You want to change the world – so here’s how.
From the Mexico border to inner-city Chicago, from rural Kansas to Bogotá, Colombia, Bethel College social work graduates are making a difference.
Is social justice important to you? Do you want to work with people to help them solve their problems? Social work could be the career for you.
Good social workers:
- have strong listening skills
- work well with many kinds of people
- want to help people find social and economic justice
When you study social work at Bethel College, you’ll learn and develop these and other skills – or perhaps improve on what you already have.
The whole person
At Bethel College, small class sizes mean personalized attention, and
- mentoring from faculty and alumni with broad contacts and experience
- great internship opportunities and field placements
Real-world experience
One unusual aspect of Bethel’s social work program is Social Change: Social Justice, a class taught in Mexico every other year. This travel course
- examines issues of economics, racial and cultural diversity, human rights, religion and immigration
- gives you a chance to meet and talk with local people in their homes and through social-service agency and development projects
- takes you to sites that reflect the riches of Mexican art and culture
- is associated with the nonprofit organization QUEST Mexico
As a social worker, you can change the world – helping one person, one family at a time.
Want to talk more with faculty and current students? Schedule a campus visit.
You’ll build on a top liberal arts foundation that prepares you to be the kind of social worker employers want. Graduating in social work is just the first step toward a career with countless options. Apply today!
Bethel College Social Work is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education’s Board of Accreditation.
Accreditation of a baccalaureate social work program by the Council on Social Work Education’s Board of Accreditation indicates that it meets or exceeds criteria for the assessment of program quality evaluated through a peer review process. An accredited program has sufficient resources to meet its mission and goals and the Board of Accreditation has verified that it demonstrates compliance with all sections of the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards.
Admission to social work
In order to major in social work, you must be admitted to the program. This normally occurs by the junior year for transfer students. Liberal arts courses and additional courses in the social sciences form the foundation for the social work major. You are eligible to be admitted to the social work major when you meet the following:
- General education basic communication and lower level distribution requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree (Bethel College catalog).
- Completion of these courses in the social sciences: ECON 211, SSC222, PSY211. (One of these courses may also fulfill a general education requirement.)
- A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.5.
Application for admission to the social work major requires completing an application and submitting three references. Admission to the social work program will be based on the following criteria:
- Evidence through interview, references and autobiographical material that the student has a system of values consistent with the Code of Ethics of the social work profession.
- Evidence through past academic work that the student has the aptitude to pursue the social work major.
- Evidence from academic records and the application process that the student is capable of effective verbal and written communication.
- Evidence through interview, references and autobiographical material that the student has the emotional maturity and stability needed for compassionate and effective social work.
Transferring to Bethel for a social work degree
If you're interested in transferring from a community college or two-year private college, you are welcome at Bethel. You can prepare for entry into the social work program during your first two years of college, making it possible to transfer to Bethel and complete the social work degree in a minimum of two years. If you expect to transfer for the social work major, you are encouraged to contact the director of social work education as early as possible in your college career to be advised about admission requirements. You will also be advised about the ideal curriculum choices at the two-year college to articulate with the social work program at Bethel.
Preparation for a social work education at Bethel
The liberal arts are an important foundation upon which a social work degree is built. Successful completion of a program of liberal studies is the best preparation for the social work major. Competence in oral and written communication is crucial for successful completion of the social work major as are skills and abilities to think analytically and synthesize information from a variety of sources.
Specific courses, when taken along with a community college liberal studies program, will prepare the transferring student for entry into the social work program at Bethel College. They are:
- General Psychology
- Principles of Sociology
- Life-Span Development or Developmental Psychology
- Introduction to Economics
- Statistics
In addition, many two-year colleges offer a social work course that introduces students to the social welfare institution and to social work. When approved by the faculty of Bethel College’s social work program, this course will fulfill the requirements for a course usually taken during the first year in the social work major at Bethel. Students in the two-year college should contact the director of social work education at Bethel to be certain that the course has been approved to meet a requirement for social work at Bethel. The Bethel registrar makes final decisions regarding transfer of credits for courses taken outside Bethel, and about articulation with general education requirements at Bethel.
Internships/Research
The community is a laboratory for social education, so instruction occurs in the field as well as the classroom. As a junior and senior, you’ll serve internships with licensed social workers in settings such as hospitals, mental health facilities, schools, nursing homes and social service agencies. In addition, you’ll experience social work through lab exercises.
Recent internship examples are:
- St. Francis Community Services, Newton
- Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice, Newton and Wichita
- USD 373, Newton Public Schools
- Communities in Schools, Wichita
- Department of Children and Family Services, Newton
- DCF Missing and Exploited Children’s Unit, Wichita
- New Moms, Inc., Chicago
- Mirror, Inc. (addictions treatment), Newton
- Valley Hope (addictions treatment), Moundridge and Wichita
- Promise Regional Medical Center, Hutchinson
- Good Neighbor Ministries, Wichita
- Sunflower Community Action, Wichita
- Good Shepherd Hospice, Newton
- Friendship Place/Mary House, Washington, D.C.
- Presbyterian Manor (retirement), Newton
- Asbury Park (retirement), Newton
- Harvey County Domestic Violence Shelter, Newton
- Offender Victim Ministries, Newton
- Kidron-Bethel Village/Bluestem Communities (retirement), North Newton
- Sedgwick County Juvenile Justice Authority, Wichita
- Harvey County Homeless Shelter, Newton
- Catholic Charities Hispanic Social Services, Wichita
- COMCARE of Sedgwick County (mental health), Wichita
- Wichita Children’s Home
Study Abroad
As part of Bethel’s cross-cultural learning emphasis, you’ll have the option to spend time in Mexico under the direction of Bethel’s social work faculty. There, you’ll examine issues related to economics, diversity, human rights, religion and immigration. Students are exposed to the riches of Mexican art, culture and archeology. Bethel works with QUEST Mexico, a nonprofit organization devoted to creating social justice and peace through transformative, experiential education.
A degree in social work from Bethel College is a generalist degree, qualifying you for licensure and entry into a wide range of positions. Social work is perhaps the most versatile of the human services degrees.
Post-graduate careers include:
- Mental health and developmental disabilities
- Community organizing
- Private family and child welfare organizations
- Corrections with juvenile offenders and adult probation and parole
- Medical social work in hospitals
- Geriatric social work
- Mediation and conflict management
- Substance abuse treatment programs
- AIDS assistance programs
- Hospice social work
Bethel College Baccalaureate Social Work Program Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes
Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes AY 2022-2023 CSWE
Summary of the Program’s Assessment Plan | Generalist Practice
|
Assessment Measure #1: Field Practicum |
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Dimension(s) assessed: |
Knowledge, Values, Skills, Cognitive & Affective Reactions |
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When/where students are assessed: |
Field Placement |
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Who assessed student competence: |
Field Instructor |
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Outcome Measure Benchmark (minimum score indicative of achievement) for Competencies 1-9: |
3 out of 5 |
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Competency Benchmark (percent of students the program expects to have achieved the minimum scores, inclusive of all measures) for Competencies 1-9: |
85% |
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Assessment Measure #2: Classroom Coursework |
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|
Dimension(s) assessed: |
Knowledge, Values, Skills, Cognitive & Affective Reactions |
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When/where students are assessed: |
Coursework |
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Who assessed student competence: |
Course Instructor |
|
Outcome Measure Benchmark (minimum score indicative of achievement) for Competencies 1-9: |
3 out of 5 |
|
Competency Benchmark (percent of students the program expects to have achieved the minimum scores, inclusive of all measures) for Competencies 1-9: |
85% |
Form AS4 – For public posting
Last completed on 8/30/23
| COMPETENCY | COMPETENCY BENCHMARK (%) | PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ACHIEVING BENCHMARK | |||
| Aggregate of All Program Options n = (10) |
Program Option #1 Bethel College n = (10) | Program Option #2 (identify location/delivery method) n = (Number of students) | Program Option #3 (identify location/delivery method) n = (Number of students) | ||
| Competency 1: Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior | 85% | 100% | (100+100/2=100) 100% | ||
| Competency 2: Engage Diversity and Difference in Practice | 85% | 93% | (85 + 100/2=93) 93% | ||
| Competency 3: Advance Human Rights and Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice | 85% | 99% | (98+100/2=99) 99% | ||
| Competency 4: Engage in Practice-informed Research and Research-informed Practice | 85% | 98% | (95+100/2 = 98) 98% | ||
| Competency 5: Engage in Policy Practice | 85% | 100% | (100+100/2=100) 100% | ||
| Competency 6: Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities | 85% | 100% | (100+100/2=100) 100% | ||
| Competency 7: Assess Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities | 85% | 100% | (100+100/2=100) 100% | ||
| Competency 8: Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities | 85% | 98% | (100+95.7/2= 97.8)* 98% *(21/22 data) |
||
| Competency 9: Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities | 85% | 100% | (100+100/2=100) 100% | ||
Satisfactory progress in the social work major
To graduate with the Bachelor of Science in Social Work degree, you must meet the requirements for satisfactory progress in the program, including earning a minimum of a C grade in each social work course and maintaining an overall 2.5 GPA. Complete information about other satisfactory progress requirements and about program policies and procedures are set forth in the Student Handbook of the Social Work Department. Students may review the handbook at any time and will receive a personal copy when they are formally admitted to the program.
Four-year curriculum plan
Liberal Arts Foundation
Study in the liberal arts is the foundation for the social work major. During the first two years (before admission to the social work program), you should complete the general education basic communication and lower-level distribution requirements set forth for all Bethel College students in the academic catalog. Upper-level general education requirements are completed in the junior or senior year.
Bio-Psychosocial Foundation
The following required courses provide a foundation in human biology and the behavioral and social sciences. They may also meet some distribution requirements for general education.
| Year 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall semester | SWK220 | Introduction to Social Work and the Social Welfare Institution (Policy I) |
| Spring semester | ECON211 | Principles of Macroeconomics OR SSC201 Principles of Political Science |
| PSY211 | General Psychology | |
| Year 2 | ||
| Fall semester | SSC222 | Principles of Sociology |
| Spring semester | PSY251 | Life-Span Development |
| Above courses are prerequisites for SWK355. | ||
| MAT300 | Applied Statistics (may also be taken in fall semester of 3rd year) | |
Elective: A minimum of one additional course in the social sciences
Social Work Courses
The following courses are offered by the social work department and are required for the major. Together they make up a total of 40 credit hours.
| Pre-professional course | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall semester | SWK220 | Introduction to Social Work and the Social Welfare Institution (Policy I) (May be taken year 1-3) |
| Year 3 | ||
| Fall semester | SWK310 | Skills for Human Service Work |
| SWK355 | Human Behavior in the Social Environment | |
| Spring semester | SWK312 | Research Methods for Social Work |
| SWK360 | Assessment of Human Systems (Practice I) | |
| SWK420 | Social Welfare Policy Analysis (Policy II) (may also be taken in spring semester of year 4) | |
| Fall or spring semester | SWK372 | Field Experience |
| May Term | SWK364 | Social Change: Social Justice (on campus or in Mexico) |
| Year 4 | ||
| Fall semester | SWK460 | Intervention in Human Systems (Practice II) |
| SWK481 | Pre-practice Seminar I | |
| Spring semester | SWK482 | Pre-practice Seminar II (Senior Thesis) |
| Fall/interterm/spring | SWK472 | Field Instruction |
- Major requirements:
- 59 hours
For course descriptions, see the academic catalog.
Social work may not be taken as a minor — instead, see the Human Services option.
