College of Social Work
Bulletin Year: 2026-2027

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Semester One (15-16 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	ENGL 101	Critical Reading and Composition (CC-CMW)	3	C
	MATH 122 or MATH 122 or STAT course	Calculus for Bus. Admin. & Soc. Sciences or Calculus I3 or Any other STAT course approved for CC-ARP (CC-ARP)	3-4			C or better in MATH 111/111I/115 (MATH 122); C or better in MATH 112/115/116 (MATH 141); or through placement exam
		Carolina Core Requirement4 (CC)	3-4
		Any approved CC-GSS course from Psychology (PSYC) or Sociology (SOCY) (CC-GSS)	3
	UNIV 101	The Student in the University or Carolina Core Requirement4 (PR/CC)	3

Semester Two (15-16 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	ENGL 102	Rhetoric and Composition (CC-CMW, CC-INF)	3	C		C or better in ENGL 101
	STAT 201	Elementary Statistics3 (CC-ARP)	3			C or better in MATH 111 or higher or C or better in STAT 110 or 112 or through placement exam
	POLI 201	American National Government (CC-VSR)	3
		Carolina Core Requirement4 (CC)	3
		Carolina Core Requirement4 (CC)	3

Semester Three (16 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	SOWK 201	Introduction to Social Work (MR)	3	C	*
		Economics course (PR)	3
		Literature course (200-level or above)5 (CC-AIU)	3
		Carolina Core BIOL course and lab (CC-SCI)	4
		Carolina Core Requirement4 or Elective6 (CC/PR)	3

Semester Four (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	SOWK 222	Social Welfare Policies and Programs (MR)	3	C	*
		Philosophy course (PR)	3
		Carolina Core Requirement4 or Elective6 (CC/PR)	3
		Elective6 (PR)	3
		Elective6 (PR)	3

Semester Five (14 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
!	SOWK 311	Foundations of Social Work Practice (MR)	3	C	*	Adm. to Upper Division
	SOWK 331	Diversity & Social Justice in Contemporary Society (MR)	3	C	*
!	SOWK 341	Theories for Understanding Individuals, Families, and Groups (MR)	3	C	*	C or better in SOWK 201
		Elective6 (PR)	3
		Elective6 (only 2 credits if needed to meet hours to graduate) (PR)	2

Semester Six (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
!	SOWK 312	Generalist Practice II: Social Work with Individuals & Families (MR)	3	C	*	C or better in SOWK 311
!	SOWK 322	Social Policy Analysis (MR)	3	C	*	SOWK 201, 222
!	SOWK 352	Social Work & Scientific Inquiry (MR)	3	C	*	SOWK 201, 222 & one from: STAT 201 or higher, PSYC 227 or SOCY 220
!	SOWK 382	Intro. to Field Education (MR)	3	C	*	C or better in SOWK 311
		SOWK Elective (300-level or above) (MR)	3	C	*

Semester Seven (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
!	SOWK 411	Social Work Practice with Groups (MR)	3	C	*	C or better in SOWK 312
	SOWK 441	Theories for Understanding Organizations & Communities (MR)	3	C	*
	SOWK 481	Practicum I: Field Education (MR)	3	C	*	Prereq/Coreq: C or better in SOWK 328; Coreq: SOWK 483
	SOWK 483	Practicum Seminar (MR)	3	C	*	SOWK 382; Coreq: SOWK 481
		SOWK Elective (300-level or above) (MR)	3	C	*

Semester Eight (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	SOWK 412	Social Work Practice with Organizations & Communities (MR)	3	C	*	SOWK 411; Prereq or Coreq: SOWK 441
	SOWK 422	Advocacy for Social & Economic Justice (MR)	3	C	*	SOWK 322
	SOWK 482	Practicum II: Field Education (MR)	3	C	*	Prereq or Coreq: SOWK 412, 422, 484
	SOWK 484	Capstone (MR)	3	C	*	Coreq: SOWK 482
		SOWK Elective (300-level or above) (MR)	3	C	*

Graduation Requirements Summary

Minimum Total Hours	Minimum Major Requirements Hours	College and Program Requirements Hours	Carolina Core Hours	Minimum Institutional GPA
120	60	17-29	31-43	2.000

1. Regardless of individual course grades, students must maintain a minimum 2.5 institutional GPA on all coursework and once admitted to the upper division, students must maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA in the major.
2. Some colleges require a minimum GPA for major courses. Courses indicated in this column are included in the major GPA for this program of study.
3. Students who do not place into the required ARP courses must complete the necessary prerequisites before continuing with the required Carolina Core ARP courses.
4. The Carolina Core provides the common core of knowledge, skill and academic experience for all Carolina undergraduate students.
5. One 200-level or above CC-AIU literature course, which may be selected from ENGL 200, 270, 280, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288
6. No elective courses of a remedial and developmental nature may apply as credit toward the 120 hours minimum.

Program Notes

• Courses identified as “critical” must be completed by the semester in which they are listed in order to ensure a timely graduation due to prerequisite requirements for subsequent required courses.
• All undergraduate students must take a 3-credit course or its equivalent with a passing grade that covers the founding documents. This course may fulfill any requirement in the program of study. Courses that meet this requirement are listed in the academic bulletin.
• Students in the College of Social Work are required to demonstrate proficiency in one foreign language by a score of 2 or higher on the foreign language placement test, or credit equivalent to USC 109 and 110 courses, or credit equivalent to the USC 121 course.
• A student may attempt a social work core course a maximum of two times to fulfill the requirement. A grade of W (withdrawal) will be recognized as an attempt. A student may repeat a maximum of two core courses.
• Progression into upper division social work occurs primarily in the fall semester. Students who complete 39 hours of general education and wish to apply to upper division must submit a completed College of Social Work – BSW Application by the announced due dates published each year.
• The last 30 credit hours toward your degree must be earned in residence at the University of South Carolina-Columbia.

Code Definitions

University Requirements: Bachelor’s degree-seeking students must meet Carolina Core (general education) requirements.

Code	Definition
CC	Carolina Core
CC-AIU	Carolina Core – Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding
CC-ARP	Carolina Core – Analytical Reasoning and Problem-Solving
CC-CMS	Carolina Core – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Spoken Component
CC-CMW	Carolina Core – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Written Component
CC-GFL	Carolina Core – Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Foreign Language
CC-GHS	Carolina Core – Historical Thinking
CC-GSS	Carolina Core – Social Sciences
CC-INF	Carolina Core – Information Literacy
CC-INT	Carolina Core – Integrative Course
CC-SCI	Carolina Core – Scientific Literacy
CC-VSR	Carolina Core – Values, Ethics, and Social Responsibility
CR	College Requirement
MR	Major Requirement
PR	Program Requirement