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Dr. Elise Fullmer, Director
Dr. Etty Vandsburger, BSW Program Coordinator
Dr. Alice King Ingham, Associate Director
www.radford.edu/~sowk-web/

The School of Social Work offers the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and the Masters Degree in Social Work (MSW). Both programs are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The undergraduate program prepares students for beginning generalist social work practice while the graduate program offers a concentration in community-based family practice. For further information consult the Radford University Graduate Catalog.

The Interdisciplinary Minor in Health and Aging allows students to obtain specialized knowledge about adult development and aging as they live and work with the rapidly aging population of the 21st Century. (See here .)

Undergraduate Program in Social Work (BSW)

The Social Work Program is a comprehensive professional program that prepares students for beginning generalist social work practice. Students majoring in Social Work graduate with a Bachelor of Social Work degree.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must meet academic and non-academic standards for successful admission, progression through and graduation from the BSW program. In order to assist students in developing the knowledge base and social work practice skills necessary to be successful generalist social work practitioners, the School of Social Work has developed technical standards and a process to become a social work major.

Copies of the Policies for Admission and Progression in the Social Work Major may be requested from the School of Social Work. The BSW degree consists of four components: Core Curriculum requirements, pre-professional core courses (pre-Social Work majors), a portfolio, and a professional core (Social Work majors). A 610-hour internship in the senior year is also required.

Admissions Criteria

Applicants must meet the following criteria for admission into the Social Work major from pre-Social Work:

• Have a minimum overall GPA of 2.5; have passed with a “C” or better in each of the following courses: SOWK 200 , SOWK 210 , BIOL 104 , PSYC 121 , SOCY 110 , CORE 102  and SOCY 121  or PEAC 200 ;
• Have received a grade of “P” in SOWK 289  or if applying while concurrently in that course, have received a mid-term evaluation of “P”. Students who apply while in SOWK 289  will receive a provisional acceptance if all other academic requirements are met until they complete SOWK 289  with a grade of “P”;
• A completed application to major in Social Work (available from the School of Social Work Admissions Coordinator, 206 Waldron Hall), with accompanying prerequisite documentation. This documentation includes the student’s completed portfolio. This must be submitted to the School of Social Work by the application deadline. An educational portfolio is a picture of what the student has learned and accomplished throughout his/her academic career. It is compiled of written assignments, tests and other creative works that are relative to the field of social work. The goal is to make the student actively responsible for and aware of his/her learning process. The portfolio provides a structure for the student to monitor and assess their growth and development, personally, professionally and academically. It should make the student more aware of him/her self and his/her environment;
• As a part of the admissions process, interviews are conducted by the School of Social Work Undergraduate Committee.

Roanoke Campus (RHEC)

Radford University (RU) School of Social Work and the Human Services (HS) program at Virginia Western Community College (VWCC) have an articulation agreement that allows graduates of the HS program, who choose to do so, to apply to the Radford University BSW program as Social Work (VWSW) majors following graduation from the Human Services Program at Virginia Western Community College. The agreement considers the HS major who becomes a VWSW major to have virtually been a PSWK major while enrolled in the HS program. Students who have earned the Associate in Applied Science degree in HS from VWCC and apply to become RU (VWSW) major have met a different set of Core Curriculum requirements for Radford University and the School of Social Work.

Students begin this process by electing the “Transfer Curriculum” of the HS program. They begin their course work by taking MEN 100 Introduction to Mental Health, MEN 101 Skills Training I and MEN 102 Skills Training II. They then enroll in an internship, MEN 290.

For complete details, see articulation agreement between Radford University/Virginia Western Community College pertaining to Human Services majors and the requirements for that major.

The policies and procedures for HS/VWSW majors at this step are those of the Human Services Program. The HS student, in the transfer module, is only “virtually” a Radford University student as the intent is to transfer but Radford University nor the School of Social Work has accepted them.

To be considered for admission to the Radford University (RU) Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.) program from Virginia Western Community College, students must

• Have completed the Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in HS from Virginia Western Community College. Once all of the courses necessary as
• Core Curriculum requirements for the AAS degree at Virginia Western Community College have been completed, students will be deemed to have fulfilled their Radford University Core Curriculum requirements. Students enrolled simultaneously at both Virginia Western Community College and Radford University may receive financial aid through only one of the institutions.
• Have an overall GPA of 2.5 in Core Curriculum courses and passed the following courses, or course equivalents, with a C or better: SOWK 200 , SOWK 210 , BIOL 104 , and BIOL 103 /BIOL 105 , PSYC 121 , SOCY 110 , CORE 101  and CORE 102 , ANTH 121, STAT 200 , and all psych and social science courses.
• Have successfully completed, with at least a “C,” or be currently enrolled in, SOWK 309 .
• Have presented their qualifications, portfolio, and application to the BSW Curriculum Committee in a personal interview. The committee will approve or deny admission to the BSW major at that time.

The following is a description of Radford University’s (RU) requirements for the B.S.W. degree program in Social Work for a student who has earned an Associate of Applied Science (VWCC) in HS.

General Provisions

• Application for admission to the RU Social Work degree program offered on the VWCC campus in Roanoke is open to:
• Any student who has completed the AAS degree in HS or who will have completed the AAS degree in HS at least 30 days prior to the delivery of RU upper division courses to the VWCC campus.
• STUDENTS MUST HAVE A CUMULATIVE GRADE POINT AVERAGE OF 2.5 OR HIGHER TO BE ADMITTED TO THE PROFESSIONAL COURSES IN THE MAJOR, IN ADDITION STUDENTS MUST MEET OTHER ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS.
• Students who have completed at least 38 hours of courses as outlined in the Core Curriculum requirements for the BSW degree.
• Students who attended another accredited institution of higher learning without earning an associate’s degree must complete the regular Core Curriculum requirements for RU and are not eligible for application to the BSW program until those credits are completed.
• All courses taken at accredited institutions other than RU will transfer to this program only if a grade of “C” or better is received.
• A minimum of 45 semester hours of the total program must be taken at RU and at least 30 of the last 39 hours for the degree must be taken at RU; at least 50 percent of the Social Work major must be RU courses (this requirement is satisfied with this degree program). The total program consists of a minimum of 120 semester hours.
• The program requirements may be modified to conform to any changes in Radford University or the School of Social Work degree requirements. Any such revisions will be communicated to Virginia Western Community College by July 1 preceding the academic year in which the new requirement would take effect.

NOTE: To graduate with Latin honors from RU, student must complete 60 semester hours of credit at RU with at least a 3.5 overall GPA. If a student graduates with at least a 3.5 GPA, but less than 60 semester hours, the designation of “with distinction” will be on the student’s diploma and transcript.

Program of Study (RHEC Site)

The program consists of three areas:

• Core Curriculum requirements: 38 semester hours
• Social Work Major requirements: 62 semester hours
• Additional courses: 20 semester hours

In the following list of requirements, the term transfer equivalent refers to any course, taken at an institution other than Radford University, which is accepted as equivalent to the required course (e.g. CORE 101 ) or area (e.g. Speech). The Radford University Transfer Guide lists transfer equivalents for all Virginia Community College courses. The Registrar determines the transfer eligibility of other courses at Radford University.

Life Experience/Previous Work Experience

The School of Social Work follows the Council on Social Work Education’s guideline that no academic credit be given for life experience or previous work experience.

Two Year Full-Time Evening Option

Part-Time Three Year Evening Option

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