Online Learning Success

Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)

Build the skills and knowledge to work toward social justice in your community.

Explore the social work profession, develop career skills, and develop confidence in your professional identity. Our BSW program allows students to put essential social work skills, models, and training immediately into practice.

Walden’s BSW program primes you for the real world and preps you for licensure in some states* through hands-on training and evidence-based practices:

  • Real-life decision-making scenarios in Walden’s documentary-style video series.
  • Five optional focus areas that allow students to align their program with the community they wish to serve.
  • Supervised field experience and an in-person, hands-on Social Work Skills Lab.

Fast Facts

Contact Us: Speak with an enrollment advisor to learn about our current tuition savings and upcoming start dates.

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Course Content

Walden’s Bachelor of Social Work program focuses on helping you build the practical skills and knowledge needed to be an ethical and competent practitioner. The program includes an invaluable face-to-face interaction to help you prepare for the real world and state license* as well as 400 hours of field experience. Course topics include:

  • Policy and advocacy
  • Diversity and multiculturalism
  • Human behavior in the social environment

Lifelong Learning Ladder

Walden offers a lifelong learning ladder that includes our CSWE-accredited online Master of Social Work (MSW), PhD in Social Work, and Doctor of Social Work programs. BSW graduates with a 3.0 GPA or better at graduation are eligible to enter our MSW program in the Advanced Standing option, which may reduce the credits required for completion of the program. This allows you to earn your MSW faster and at a lower overall cost.

With Walden’s online BSW degree program, you can focus your studies on the area of greatest interest to you:

  • Addiction
  • Forensics and the Criminal Justice System
  • Crisis and Trauma
  • Courts and the Legal System
  • Healthcare Settings

More about our BSW program

With Walden’s Bachelor of Social Work degree, you can effect social change in your community through a career as a:*

  • Case worker
  • Case manager
  • Family service worker
  • Social worker
  • Habilitation specialist
  • Mental health assistant
  • Group home worker
  • Residential counselor
  • Program coordinator
  • Activity director
  • Workshop director

*Career options may require additional experience, training, or other factors beyond the successful completion of this degree program.

Admission is considered for adult students who hold a high school diploma or its equivalent. Applicants must also meet one of the following criteria:

  • You are 21 years of age or older.
  • You are less than 21 years of age and have 60 quarter credit hours.
  • You are an active member of the military or a veteran with documentation of service.
  • You are concurrently enrolled in an approved partner institution with an articulation agreement with Walden.
  • You will also be required to submit a completed online application, employment history, and official transcripts.

Your enrollment advisor will help you gather all of the required materials, starting with your application, and support you through your first day of classes.

Tuition costs will vary depending on your previous education. Get in touch with an enrollment advisor today by calling , to learn more about tuition costs for this program and financial aid options.

Walden's enrollment advisors are committed to helping identify and leverage opportunities for you to save money on your education.
Our enrollment advisors are ready to answer any questions you may have regarding this program. Fill out the form on this page to be contacted, or call .

Why earn your BSW at Walden?

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Relevant Curriculum

Coursework is based on the latest research and current best practices in the social work field.

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Exceptional Student Services

Thrive in your degree program with the help of 24/7 tech support, a Writing Center, a Career Services Center, and more.

relevant-curriculum

Save Time and Money

Transfer up to 135 of the 182 required quarter credits from previous college coursework.

Jimmy Watson

"What surprised me most about my Walden experience was the ease of completing my degree while working full time."

Jimmy Watson | MHA student, BS in Health Studies graduate

Accreditation

  • Walden University’s Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program is not accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). CSWE's Commission on Accreditation is responsible for developing accreditation standards that define competent preparation for professional social workers and ensuring that social work programs meet these standards. New BSW programs work toward initial CSWE accreditation by going through an application development process consisting of stages. The standard order of these stages is “pre-candidacy,” “candidacy” and “initial accreditation.” Normally, it takes approximately 3 years to complete the stages leading to initial accreditation.
  • The BSW program at Walden has achieved candidacy status, which is the last step before achieving initial programmatic accreditation by CSWE. Students who enter programs that attain candidacy in or after the academic year in which they begin their program of study will be retroactively recognized as having graduated from a CSWE-accredited program once the program attains initial accreditation.

*Note on Licensure

  • Licensure for BSW prepared social workers varies greatly from state-to-state. Each state licensing board responsible for regulating the practice of social work has its own academic, licensure, and certification requirements and issues its own license to practice as a social worker. In many states the minimum academic credential required to obtain licensure to practice as a social worker is a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Currently, Walden University’s BSW program is not accredited by CSWE but has achieved candidacy status which is the last step before achieving initial programmatic accreditation.
  • Because no program can guarantee licensure upon graduation, Walden recommends students consult the appropriate social work licensing board in the state in which they plan to practice to determine the specific academic requirements for licensure. Walden enrollment advisors can provide information relating to the state-by-state requirements for BSW licensure. However, it remains the individual’s responsibility to understand, evaluate, and comply with all licensing requirements for the state in which he or she intends to practice. Walden makes no representations or guarantee that completion of its coursework or programs will permit an individual to achieve state licensure, authorization, endorsement, or other state credential as a social worker.