The Undergraduate Social Work Program was founded in 1970 and is located in the College
of Education and Social Work. The program is accredited by the Council on Social Work
Education through the year 2019, and seeks to maintain the high standards required
to remain accredited.
Social work majors are prepared as entry-level generalist social workers upon graduation
with a Bachelor's degree from West Chester University. The program seeks to teach
students to work with all types of clients, viewing differences as strengths. It particularly
emphasizes diversity and the unique contribution and potential of groups of people
who have suffered from discrimination, oppression, or restricted opportunity.
Please take time to look around the web site.
Our mission is as follows: "To develop the knowledge, values, and skills in students
to enable them to function effectively as beginning generalist social workers, to
prepare students for graduate social work education, to enhance knowledge of the social
welfare needs of a complex urban/rural environment, and to promote ethical thinking,
life-long learning, and self-evaluation."
Nearly all information about the program can be found on the website. As you look
around you will find a unique program that strives to graduate individuals who are
highly regarded by the social service community and are sought to fill the social
work manpower needs in our metropolitan, suburban, and rural areas.
Thank you for taking the time to visit our site. If you have any questions please
contact the Chair of the Undergraduate Social Work Department, Travis Ingersoll
Mission of the Undergraduate Social Work Program
The mission of the undergraduate social work program is to prepare students for beginning
social work practice and lifelong learning. To this end, the program teaches the knowledge,
values, and skills of generalist social work, with an emphasis on self-evaluation,
critical thinking, information literacy, and understanding the intersections of people
and their environments. Students apply micro, mezzo, and macro frameworks for assessment
and intervention through experiential learning that includes two field placements
over the course of three semesters. The program prepares students to adhere to the
ethical standards of social work, to advocate for social and economic justice, and
to promote the strengths and well-being of diverse individuals, families, groups,
organizations and communities. Students graduate with the core competencies appropriate
to entry-level generalist social work as well as the foundation for graduate social
work education.
Undergraduate Social Work Department Objectives and Competencies
Objectives for the Undergraduate Social Work Program are linked to core practice competencies
as set forth in the Council on Social Work Education’s 2015 Educational Policy and
Accreditation Standards (EPAS). The social work curriculum prepares its graduates
for generalist practice through mastery of these nine core competencies (listed below).
For further information, please refer to the Undergraduate Social Work Department’s
Student Handbook/Field Manual. It is our goal that by completion of the program, students
will be prepared to:
- Engage in evidence-based entry-level social work practice with individuals, families,
groups, communities and organizations within a multicultural society (Competencies
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
- Practice according to the principles, values, and ethics that guide the social work
profession (Competency 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9).
- Influence social policies with the goal of alleviating poverty, oppression, and social
injustice as well as advocating for human rights (Competencies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
- Identify and affect the bio-psycho-social, spiritual, and cultural functioning of
people (Competencies 6, 7, 8, 9)
- Evidence practice from a culturally-competent perspective which recognizes, appreciates
and applies the knowledge of diverse cultures, particularly those that differ from
one’s own (Competency 2, 4).
EPAS Core Competencies (2015)
- Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior
- Engage Diversity and Difference in Practice
- Advance Human Rights and Social, Economic and Environmental Justice
- Engage in Practice-Informed Research and Research-Informed Practice
- Engage in Policy Practice
- Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations and Communities
- Assess Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations and Communities
- Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
- Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations and Communities
The BSW Program at West Chester University defines generalist practice as practice
that is grounded in a liberal arts foundation upon which a generic and integrated
social work knowledge base is developed, and informed by social work values. From
this grounding, generalist practitioners utilize a professional problem solving process
to engage, assess, broker services, advocate, counsel, educate, and organize with
and on behalf of clients and client systems. Generalist practitioners work with individuals,
families, groups, communities and organizations in a variety of social work and host
settings. They view clients and client systems from a strengths perspective in order
to recognize, support, and build upon the uniqueness of all groups of people as well
as the innate capabilities of all human beings. Finally, generalist practitioners
evaluate service outcomes in order to continually improve the provision and quality
of services most appropriate to client needs. Generalist social work practice is guided
by the NASW Code of Ethics and is committed to improving the well-being of individuals,
families, groups, communities and organizations and furthering the goals of human
rights and social justice in a global society.
[Informed by the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Director's definition
of Generalist Practice as cited in Mizrahi, T.M. & Davis, L.E. (2008). The Encyclopedia
of Social Work (20th ed.). Washington, DC: NASW Press; New York: Oxford University
Press.]
