The social work program offers the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). We have approximately 64 majors, 3 full-time faculty, and 2 contract faculty. Our classes are taught in the evening and combine the strengths of traditional students and adult learners (1/2 of our majors are adult learners.) The social work program fully prepares BSW graduates for immediate job entry into the diverse field of social work.

Social Work Program Mission Statement

The mission of the social work program at La Sierra University is to further professional social work by providing quality undergraduate education and training in generalist social work practice. The program equips students:

• To serve all members of society, especially the vulnerable, disadvantaged, oppressed, and wounded;
• To act as change agents with individuals, families, groups, and communities in their striving to fulfill their potentials and realize their goals;
• To promote respect, equality, and social justice for all people; and
• To appreciate and value individual and cultural differences.

This education is done in a Christian context encompassing diversity, embracing learners of all ages and backgrounds by faculty who embody the total range of social work experiences, and mentor students in a way that promotes a competent and professional use of self.

Social Work Program Goals

The program's educational goals and objectives flow from the mission of our program. The specific goals and objectives for each course reflect the goals and objectives outlined here. The baccalaureate curriculum content includes social work values and ethics, diversity, promotion of social and economic justice, populations-at-risk, human behavior and the social environment, social welfare policy and services, social work practice, social work research and field practicum.

The social work program at La Sierra University aims to:

1. Provide professional social work education at the baccalaureate level in the context of an accredited Christian university.

2. Provide content about social work practice with micro, mezzo and macro client systems.

3. Prepare graduates to practice with diverse populations.

4. Provide content about the social contexts of social work practice, the changing nature of those contexts, the behavior of organizations, and the dynamics of change.

5. Infuse throughout the program the values and ethics that guide professional social workers in their practice.

6. Use the vast social work experiences of the faculty in mentoring relationships for students.

7. Prepare graduates who are self-aware and continue their personal growth and professional development.

8. To create a program that is inclusive of and responsive to the educational needs of traditional and adult learners.

Fast Facts about the Social Work Program at La Sierra University

• Accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) since 1979.
• Only nationally accredited Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.
• 64 majors; 30 of which are non-traditional students (adult learners).
• 3 full-time faculty and 2 contract faculty.
• Small class size (9-18 students) allows for individual attention.
• Evening classes accommodate work schedules.
• Faculty mentoring of students is a priority.
• Hands-on training through the field practicum provide students with practical experience their senior year.
• Through the field practicum students work directly with clients under the supervision of a professional social work.
• More than 50% of students graduating from LSU in social work continue with graduate education.

Fast Facts about the Social Work Profession

• Jobs are readily available for BSW graduates; U.S. Department of Labor estimates a 33.5% increase in the number of social work positions needed by 2005.
• According to the NASW News in April 2001, a CA State Assembly committee held the first of a series of hearings on how to alleviate what is called a "crisis of social worker shortage."
• Some social work employers are willing to pay for graduate education as a means to meet the shortage of social workers.
• Perkins Loans can be forgiven up to 100% for social work employment in a child or family service agency upon graduation.
• The BSW is professional program with a strong liberal arts foundation.