“I chose social work because I have always been inspired to help people. I wanted to be able to help impact someone’s life and I knew by being a social worker I could help multiple children and families.”
Bachelor of Arts
Social Work
Major
Help people, and change systems
Learn to walk with individuals and families, and to confront the causes of injustice.
Studying social work at Goshen College will prepare you to work with individuals, families, groups, organizations, communities and social policies while addressing the structural causes of injustice. The whole program is grounded in social justice and service.
Agency-based learning is integrated throughout the curriculum, culminating with a 400-hour field placement. This intensive, supervised placement happens during your senior year, meaning that a significant part of your final year is spent learning in a real social work setting. Throughout this professional training, you”ll be supported with weekly seminars and close faculty mentoring.
Is social work right for you?
If you want to spend your life helping people, this is a strong fit. The degree equips you to sit with families in crisis. At the same time, it equips you to engage the systems that put them there to foster system-level changes. You’ll graduate as a beginning professional social worker ready to take the Licensed Social Worker (LSW) licensure exam.
Beyond that, the field is wide open. There are over 101 possible careers in social work. For example, over 100 graduates work in schools or child welfare, while others go into mental health, crisis counseling, criminal justice and health care.
What You’ll Study
You’ll take foundational and advanced coursework in human behavior, policy, and practice, including Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Social Welfare Policy and Programs, working with individuals, families, and groups, working with communities and organizations, Research Methods in Social Work, and Social Work Ethics, alongside the 400-hour field placement.
View the complete program requirements in our catalog.
400 Hours in the Field
- Your first agency-based experience (20 hours) occurs in SOWK 200 Introduction to Social Work so that from the beginning of your professional education you have real-life experiences to ground your learning.
- Your second agency-based experience occurs in SOWK 209 Social Service Field Experience (40 hours) broadening your understanding of the range of social work practice settings.
- Your senior field education in SOWK 409 (400 hours) begins closely supervised beginning level practice.
Students are placed in a variety of settings, including schools, child welfare organizations, community mental health organizations and Clubhouses. Regardless of where you choose to complete your placement, you will graduate with a strong resume and a clear sense of where you’re headed.
Malloreigh Clippard ’24
Social Work Major
Paying for Goshen
Social work students are eligible for institutional scholarships and need-based aid, and Goshen offers generous financial support to keep your education within reach. Graduates who continue into Goshen’s Master of Social Work also receive a 10% alumni discount on their MSW tuition.
To see your own price after aid, run the net price calculator, or explore your options at the financial aid and scholarships pages.
Common questions about social work
Graduates are equipped to take the licensure exam toward becoming a Licensed Social Worker (LSW). There are over 100 possible careers, including school-based social work, child welfare, mental health and addictions, crisis counseling, criminal justice, health care, community practice and international social work. 100% of graduates are employed, in grad school or in service within a year.
Yes, and your BSW puts you ahead. Most MSW(Master in Social Work) programs start with a foundation year repeating what you studied as an undergraduate. Advanced standing waives it. You’d finish Goshen’s MSW in one to two years instead of two to four, with 500 field hours instead of 900, and 10% off tuition as an alum. Faster to licensure, and you don’t pay to learn it twice.
Start your application at the Goshen College apply page, or request information first if you’d like to talk through fit, the field placement or careers in social work before committing. You can also schedule a visit to meet the faculty.
Students have completed their 400-hour field placement at organizations across the region, including but not limited to:
- Bashor Children’s Home
- Boys and Girls Club of Elkhart County
- Elkhart County Unified Family Court
- Greencroft Goshen
- Healthy Beginnings, Elkhart County Health Department
- LaCasa
- Lexington House
Yes, and your BSW puts you ahead. Most MSW programs start with a foundation year repeating what you studied as an undergraduate. Advanced standing waives it. You’d finish Goshen’s MSW in one to two years instead of two to four, with 500 field hours instead of 900, and 10% off tuition as an alum. Faster to licensure, and you don’t pay to learn it twice.Placements span schools, family and grief support, community mental health, law enforcement and much more. Our goal is for you to build hands-on experience closest to the population you want to serve.
Courtney Cotter
Assistant Professor of Social Work
Nata Fontan
Assistant Professor of Social Work
Jeanette Harder
Program Director of the Masters Program of Social Work and Professor of Social Work
Jeanne Liechty
Professor of Social Work
Department Chair
