-
Prospective Students
-
Faculty and Staff
-
Current Students
-
Alumni and Friends
Students looking to change their major to social work must do so through the College of Health & Human Services (CHHS) Advising Office. Students must meet with their academic advisor in order to change their major. CHHS serves as the main academic advising and student support office for CHHS pre-majors. The social work pre-major is called Social Work - Lower Division.
CHHS Adivising Office: https://health.charlotte.edu/student-advising-center/chhs-change-major-orientation
No. The BSW program is an on campus program with classes held during the daytime (not evenings). The BSW program is not a Distance Education program and therefore cannot be completed fully online. There are online undergraduate programs at UNC Charlotte, you may view them here: https://distanceed.charlotte.edu/degrees-programs/bachelor-programs.
Lower Division is our social work pre-major. Students who start at UNC Charlotte as freshmen or as a transfer student (after applying through UNC Charlotte's undergraduate admissions) declare a social work Lower Division pre-major. Students must successfully complete general education courses and our prerequisite courses in order to apply to Upper Division.
Watch Video on Social Work Lower Division Explained
Upper Division is our social work BSW program major. Students apply to Upper Division between February and July. Upper Division only begins each fall semester. In Upper Division, students take two years of BSW courses and a Field Education internship during senior year (second year of Upper Divsion). Once students complete Upper Division (takes 2 years), they graduate with their Bachelor of Social Work degree.
Our Upper Division program only begins in the fall semester of each year. Admission to Upper Division must be granted before students are permitted to take Upper Division courses in the BSW major. Upper Division Admission is a selective process and not all students will be admitted, even if they have met the minimum requirements for the program. Our application period is February 1st - July 1st of each year with a fall (August) start date. Applicants will be notified of admission decisions no later than August 1st. However, this is a rolling admission process. Applicants may be notified of a decision much earlier than August 1st if they submit their application prior to the deadline.
Students who plan to apply for entrance in to the BSW Program (Upper Division) are required to meet with the CHHS Advising Office before applying to learn more about the major, course requirements and the course sequence. The CHHS Advising Office website is: https://health.uncc.edu/chhs-student-advising
Our application period is February 1st - July 1st of each year with a fall (August) start date. Applicants will be notified of admission decisions no later than August 1st via an attached letter sent ot their University email address. However, this is a rolling admission process. Applicants may be notified of a decision much earlier than August 1st if they submit their application prior to the deadline.
There is not a waitlist for Upper Division.
Applicants need to complete the following minimum criteria for admission to Upper Division:
The applicant must have a cumulative UNC Charlotte GPA of 2.5 or higher prior to the start of Upper Division. Applicants with fewer than 12 credits earned at UNC Charlotte must also have a cumulative transfer GPA of 2.5 or higher.
The applicant has earned 60 credits or will have earned 60 credits prior to the start of Upper Division.
Applicants can be enrolled in summer courses at the time of application. However, admission offers are conditioned upon verification of the satisfactory completion of the courses outlined above and a GPA of 2.5 prior to the start of Upper Division. This is a competitive process. Not all students who meet the above minimum criteria will be admitted as seating capacity is capped. Occasionally, in an effort to help students stay on track for a timely graduation, a student may be admitted who does not quite meet the established criteria such as in the case where a student is just short of 60 credits or is missing a pre-requisite. In such a case, the student must be able to outline a plan for graduating within the usual 2 academic years.
One idea is to compare yourself to the profile of applicants who are typically admitted to the program. For the past two years, the average GPA of admitted applicants ranged from 3.2-3.4. Admitted applicants typically have demonstrated their passion for social work through a moderate to high degree of paid or volunteer experience. Admitted applicants typically have earned A's in SOWK 1101 and SOWK 2182. Admitted applicants are typically A or A/B students. Admitted applicants have earned C's or better in social work prerequisites (i.e. - BIO, POLS), but more often have earned B's or better. Having high grades, though, and/or experience, is not a guarantee of admission. In addition, admitted applicants demonstrate a solid understanding of social work values and of the "social work perspective," a lens through which professional social workers view social problems.
The School of Social Work recognizes that many of the student interested in applying for fall admission to the BSW Program are summer transfer students. The School of Social Work manages enrollment and admission offers with this in mind.
A "C" or better is required in all prerequisites for the social work major. These prerequisites include BIOL 1110, BIOL 1110L, POLS 1110, PSYC 1101, STAT 1222, SOCY 1101, SOWK 1101, SOWK 2182 and SOWK 2183.
Students can apply the following year to the BSW Program and some do. However, more often than not, students who are not admitted to the BSW Program begin forging a path toward an MSW. Students might select a related major and then put their energy into developing a competitive application to our MSW Program by earning high grades, gaining experience through paid or volunteer work, and preparing for the GRE. Due to limited space, not all applicants can be admitted into the BSW Program, but this does not mean the applicant would not make a good social worker.
Students interested in applying for the USWH program will be able to apply in the first (fall) semester of Upper Division. The application includes an additional essay. Students will be given notice from the BSW Honors Committee of when the application opens.
UNC Charlotte BSW graduates are employed in a variety of areas such as child protective services, substance abuse treatment, hospitals, youth and children services, criminal justice, adoptions/foster care, hospice, and long term care. They work from the coast to the mountains of North Carolina as well as all across the United States.
Other BSW graduates choose to pursue a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree. Many apply to our own MSW program along with MSW programs at other universities. We offer four different MSW program options at UNC Charlotte: https://socialwork.charlotte.edu/master-social-work-msw/about-program.
