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Harness your compassion into a career at HSU in Abilene, Texas.

Social work is not just a career; it’s a calling to advocate for social justice, champion the rights of the marginalized, and address systemic inequalities. A degree in social work will prepare you to work in various settings, including schools, healthcare institutions, mental health agencies, child welfare organizations, substance abuse treatment centers, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. By becoming a social worker, you become a vital force for positive change, working tirelessly to build a fair and more compassionate world.

Earn your degree in social work in a hands-on program that boasts a 100% employment and graduate school acceptance rate — and become a licensed professional in your graduating semester. When you take home your bachelor’s in social work from Hardin-Simmons University, you’ll be uniquely prepared to help people and communities to solve problems, promote equity and justice, and create positive change.

Social work is a high-demand, fast growing field that involves serving people who are vulnerable, oppressed, or marginalized, and addressing the conditions of society at the very core of injustice. As one of the leading social work programs in the Big Country area of West Central Texas, our students are in high demand by graduate programs and employers throughout the region and across the nation. You’ll also benefit from a supportive, family atmosphere in which faculty and alumni provide personal career advising — both during your time at HSU and after graduation.

Experiential Learning in the Social Work Degree

Hands-on learning is a key part of the bachelor’s in social work at HSU. Our students are highly sought after in the community for a variety of service learning and other field-based projects, and we connect you with experiential opportunities in which you apply academic lessons to real-world challenges.

For example, you’ll complete 30 hours of volunteer experiences as part of your regular coursework. We offer a Community Group Project in which you can work as part of a coalition to identify and address community needs and develop a plan of action. If you’re interested in policy, you can conduct analysis that leads to advocacy work at the local, state, national, and international levels. There’s no limit to what you can do and achieve.

CSWE Logo

The Social Work Program is accredited at the baccalaureate level by the Council on Social Work Education, consecutively since 1985.

What You’ll Learn

Tailor Your Social Work Degree at HSU and Travel the Country

Our bachelor’s degree in social work program offers special topics courses and travel opportunities, and we will help you assess your specialized interests to develop the best curriculum. Examples of special topic courses have included:

  • School Social Work
  • Engaging Diversity and Difference
  • Social Work in Mental Health, Military, and Veterans
  • Cultural Diversity
  • Community Renewal

Some of these courses involve travel, which has included trips to Window Rock, Arizona to study and work with the Navajo and Hope indigenous tribes; to Camden, New Jersey to work with Urban Promise Ministries; and a Civil Rights Tour of five southern states to engage our diverse history and its impact on society today.

Social Work Program Requirements

Service Learning Opportunities

Social Work being an engaging and interactive profession, students are provided opportunities to connect and serve in the community through volunteerism and field education internship.  Courses requiring service learning hours include:

  • Introduction to Social Work
  • Social Work Practice I
  • Field Education I & II

Highlights

  • No academic credit for life or work experience.
  • Program is open to all qualified applicants without discrimination.
  • Students apply for formal admission to the Social Work program upon completion of the Human Behavior and Social Environment courses in their sophomore year.
  • Students must maintain an overall GPA of 2.0 and earn a “C” or higher in all Social Work courses to continue in the major.
  • In Social Work Practice III, students apply for entrance into Field Education for their senior year.

Majors

Social Work (B.B.S.)

Social Work & Psychology (B.S.)

Social Work Administration (B.B.S.)

Minors

Social Work Minor

Why Earn Your Social Work Degree at Hardin-Simmons?

Why Earn Your Social Work Degree at Hardin-Simmons?

Interactive & Service Learning Experiences

Smaller classes provide a more interactive learning environment, opportunities for enhanced service learning experiences locally (like providing prom dresses for local under-served teens), around Texas, nationally, and even internationally. Our faculty and alumni are here to support you at every step, from help with resume building, to mock interviews, to providing professional references to graduate programs and employers.

Exceptional Preparedness

Graduates of our bachelor’s in social work are accepted to graduate schools (100%), professionally employed (100%), and pass the licensing exam (96%) at exceptionally high rates. Graduates seeking the Master of Social Work degree typically will complete the MSW within three semesters of graduating from HSU due to ‘advanced standing’ status, and all of our social work degree alumni are heavily recruited for graduate schools and employment.

Valuable Connections

Our bachelor’s degree in social work students develop lifelong, close relationships with each other, the faculty, and in the community. Throughout the social work courses, students are developing connections with professional social workers and others in the community through projects, volunteerism, field trips, and field placements.

Outcomes

Social workers engage in many fields of practice: mental health, addiction and recovery, children and families, geriatric care, and more. They work in schools, medical facilities, government agencies, the military, and many other settings. Graduates of our program are employed in places like the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, the Abilene Independent School District, and here at Hardin-Simmons University.

In addition to the incredible sense of personal fulfillment you can gain through this career, social work is a field that offers excellent opportunity, job security, and potential for professional growth. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of social workers is expected to grow 12% over the next decade, much faster than average. Texas also has one of the highest employment levels for social workers in the nation, so this is an ideal place to begin your career.

  • Students can apply for the Social Work license in the state of Texas in their graduating semester. 100% of our students pass the exam.
  • Graduates of HSU Social Work will receive either a BBS or BS degree. As the program is accredited by CSWE, students who apply to Graduate Schools of Social Work will receive advanced standing, making it possible to obtain a Master’s in Social Work within one year.
  • Graduates of HSU Social Work seeking employment upon graduation are employed in the professional field 100% of the time.

CSWE AS4B Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes 2023-2024

HSU Annual Assessment of Learning Outcomes

CSWE Reaffirmation Self-Study 2021

“I got my degree in social work from HSU in 2012, and while I am now a stay at home mom, my social work classes prepared me more than I could have known at the time, for both my seven years in the field, and through my journey as a foster and adoptive parent. I believe my professors and education had a huge impact in the way I have lived my life and engaged with people over the last decade. Book knowledge has been helpful, but the empathy mixed with passion and compassion, mixed with professionalism are what I learned from my time in the social work program. These are lessons I will carry with me for a lifetime!”

Sarah Cameron

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Program Details

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