2020-2021

Social Work, Bachelor of Arts in Social Work

Arts and Sciences

Provost Office

The social work major at NAU Yuma will provide you with the core competencies required to help border populations experiencing overwhelming life challenges such as poverty, under and unemployment, substandard housing, homelessness, hunger, and problems associated with PTSD.  Social workers approach their work with people from the strengths perspective, while also examining the individual within their environment.

This program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).

This plan will not be available to new students after Summer 2021

University Requirements
  • To receive a bachelor's degree at Northern Arizona University, you must complete at least 120 units of credit that minimally includes a major, the liberal studies requirements, and university requirements as listed below.

    • All of Northern Arizona University's diversity, liberal studies, junior-level writing, and capstone requirements.
    • All requirements for your specific academic plan(s).
    • At least 30 units of upper-division courses, which may include transfer work.
    • At least 30 units of coursework taken through Northern Arizona University, of which at least 18 must be upper-division courses (300-level or above). This requirement is not met by credit-by-exam, retro-credits, transfer coursework, etc.
    • A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 on all work attempted at Northern Arizona University.

    The full policy can be viewed here.

In addition to University Requirements:

  • At least 56 units of major requirements
  • Up to 9 units of liberal studies requirements can have the same prefix as the major. Contact the BASW program for information about liberal studies courses that are specific to this major.

  • Elective courses, if needed, to reach an overall total of at least 120 units.

Students may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.

Minimum Units for Completion 120
Major GPA C
Highest Mathematics Required MAT 114
Additional Admission Requirements Required
Fieldwork Experience/Internship Fieldwork Experience/Internship is required.
Research Required
Some online/blended coursework Required
Progression Plan Link View Progression Plan
Licensure

This program may lead to licensure.

Purpose Statement

The Bachelor of Arts in Social Work program provides students with the knowledge, values, and skills required to practice generalist social work along the US Mexico border.  The Bachelor of Arts in Social Work program is guided by a person and environment construct, a global perspective, respect for human diversity, and knowledge based on scientific inquiry.  This perspective is an excellent preparation for a wide variety of occupations along the US Mexico border.  The Bachelor of Arts in Social Work’s program purpose is actualized through its quest for social and economic justice, the prevention of conditions that limit human rights, the elimination of poverty, and the enhancement of the quality of life for all persons living along the US Mexico border.
 
Our curriculum is designed for students to master the CSWE core competencies: professional identity, ethical practice, critical thinking, diversity in practice, human rights and justice, research based practice, human behavior, policy practice, practice contexts, and the planned change process.  This curriculum is provided to the students through traditional classroom lecture and discussion, service-learning experiences, community change projects, and community engaged research.  Students will leave this program with a sense of leadership and service in the provision of social welfare to people, families, and communities, globally, regionally, and locally.  Our students also leave this program as globally engaged stewards of US Mexico border issues and committed to Hispanic populations, the Defense, Customs and Border Patrol and Military communities.


Student Learning Outcomes
Outcomes linked to CSWE Core Competencies


Professional Identity

  • Social workers advocate for client access to the services of social work;
  • Social workers practice personal reflection and self-correction to assure continual professional development;
  • Social workers attend to professional roles and boundaries;
  • Social workers demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior, appearance, and communication;
  • Social workers engage in career-long learning; and
  • Social workers use supervision and consultation.
Ethical Practice
  • Social workers recognize and manage personal values in a way that allows professional values to guide practice;
  • Social workers make ethical decisions by applying standard of the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics and, as applicable, of the International Federation of Social Workers/International Association of Schools of Social Work Ethics in Social Work, Statement of Principles;
  • Social workers tolerate ambiguity in resolving ethical conflicts; and
  • Social workers apply strategies of ethical reasoning to arrive at principled decisions.
Critical Thinking
  • Social workers distinguish, appraise, and integrate multiple sources of knowledge, including research-based knowledge, and practice wisdom;
  • Social workers analyze models of assessment, prevention, intervention, and evaluation; and
  • Social workers demonstrate effective oral and written communication in working with individuals, families, groups, organizations, communities, and colleagues.
Diversity in Practice
  • Social workers recognize the extent to which a culture’s structures and values may oppress, marginalize, alienate, or create or enhance privilege and power;
  • Social workers gain sufficient self-awareness to eliminate the influence of personal biases and values in working with diverse groups;
  • Social workers recognize and communicate their understanding of the importance of difference in shaping life experiences; and
  • Social workers view themselves as learners and engage those with whom they work as informants.
Human Rights and Justice
  • Social workers understand the forma and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination;
  • Social workers advocate for human rights and social and economic justice; and
  • Social workers engage in practices that advance social and economic justice.
Research Based Practice
  • Social workers use practice experience to guide the processes of assessment, intervention, and evaluation; and
  • Social workers use research evidence to inform practice.
Human Behavior
  • Social workers utilize conceptual frameworks to guide the processes of assessment, intervention, and evaluation; and
  • Social workers critique and apply knowledge to understand personal and environment.
Policy Practice
  • Social workers analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance social well-being; and
  • Social workers collaborate with colleagues and clients for effective policy action.
Practice Contexts
  • Social workers continuously discover, appraise, and attend to changing locales, populations, scientific and technological developments, and emerging societal trends to provide relevant services; and
  • Social workers provide leadership in promoting sustainable changes in service delivery and practice to improve the quality of social services.

Additional Admission Requirements
  • Individual program admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.

    • BASW 220 with a grade of "B" or better
    • BASW Program Application
    • 2.25 GPA Minimum
    • 2 Personal References
    • Personal/Professional Education Statement
    • English and Math Foundations
Major Requirements
  • This major requires 57 to 58 units distributed as follows:

    • Professional Identity: 15 units
    • Diversity in Practice: 6 units
    • Human Rights and Justice: 3 units
    • Research Based Practice: 6 to 7 units
    • Human Behavior: 3 units
    • Policy Practice: 6 units
    • Practice Contexts: 9 units
    • Engage, Assess, Intervene, Evaluate: 9 units


    Take the following 57 - 58 units:

    Please note, you must earn a grade of "C" or better in all required Social Work core courses.

    Professional Identity (15 units):


    Diversity in Practice (6 units):
    Human Rights & Justice (3 units):
    Research Based Practice (6-7 units):
    Human Behavior (3 units):
    Policy Practice (6 units):
    • BASW 320W which meets the junior-level writing requirement (3 units)
    • BASW 420 (3 units)

    Practice Contexts (9 units):
  • Please note that approval from an NAU Yuma/Extended Campus Advisor for the Social Work program is necessary for any courses not listed above.

General Electives
  • Additional coursework is required if, after you have met the previously described requirements, you have not yet completed a total of 120 units of credit.

    You may take these remaining courses from any of the academic areas, using these courses to pursue your specific interests and goals. You may also use prerequisites or transfer credits as electives if they weren't used to meet major, minor, or liberal studies requirements.

    We encourage you to consult with your advisor to select the courses that will be most advantageous to you.

Additional Information
  • Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also successfully complete. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.