Bing tracking

BSW Academics

A BSW degree is different from other degrees such as psychology or sociology. It is a degree that trains you for a profession.

Only the BSW degree gives the graduate eligibility to apply for licensing as a social worker in the state of Minnesota. Anyone practicing social work in settings other than state, county, or local government must be licensed. Thus, a psychology or sociology degree is not sufficient for a career as a practitioner in social work. While there is overlap between the focus of psychology on the “person” and the sociology on the “environment of human society,” only social work programs offer extensive supervised internships in social service agencies. Thus, only the BSW program prepares students to practice.

A BSW degree is different from a two-year human services degree.

The BSW degree is a licensed degree recognized by the State of Minnesota for social work. Only graduates of an accredited social work program can practice social work.

The Augsburg BSW degree is a four-year degree (128 semester hours). The degree has been accredited since 1980 and prepares students for social work licensure. The G.P.A. minimum for applying is 2.2 on a 4-point scale.

The some BSW degree upper level courses are designated as “credit for advanced standing.”  This means that should you apply to an MSW program these courses will likely be accepted for credit for the comparable graduate course.  See the BSW Program Manual for the list of courses that apply.