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About the Bachelor of Science in Social Work Degree

Why Study Social Work at Cedarville?

Get involved. Make a difference. Care for people. Light up the darkness. Change your world.

If these passions are your own, you are the type of student who will excel in the Cedarville University Department of Social Work! Our distinctly Christian, accredited social work degree will equip you to help others while displaying the love and humility of Christ, from vulnerable children and adopting families to the elderly and individuals or communities in crisis. Regardless of your area of focus, you will be equipped to integrate your faith in your professional life and influence the culture for Christ.

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What Sets Cedarville Apart?

Program Overview

Program Highlights

Biblical - Our approach to social work is unique. We begin with a biblical, Christian foundation. You will be equipped to meet human needs through the lens of a biblical worldview. Principles from God’s Word guide discussions about public service, meeting human needs, and social justice. Theology is integrated in very practical ways with the social and cultural issues we confront every day. This careful integration is essential to developing Christian social workers who are caring, committed, and competent.

Balanced - Cedarville’s social work program provides the balanced education prized by employers and graduate schools: a strong core of required courses, electives that allow you to specialize and explore further, and two separate field experiences that bring together all elements of your academic achievements.

Accredited - The Social Work program at Cedarville University received initial accreditation from The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) in June of 1998. CSWE reaffirmed the program in June 2002, again in 2010, and most recently in June 2017. Graduating from an accredited program positions our students to complete graduate school in one year instead of two.

Placement Success

We’re proud of our successful graduates! 100% of recent graduates from the Department of Social Work were employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation. Check out Cedarville’s other placement rates.


 

Cedarville's Placement Rates

What Can You Do With a Bachelor's in Social Work?

Your degree will prepare you for a variety of social work careers as well as graduate programs.

Our graduates have been accepted to prestigious Master of Social Work programs such as:

  • University of Michigan
  • Case Western Reserve University
  • Georgetown University
  • Boston College
  • Bryn Mawr College
  • University of Pennsylvania

Due to our accreditation, our graduates receive advanced standing, allowing them to complete an M.S.W. program in about one year. Some have gone on to complete a law degree and have become legal advocates for the poor and disenfranchised.

Our graduates are employed in hospitals, domestic violence prevention centers, foster care/adoptive agencies, congregational social work in larger churches, assisted living facilities, rehab facilities, mental health facilities, counseling centers, higher education as social work professors, hospice services, inner-city youth programs, and refugee resettlement programs. You will also find our graduates serving as youth ministers, pastors, and missionaries.

Our graduates are prepared for the state Licensed Social Worker (LSW) exam; last year 93 percent of our students passed the exam on the first attempt (state average is 70 percent).

We also have graduates who have served on the state of Ohio task forces dealing with sex trafficking, as well as the Ohio Attorney General’s Task Force on Criminal Justice and Mental Illness.

  • Agape for Youth – foster/adoptive services
  • Area Agency on Aging
  • Buckeye Ranch – providing individual and family behavioral health counseling to children ages 6–17
  • Catholic Social Services
  • Choices – adoption services
  • Church congregational social work and community outreach Rock City Church, Columbus, OH
  • Council on Rural Services – Head Start programs
  • Crossroads Hospice and Palliative Care
  • Davita Dialysis Center – medical social work
  • Dayton Children's Hospital
  • Dayton Veterans Administration
  • Family Violence Prevention Center
  • Forensic Interviewer, Mental Health Advocate, at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus
  • Lebanon Correctional Facility
  • Miami Valley Hospital Social Services Department
  • Missionaries – Germany, So. Africa, Brazil, Philippines, inner-city Chicago ministry
  • Ohio Living – assisted living facility in Wilmington, OH
  • Open Door Ministries, Denver
  • Salvation Army – sex-trafficking initiative
  • The Glen at St. Joseph’s, a residential program for low-income single mothers and their children
  • World Relief – programs for refugee resettlement and assimilation
  • Youth Pastor, Florida

Opportunities to Learn Outside the Classroom

Internship - You will complete a two-tiered internship: 150 hours during your junior year and 450 hours during your senior year. Field Experience allows the student to put into practice with real-life clients what they’ve learned in the classroom.

International Field Experience - You can choose an international field experience for your internship. Choose from Ecuador, India, or Uganda.

Experiential Opportunities - You’ll experience social work practice courses that provide experiential opportunities:

  • Poverty simulation experience
  • Team-building exercises
  • Serving the needy

Conferences - You will have the opportunity to attend area conferences for professional social workers.

Student Organizations - You can participate in two social work student organizations to enrich your academic and professional experience.

2021 Social Work Majors Academic Recognitions and Senior Celebration

Watch as new members were inducted into the Phi Alpha Honor Society, academic achievements of students at all levels were recognized, and graduating seniors were celebrated. This event took place on April 15, 2021.

Program Curriculum

Building on your general education and Bible minor courses, you will take core foundational social work courses, leading to practice courses that help you develop strategies for working with individuals, families, groups, and communities.

This major is offered with either a three-year or four-year completion plan.

  • Social Work Practice with Diverse Populations
  • Social Work Practice with Individuals and Families

Program Format and Related Programs

Cedarville offers both graduate and undergraduate programs, with flexible completion options. You may also want to consider these related programs as you consider the degree or program that is a best fit for you.

Program Level and Format

  • Undergraduate
  • Residential
  • 3-Year Option
  • 4-Year
Two people seated at a table and talking.

From Our Students:

  • I have been pushed continually to excel academically, while being taught by professors who are competent in their specialties and passionate both for social work and the Word of God. Through the yearlong internships that we are required to complete and professors who do not stray from discussing difficult social topics in the classroom, I feel especially prepared for where God will lead me next, and I know that this comes largely in part to my experience in Cedarville University’s social work program.
    Hannah Lankford
    Hannah Lankford
Job and Grad School Placement

Program Faculty

Photo of Michael Sherr

Michael Sherr

Chair, Professor of Social Work

Contact

Photo of Melissa Brown

Melissa Brown, M.S.W.

Assistant Professor of Social Work

Contact

Photo of George Huff

George Huff, M.S.S.A.

Senior Professor of Social Work

Contact

Photo of Sandi Wagner

Sandi Wagner

Adjunct Professor of Social Work

Contact

Department of Social Work

Program News

  • The family of Samantha Wisor knows she is a survivor.

    Cancer Survivor: “They Told Me I Was a Miracle”

    Beating cancer is no small feat, but sometimes learning how to be a survivor is when the real battle begins. Junior Samantha Wisor from Clearfield, Pennsylvania, has learned to draw on her experience surviving a large brain tumor to prepare for a career in social work.
  • Melissa Brown has a compassionate heart for people in pain

    The Special Kindness of a Social Worker's Heart

    She’s a faculty member in Cedarville University’s social work program. She works part-time at Crossroad Hospice and Dayton Children’s Hospital.