Hours (4 years)
Application Process
Cost
Locations Available
1Admission to some outreach locations, excluding select programs in Fort Worth, requires a minimum of 24 transferable credit hours, a 2.0 GPA and that a student be TSI complete.
College
Careers in Social Work
Overall employment of social workers is projected to grow 7 percent from 2023 to 2033, faster than the average for all occupations. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Social Workers,
at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/social-workers.htm
How Much Do Social Work Graduates Make?
The median annual wage for social workers was $58,380 in May 2023. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Social Workers,
at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/social-workers.htm
Why Major in Social Work?
At Tarleton, our social work major offers a specialized undergraduate degree that prepares you for professional licensure, graduate studies and generalist social work practice at multiple levels. Our social work students are equipped with a plethora of soft and hard skills.
Build, practice and integrate social worker skills while helping a community-based agency in one of our four campus locations in Bryan (RELLIS), Fort Worth, Stephenville, and Waco. Our students have had opportunities to partner and intern with various agencies. We have contracts with over 200 agencies across our four campuses and surrounding communities
With a variety of opportunities to serve, from internships to undergraduate research to practicum placements, Tarleton social work majors give thousands of hours to service in the community.
Deeply passionate and technologically innovative, the social work program faculty are constantly investing in their students' success. Their social work practice experience and research interests include substance abuse, HIV, adoption and foster care and research on study abroad.
Program scholarships exclusively for social work majors include the Donald Cawley Social Work Endowed Scholarship and the Herbert H. Jarrett Social Work Scholarship.
What Classes Will You Take as a Social Work Major?
The BAASSW program at Tarleton blends a liberal arts curriculum with a professional social work foundation, culminating in the 400-hour practicum experience at a community-based agency. You will also explore topics in human behavior, crisis intervention, client case management, interviewing strategies, race and ethnic relations, cultural anthropology and more. The service-oriented coursework, including a Service-Learning research project and the internship, is integrated with technology and community needs.
View all required classes for the social work bachelor’s degree.
Accreditations
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
- Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
How Do You Get Started on Your Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work?
Take the next step toward earning your bachelor’s degree in social work. We have the resources to help you get started.
Our BSW program offers a concentration in child welfare that prepares you for a social work career in child protective services. Students who choose the child welfare concentration receive a stipend for four semesters while they intern with a community agency. The annual starting salary for social work majors working in child protective services is estimated to be more than $40,000.
Advanced standing in social work master's programs at Tarleton, throughout Texas and in other states reduces the number of hours you need to complete a master's program, so you may be able to earn your MSW in one year or less.
Numerous organizations and opportunities are available for you to get involved, from the Student Social Work Association to Zeta Chapter of Phi Alpha Honors Society and from Advocacy Day in Austin to study abroad in Costa Rica.