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Make a Career Out of Serving Others

Are you caring, compassionate, and interested in changing the world to better people’s lives? Do people often come to you for advice and assistance?

By choosing to major in social work, you are embarking on a journey to serve others. The »¨½·Ö±²¥ Social Work Program will help you become a leader, scholar, and experienced practitioner prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

Our program prepares graduates for beginning professional social work practice and/or the successful pursuit of graduate social work education.

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BSW Program Requirements

Students may declare social work as their major at any time. Formal admission into the BSW Program occurs after the completion of the social work course SW 250 Professionalism in Social Work taken at USM. Criteria for admission to the program include:

• GPA of 2.5 or greater
• Completion of social work courses with C or better
• Completion of application and personal essay
• One letter of recommendation
• Certification that the student has read the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics and will adhere to its principles and standards 
• Certification that the student has read the USM Social Worker Student Handbook
• Demonstration of social work professional behaviors 

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Internship Opportunities

Gain 540 Working Hours

After completing a rigorous practice-based curriculum, our students conduct an internship in their senior year in the many social service agencies and institutions around Leavenworth or anywhere in the world. By graduation, USM BSW students have 540 hours of internship work, making them that much more attractive to employers. 

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What Can You Do with a Social Work Degree?

The social work profession continues to grow every year. In fact, the  projects that overall employment of social workers will increase by 9 percent from 2021 to 2031. The BLS also reported that the median annual wage for social workers was $50,390 in May 2021.

Obtaining your BSW from USM will prepare you for practice in a variety of settings, including:

• Hospitals, including Veteran Affairs centers
• Mental health and substance abuse centers
• Child welfare agencies
• Nursing homes, hospice, and other agencies that work with the elderly
• Family-based agencies
• Criminal justice agencies 

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Mission and Goals

The University of Saint Mary BSW Program is dedicated to the professional development and educational growth of students working to obtain the Bachelor’s in Social Work degree. The program prepares graduates for value-centered lives and professional employment in a variety of practice settings and locations, including small towns and rural communities, and for the successful pursuit of graduate social work education. Students are educated to apply generalist professional knowledge, values, and skills toward the promotion of social and economic justice, service to others for the resolution of human problems, and that contribute to the well-being of our global society.

To accomplish its mission, the USM Social Work Program formulated five goals: 

1. Prepare graduates for evidence-based, entry-level professional social work practice with diverse client populations, communities, and agency settings. (Competencies 1, 4, 5, 6-9).
2. Provide graduates with a foundation of social work knowledge, skills, and ethical values to serve as a basis for graduate-level social work education. (Competencies 1, 4)
3. Engage in interdepartmental collaborative learning activities that foster integration of the liberal arts into the bio-psycho-social, health, spiritual and cultural knowledge base of social work graduates. (Competencies 1, 2, 3)
4. Equip students with the critical thinking and analytical skills necessary for competent practice with various service systems. (Competencies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
5. Prepare culturally competent social work practitioners to live and work in a diverse society, including rural and small-town settings. (Competencies 2, 6-9) 

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Academic Plan

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Meet the Faculty

Courtney Howell, MSW, LCSW

Assistant Professor of Social Work, BSW Director of Field Education
Courtney.Howell@stmary.edu
913-758-6322
Mead 302

Highlights:
Courtney Howell is an assistant professor and the director of field education for the Bachelor of Social Work Program at the »¨½·Ö±²¥. She has practiced as a clinical social worker for the past 10 years. Her professional experiences include facilitating direct social work practice and mental health counseling to individuals, families, and groups. She has practiced in a variety of settings, including veterans homes, hospitals, nursing homes, and hospice care.

 

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Lucy McIntyre, MSW

Instructor of Social Work, BSW Program Director
Lucy.Mcintyre@stmary.edu
913-758-4313
Mead 300

Highlights:
Lucy McIntyre is an instructor and the director of the Bachelor of Social Work Program at the »¨½·Ö±²¥. Her administrative and professional practice leadership experience includes: advocacy, community, and organizational practice; a history of advocacy for children, foster families, and communities; understanding best practices, evidence-based practice, empowerment, and anti-racist practices (DEI).

 

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In compliance with CSWE, the »¨½·Ö±²¥ BSW program Form AS 4 with the most recent assessment outcomes for each program option is available at this link:

Form AS 4

Accreditation

The »¨½·Ö±²¥ BSW Program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Board of Accreditation (BOA). Accreditation of a baccalaureate social work program by the BOA indicates that it meets or exceeds standards of program quality evaluated through a peer review accreditation process. An accredited program has sufficient resources to meet its mission and goals and the BOA has verified that it demonstrates compliance with all sections of the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS). Accreditation provides reasonable assurance about the quality of the program and the competence of students graduating from the program.