Social Workers are people who want to make things better, who want to relieve suffering and who want their work to make a difference. Social work is a profession devoted to helping people function the best they can in their environment. This can mean providing direct services to individuals and families as well as working to improve social conditions. For many Christians, social work is the ideal conduit to live out their faith in a practical and meaningful way and in a variety of settings. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2008), employment of social workers is expected to increase by 22 percent during the 2006-2016 decade, which is much faster than the average for all occupations.
Our mission is to empower students, as followers of Jesus, to become competent, ethical and professional social workers, confident in their ability to engage diverse populations in both local and global settings. The Social Work Program is fully accredited by the Council of Social Work Education. Graduates from an accredited social work program are eligible for state licensure and also for advanced standing in accredited graduate social work programs.
Graduates of our program are successfully finding employment in a variety of social work positions and agencies in the local community, their home communities and abroad. Our students can be found working in residential treatment, child welfare, nursing homes, domestic violence shelters, substance abuse treatment, criminal justice, homeless shelters, churches, low-income assistance programs and mental health centers. Many of our students are also enrolled in graduate studies or have completed master’s degrees.