Social Work
About the Social Work Program
With Barton’s Social Work Program, you’ll be ready for entry-level practice in a variety of social service settings. Our comprehensive approach provides you with a rigorous professional foundation and in-depth exploration of each area of social work—values and ethics, diversity, social justice, human behavior and the social environment, social welfare and policy, social work practice, research, and field education.
Special Features
As part of your professional education, you’ll engage in activities outside the classroom and a 400-hour field placement in the spring semester of your senior year.
In addition, Barton’s Social Work program is offered through two tracks:
- Traditional Program – Day classes for traditionally enrolled students
- Professional Studies Program – Evening, weekend, and hybrid options for working adult students
Why Social Work at Barton?
- Multiple entry points per year: Spring, Summer, Fall
Smaller groups - One-on-one discussion with professors
- A focus on diversity and social and economic advocacy
- Evening, hybrid, and online options for working adult students
Program Requirements
Students may declare social work as their major at any time. Admission into the Social Work Program occurs during the first social work course taken at Barton. Criteria for admission to the program include:
- GPA of 2.0 or greater
- Completion of SWK 201 with C- or better
- Two letters of recommendation
- Completion of personal essay
- Submission of resume
- Submission of writing sample (if requested by program director)
- Interview with student (if requested by program director)
Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes
Invest in Your Success at Barton College
Course Information
For Traditional Students
You’ll begin the social work curriculum in your sophomore year. Courses are offered in a cohort style, which means you’ll take courses with the same group of students. Because you know everyone in your classes so well, resulting in a beneficial group dynamic and a positive learning environment.
Coursework covers social welfare and policy, direct practice, human behavior, research, diversity, and senior seminar. You have a wide choice of electives, such as:
- Child Welfare
- Supporting Families
- The Aging Network
- Human Sexuality
- Substance Abuse
Traditional Course Rotation Plan
Chart your academic path through the semesters.
For Professional Studies Students
If you are entering the Social Work program through Professional Studies, your first semesters at Barton will be a combination of general education courses and introductory social work courses. As a new cohort forms, you will then complete the major social work classes with this group of students, culminating in a spring semester field placement.
Professional Studies Course Rotation Plan
Chart your academic path through the semesters.
Field Placements
Your field placement in your senior year allows you to gain in-depth experience in a social service agency. Some of the agencies where students have been placed are:
- Departments of Social Services
- North Carolina Public Schools
- Domestic Violence Shelters
- North Carolina Department of Corrections
- Assisted Living Facilities
- Hospice
- North Carolina Public Health Department
- Hospital settings
- Services for seniors
- Children’s programs
Child Welfare Education Collaborative
The North Carolina Child Welfare Education Collaborative (NC-CWEC) is a unique partnership between the North Carolina Division of Social Services and 21 universities and colleges. The social work programs in each of these institutions offer curricula that not only meet North Carolina’s pre-service competency requirements but include specialized, in-depth training in child welfare best practices and theory. When a participating student receives his or her B.S.W. or M.S.W., the student also receives his or her North Carolina Child Welfare Pre-Service Training Certificate. The NC-CWEC focuses on strengthening child welfare services in North Carolina by increasing the number and diversity of highly trained and committed B.S.W. and M.S.W. graduates in county social services departments. To learn more about the Child Welfare Education Collaborative, visit https://cwec.web.unc.edu/.
Career Opportunities
A bachelor of social work degree from Barton gives you everything you need to work as a generalist practitioner in a variety of settings, including hospitals, domestic violence programs, criminal justice agencies, and mental health centers.
You may also apply for advanced standing in graduate programs that offer a master’s degree in social work. Students have gone on for advanced degrees at:
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- University of Maryland
- East Carolina University
- University of South Carolina
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- University of North Carolina at Greensboro
- North Carolina A&T State University
Clubs and Organizations
The Hamlin Society provides social work majors and others on campus with the opportunity to explore and address social problems on campus and in the community at large.
Phi Alpha, the honor society for social work majors, recognizes those students who demonstrate academic excellence.
Tuition and Financial Aid
For Traditional Undergraduates, tuition information is available in the Tuition and Fees section of the Office of Financial Aid.
For Professional Studies students, the 2020-2021 tuition rate is $450 per semester hour.
Scholarships
Complete your FAFSA at https://www.fafsa.ed.gov and discuss your scholarship and aid options with our Office of Financial Aid at financialaid@barton.edu.
The Roy Branch and Alma Abernathy Barham Scholarship is awarded annually to an upper-class social work major.
The Eunice Lewis Colclough Scholarship is awarded annually to one or more Barton College students who plan to major in Social Work or Education and are from North Carolina.
The above scholarships are for students in the traditional undergraduate program. Students in the Professional Studies cohort should discuss their aid options with the Office of Financial Aid.