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PREPARE FOR GENERALIST PRACTICE IN A WIDE RANGE OF AGENCIES


Social Work Major


  • Prepare for generalist practice in a wide range of agencies
  • Benefit from one-to-one contact with caring, supportive faculty
  • Gain hands-on experience through professional, agency based internships
  • Study in a program fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education
  • After earning your B.S.W., be eligible to complete an M.S.W. in one year
  • Be eligible for membership in:
    • National Association of Social Workers
    • Phi Alpha Honor Society: A National Honor Society for Social Work Students
  • Participate in the Social Work Student Association

What Will I Learn?


The social work program prepares students for generalist professional practice in a wide range of agencies, including social services, health, mental health, developmental disabilities, education, aging, youth services, addictions, and related organizations. The social work program is fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.

The social work program is completed in the junior and senior years. The curriculum includes both course work and an agency-based field internship under professional supervision. In the freshman and sophomore years, social work students complete a liberal arts base that includes the general education requirements. Both SUNY Plattsburgh students and transfer students may apply for admission to the social work program.

Practicum and internship candidates are expected to follow the external and professional practicum guidelines appropriate to their discipline. Successful completion of the social work program leads to the bachelor of science with a major in social work.

Students earning this degree are recognized as B.S.W.s within the profession of social work and are eligible for membership in the National Association of Social Workers.

Graduates of Plattsburgh’s nationally accredited B.S.W. program are eligible for advanced standing M.S.W. programs, enabling the completion of an M.S.W. degree in one year.

What Are My Career Opportunities?


Begin your career equipped with the skills, knowledge, and values essential in social work practice.

Baccalaureate Social Work (B.S.W.) is the only undergraduate major that educates students to be professional social workers. Graduates are prepared for immediate entry into direct human service professional positions — ready to excel in careers in social work and ready to do post-graduate work at the master’s degree level. They possess the intellectual, practical, and professional skills needed to promote beneficial change in the lives of their clients.

Social work employers recognize the specialized education and skills that empower B.S.W.’s to make an immediate impact on their organizations and in the lives of their consumers. While sociology, psychology, and related degrees provide generalized preparation for a number of careers, the B.S.W. degree provides specific, targeted training that treats the whole person within the context of his or her environment.

Our graduates can find employment in many different public and private work settings, including:

  • Health Services
    • Nursing homes
    • Hospices
    • Public health agencies
    • Substance abuse programs
    • Aging services
    • Hospitals
    • Developmental disabilities services
    • Mental health services
  • Public Agencies
    • Community action agencies
    • Legal services agencies
    • Domestic violence programs
    • Criminal justice agencies
  • Child and Family Services
    • Child welfare agencies
    • Family services agencies
    • Child and adult day care centers
    • School (elementary and secondary)
    • Children & youth services
    • Home care agencies
  • Community Services
    • Residential treatment programs
    • Homeless shelters
    • Vocational rehabilitation services
    • Income maintenance programs

 

Graduate School


Students in the Social Work Program at SUNY Plattsburgh have a 95% acceptance rate to graduate schools both in the United States and in Canada. Some of the schools that students have been accepted at are:

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