Bachelor of Social Work at San Francisco State University

Admission to the Bachelor of Arts in Social Work (BASW) major is limited to students at the upper-division level (60 units or more). Applicants must be either a current SF State student or eligible for admission to undergraduate studies at San Francisco State University.

The BA in Social Work is a two-year (four semesters) cohorted program designed for full-time study. Students are admitted during the fall semester only. As a cohort group, students typically begin and end the program at the same time. Students are expected to complete their BASW degree in two years.

Prior to entering the program, students are expected to have completed all general University requirements pertaining to the admission of undergraduate students. Students must have completed all SF State lower-division General Education requirements (or equivalent) and have junior standing (60 units or more) at San Francisco State University. Students must have an all-college total GPA of 2.0 or higher at the time of application. Students must also complete and pass the four required prerequisites with a grade of C– or higher prior to admission into the BASW Program:

1. Introductory-level course in Human Biology (BIOL 100 or equivalent; lab not required for Social Work program)
2. Macro Economics (ECON 102 or equivalent)
3. Introductory Psychology (PSY 200 or equivalent), and
4. Introductory Sociology (SOC 105 or equivalent)

All BASW majors must complete 120 credits to graduate and at least 44 units of major courses. 

Application Procedure

Students already enrolled at SF State who meet the eligibility requirements described above can visit the School of Social Work website at https://socwork.sfsu.edu/basw to learn about the application process. The BASW application for currently enrolled/non-transfer students can be found on the School of Social Work website. 

Prospective transfer students must submit two separate applications. First, they must be admitted into San Francisco State University Undergraduate Studies. Second, applicants must complete the supplemental School of Social Work BASW application. Again, the application process is as follows: 

1. First, they must complete the SF State Application for Admission online https://www.calstate.edu/apply and must be accepted by the University.
2. Second, they must complete the School of Social Work application available on the School of Social Work Website. 

To determine if the School of Social Work prerequisites have been met, the articulation agreement between SF State and any of California's public colleges or universities can be accessed at www.assist.org, an online student-transfer information system that shows how course credits earned at one public California college or university can be applied when transferred to another. ASSIST is the official repository of articulation for California's public colleges and universities and provides the most accurate and up-to-date information about student transfer in California.

The school's admissions evaluation is based on prior academic performance, including completion of the five prerequisite courses: human biology, introductory psychology, introductory sociology, English composition, and macroeconomics. Other considered factors include the potential for professional social work practice as demonstrated by previous employment/volunteer experiences, and knowledge of and experiences with historically oppressed, under-served, and under-represented individuals, families, groups, and communities. In determining admissions, reviewers also consider the congruence between the applicant's educational objectives and the school's mission and objectives.

Once admitted, students are required to maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0. Students not maintaining this average may be dismissed from the social work program.

Freshmen and sophomore students planning to major in social work should consult with an advisor in the College of Health and Social Sciences Student Resource Center before enrolling in courses that fulfill General Education requirements.

Field Internships: BASW students are required to complete 480 hours at an approved field internship site during their senior year. The field education director works closely with students to find field placements. Before entering field internships, students must have completed 24 units of their junior year courses with a grade of C or better.

1. Education: Learn from and apply the rigorous SFSU social work education that achieves the nine Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) curricular competencies at the baccalaureate (BASW) level. Utilize education and research to inform and effectively engage in practice at micro (individuals, families, and groups), mezzo (organizations, institutions, and communities) and macro (societies and international arenas) levels.
2. Application: Use knowledge and skills to affect all practice areas (direct and indirect). Know and understand multiple forms of power, and their forms, uses, and implications. Be skilled at giving, engaging and sharing power and instilling shared, delegated, and/or "other person" responsibilities in decision making and problem-solving.
3. Diverse Learners: Expect, accept, and appreciate human differences in all areas, including diversity of ethnicities, cultures, values, backgrounds, learning styles, problem-solving approaches, and more. Promote diversity to enrich environments, thought processes, experiences, and more.
4. Collaboration and Participation: Respect, value, and honor one another's personal and professional experiences, knowledge, skills, and values. Seek, receive, and utilize inputs from diverse persons, groups, and communities and make diversity- sensitive and appropriate decisions. Engage and utilize the voices of many through participatory means.
5. Ethical Foundations and Leadership: Engage in professional practices that are ethically sound and appropriate, consistent with the National Association of Social Workers' (NASW) Code of Ethics. Create ideas and action plans from research and interdisciplinary knowledge; instill visions among team members; and enact innovative actions having substantial impact on individuals, groups, organizations, communities, and societies.
6. Progressive Development: Expand and enhance cognitive and affective abilities through continuous development of knowledge, values, skills, and practices. Utilize research to develop best practices to improve human conditions and generate research agendas through practice experiences.
7. Advocacy and Activism for Progressive Change: Know multiple forms and purposes of advocacy, and engage in change plans and efforts to achieve progressive change at micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Utilize evidence to set agendas, establish goals, create action plans, and move forward with efforts to enhance human conditions, including political, economic, legal, social, cultural, and physical environments.
8. Equity and Social Justice: Identify, understand, and evaluate multiple forms of justice (e.g., social, economic, environmental, political, and legal justice) and rights (human and civil). Promote and achieve fairness, equality, and human/civil rights.
9. Professional Versatility: Be equipped to work in a variety of settings, in a range of fields and forms of practice, and with diverse persons from multiple backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, nationalities, ages, genders, experiences, abilities, orientations, classes, religions, and more. Be effective in systems processes through engagement, assessment, intervention, evaluation, and self-awareness.
10. Cultural Humility: Appreciate the fact that cultures and values evolve and change, and that one never "arrives" with respect to knowledge, skills, and practices related to diversity. Identify and analyze the intersectionality of forces that impinge on lives.