Social Work Major at Ball State University

If you want a career focused on helping people across the lifespan—and you love solving problems, connecting with diverse people, and making the world a better place—then a career in social work is right for you.

Our social work major combines liberal arts and professional social work coursework to help you develop the knowledge, values, and skills you need for this demanding but very rewarding profession.

As one of the most widely-recognized degrees in the country, a major in social work prepares you for immediate entry into professional human-service positions and makes you eligible to take entry-level Association of Social Work Board (ASWB) licensing exams in all 50 states and the 10 Canadian provinces.

Our students graduate with a mastery of nine practice competencies.

Among other objectives, you will learn:

• how to engage with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
• how to use empathy, reflection, and interpersonal skills to build relationships with clients in a variety of settings
• how to assess individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
• how to critically evaluate and apply the theories of human behavior and the social environment
• the knowledge and skills to intervene to alleviate problems
• the skills to evaluate how policies might affect social problems and the knowledge to change policies or create new ones to address problems