Bachelor of Social Work

To meet the increasing demand for social workers in our region, we are launching a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree program this fall 2022. To staff this program, this August, WP hired two seasoned social work practitioners full-time, Jessica Lake and Anais Bailly.

Replacing the social services concentration in the sociology major, the BSW will provide students with enhanced training and credentials for careers as case workers, case managers, child welfare specialists, correctional counselors, and substance abuse counselors, among others. We are currently pursuing national accreditation for our program from the Council on Social Work Education. See here for details about accreditation. Provided we meet accreditation benchmarks, we will graduate our first cohort in June 2025. Program graduates will be eligible for advanced standing status in Master's Social Work (MSW) programs, which will allow them to complete their MSW in one year of post-graduate study. To this end, we are working with the MSW program at Montclair State University to offer a five-year BSW/MSW.

The BSW at William Paterson is an interdisciplinary degree program comprised of 10 required social work courses as well as courses in sociology and public health. The program culminates with a 400-hour internship experience during the fall and spring semesters of the senior year. 

If you are interested in learning more, please email BSW Program Director Jessica Lake.

University catalog – view requirements and course descriptions:

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