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Bachelor of Science in Social Work

Prepare for a career helping others navigate life's challenges and make an impact in your community.

If you’re looking to enter a career field dedicated to advocating for those facing down life’s biggest challenges, serving the historically underserved and making a lasting difference in your community, earning a degree in social work from Ashland University is one of the most impactful choices you can make. Our Bachelor of Science in Social Work (BSW) degree combines classroom work with real-world experience, preparing you for a wide variety of careers after graduation.

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Bachelor's of Science
in Social Work Program

Make a Lasting Difference

Now more than ever, social workers are in demand in a wide array of positions in communities across the nation. From child welfare, senior advocacy, positions within the healthcare field and jobs creating policy at all levels of both the private and public sector, a degree in social work from Ashland University equips you to follow your unique calling wherever it takes you.

The need for social workers has never been greater and our program is designed to equip you with the knowledge, skills and support necessary for lifelong success.

Our goal is to help you prepare to help those who need it most and impact your community at foundational levels. If you’re looking for a social work program with a supportive, community-based approach, experienced faculty and a proven educational structure that prepares you to enter the workforce directly after graduation, our program may be the perfect fit for you.

About the Bachelor’s of Social Work Program

Ashland University’s Social Work program gives you the knowledge and tools to effectively serve at-risk populations.

Our program is structured to allow you to learn in a community of social work degree students and begin building your professional network early in your education. Block placement in fieldwork also allows you to complete your classes before completing your field experience, providing a valuable transition period between student and professional life. Because you’re able to begin building your professional identity before graduation, you are better equipped to move seamlessly into the workforce and make an immediate impact in your position from your first day on the job.

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World-Class Preparation
for a World in Need

Nationally accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), this program is one of the largest programs in the Colleges of Arts & Sciences. It prepares you to take the Association of Social Work Boards licensing exam required to become a Licensed Social Worker (LSW) in the state of Ohio and many other states. Over the past six years, our students have passed the licensing exam at a rate of 93%, which is significantly higher compared to the 67% national and 69% state first-time pass rate averages, placing Ashland University’s Social Work program among the top programs in the state.

Because of Ashland’s focus on individualization, you’re able get the necessary one-on-one attention from professors with experience working as professional social workers. Your education will prepare you for a wide variety of careers currently in need of licensed social workers. Our graduates have gone on to secure positions in child welfare, senior care, healthcare environments, addiction studies and advocacy roles—to name just a few.

Benefits of Ashland University’s
Social Work Program

Benefits of Ashland University’s Social Work Program

Benefits of Ashland University’s Social Work Program

High Licensing Rate
Prepare for the Association of Social Work Boards licensing exam required to become a Licensed Social Worker (LSW) in the state of Ohio and many other states.
Individualized Attention
At Ashland University, you are never just a number. Instead, you’ll receive one-on-one attention and networking opportunities to begin building your career in social work long before graduation.
Choose From a Variety of Career Paths
Social workers are in high demand across a wide variety of career fields and professional environments. Follow your passion wherever it takes you and make an impact in your community.
Fieldwork Opportunities
Within the BSW program, you’ll have the opportunity to complete a full semester of full-time fieldwork, providing you with real-world experience through more than 40 internship agencies affiliated with this program.
Financial Aid Opportunities
Apply for financial assistance to complete your Bachelor’s in Social Work and become a social worker.
Start Your Career Right After Graduation
Over 95% of graduates have gotten a job offer or been accepted to a graduate school in the past five years within six months after graduation.
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A Few Classes
Could Change Your Job Prospects

Substance use is a problem for all industries and businesses. In your career, you may encounter someone who is struggling with addiction. Be a step ahead in your field and learn proven treatment practices. Ashland University’s addictions counseling programs focus on preparing you for work that involves people suffering from substance use disorders and their affected families.

We offer education at several levels: an associate degree, a minor paired with another bachelor’s degree major and credentialing/licensure in Ohio for addictions counseling. Popular majors that complement addictions counseling include criminal justice, nursing, psychology and social work.

What to Expect from Ashland University’s Social Work Program

  • BSW degree can be completed in 122 hours across 8 semesters, including field experience.
  • Field experience is integrated into every social work course. Students complete an agency observation, interview persons who work in those agencies, interview individuals and families for specific assignments, visit a nursing home resident for a semester and attend support groups.
  • Seniors complete a 500-hour agency placement in their final semester. Students state a preference for the type of agency and the population with whom they wish to work.
  • Our program has excellent relationships with local agencies; they are eager to have our students as interns because the students are always so well prepared. Our internships are block placements so that students can be in their agencies full-time, rather than running between agency and classes.
  • Our internships are an opportunity for exciting professional development in a real-life work setting; it is always a semester of tremendous growth. Students develop the confidence they need to enter the career of social work or to begin graduate school.
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About Ashland University

Founded in 1878, Ashland University continues to have a rich tradition as a private, comprehensive institution preparing students for exciting, impactful professions and careers. Your success is our goal, not just while you are a student but for the rest of your life as a member of the Eagle family.

We place a great emphasis on the importance of each member of our community. The phrase “Accent on the Individual ” has been our motto for many years and characterizes well the nature and content of both the online and campus environment.

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We promise to teach you how to think, not what to think. We promise to work with you to create an individualized plan for your future, and we promise you an affordable education. We promise you will be guided by mentors invested in you as an individual. They will, within a diverse community of respect, design personalized transformative experiences to develop you as a person who works, serves and leads with integrity. And we promise you a lifelong commitment as we continue to help you discern your life calling and make a positive impact on your family, community and the world at large.

Discover Your Promise
So proud of Ashland's Social Work program! I am glad I found Ashland, which prepared me to start my career on a solid foundation.
Brad Gowins
It's the best! I just graduated with my masters from Ohio State 5 years after receiving my bachelor's from AU, and I still strongly believe that AUs undergraduate social work program set me up to glide through my master’s program with ease -
Hayley Mossing
I am so glad I found AU when I decided to go back to school. The Social work program sets you up for success. Success on the test and success every day as a social worker.
Susan Julian
AU’s Social Work faculty have the unique ability in taking complex information and making it easily understandable.
Chelsey Getz
It’s (AU Social Work Program) is basically the best program ever.
Michelle Richter
I was always worried about getting a good job upon graduating. Little did I know, I had nothing to worry about being a social work graduate from AU. I had a professional social job less than two weeks after graduating last year. And I know others in my cohort had jobs waiting for them even before they graduated.
Sarah Huber
When we consider filling positions that are social work related, an applicant with a social work degree from Ashland University goes to the top of the list. We just know from experience that they are better trained and better prepared than graduates from any other college in the area.
Social Worker from a local government agency.
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Take the Next Step Towards Your Future

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Ashland, OH 44805

419-289-5738 |

800-882-1548

Ashland University is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Institution

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