Social Work

The College of St. Scholastica Department of Social Work has undergone a lot of growth over the past couple of years, adding four distance sites to our main campus location: delivery of the baccalaureate social work degree on the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College campus in Cloquet; delivery of the social work degree through ADEP programming on the Central Lakes Community College campus in Brainerd; our degree through the ADEP site in St. Paul; and a special cohort of social work students on the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa reservation in north-central Minnesota (Tower).

Overview

The mission of the social work profession is "to enhance human well being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed and living in poverty" (from the Preamble of the N.A.S.W. Code of Ethics). Social work addresses the needs of individuals, families, groups and communities. The core values of the profession are service, social justice, dignity and worth of the individual, importance of human relationships, integrity and competence. The College of St. Scholastica's Social Work Program embraces the mission of the social work profession in the context of the College's Benedictine tradition. The program, accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, requires graduates to be well prepared for beginning generalist professional practice.

St. Scholastica graduates also may enter most MSW programs with advanced standing, requiring only 12 months of graduate study. For students who care about people and want to make a difference, social work may be the appropriate major.

Program Goals and Objectives with Competencies

Majors/Minors

The Department of Social Work offers a major and licensures in social work and school social work.

Review the Social Work course sequence (.pdf document)

Student and Professional Organizations

• Social Work Club

Career Options

Graduates with a B.A. in Social Work are employed in a variety of settings that may include:

Family service agencies Hospitals Community action agencies Schools (elementary and secondary) Child and adult protection Residential treatment Homeless shelters Tribal social service agencies Justice and corrections

Substance abuse programs Mental health services Developmental disabilities services Public health agencies Child and youth service agencies Aging services Domestic violence programs Community organizations

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition, Social Workers at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos060.htm