About the Social Work Program

As one of the oldest bachelor’s-level programs in the nation, the Department of Social Work offers the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree. In 1980, Xavier University acquired Edgecliff College, a liberal arts college in Cincinnati supported by the Sisters of Mercy, which included a social work program. The Social Work Department at Xavier was established from that program and was initially accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) in 1981. Reaffirmation of accreditation occurred in 1987, 1994, 2002 and again in 2010. The department is one of 10 located in the College of Social Sciences, Health, and Education.

• Social work students primarily complete their university Core requirements during freshman and sophomore years. This includes some Core courses that are specifically required for the social work major such as certain biology, psychology, sociology and statistics courses.
• Most required social work courses for the major are upper-level courses taken during the junior and senior years.
• During both semesters in senior year, students are engaged 16 hours per week in a supervised field placement that students help to choose during spring semester of the junior year. As the signature pedagogy of BSW programs, field education is the central vehicle through which students integrate the classroom curriculum with supervised practice experiences and real client systems and are socialized to the profession.
• Students graduating with a BSW in the state of Ohio can take the LSW (Licensed Social Worker) licensure exam in spring of their senior year to prepare for employment opportunities in Ohio.
• Social workers who have graduated with a high GPA from an accredited BSW program like Xavier’s are usually eligible for advanced standing admission to many graduate-level (MSW) programs. Through advanced standing, social work students can complete their graduate degree in only one year making them eligible to take the LISW
  (Licensed Independent Social Worker) licensure exam in the state of Ohio. Licensure requirements vary by state.
• In 2008, the department received the Curriculum Development Institute (CDI) grant from CSWE’s Gero-Ed Center to infuse the foundation curriculum with content on older adults in order to prepare students with the knowledge, values and skills to meet the workforce needs of our rapidly aging society. This will continue to keep our students
  current with both the Baby Boomers turning 65, which started in 2010, as well as centenarians becoming the fastest growing age group.

Social work students learn with expert faculty whose areas of expertise and/or scholarship include gender and diversity studies, generalist practice, child abuse, eating disorders, addictions, cultural competence, domestic and sexual abuse, ethics, gerontology and spirituality.