BSW Program
Bachelor of Social Work Program
The Department of Social Work at Cal State East Bay is thrilled to be launching a new Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program in Fall 2025!
This new program is made possible by a Social Work Education Capacity Expansion Grant from the California Department of Health Care Access and Information.
The program is currently seeking pre-candidacy status with the Council on Social Work Education in time for our Fall 2025 launch.
The BSW program is focused on educating and serving communities within the nine-county SF Bay region.
Prospective students can apply at www.calstate.edu/apply and select "Social Work" as their major for the Fall 2025 semester.
Current East Bay students can file a change of major form and declare "Social Work" as their major. The major is not effective until Fall 2025, so current students should complete that process in Spring 2025.
This website will be updated with course road maps and other program documents as they become available.
Lower-Division Requirements
The program's lower-division core requirements (prerequisites) are:
- 3 units of a statistics course (STAT 100 or equivalent)
- 3 units of a social science course (either ANTH 130, PSYC 100, or SOC 100 or equivalent)
- 3 units of a human biology/development course (either BIOL 270, KIN 162, or PSYC 121 or equivalent).
Most students who transfer in to Cal State East Bay from a California community college will meet the lower-division requirements for the major.
Draft degree road maps are available below. One is for students who directly enroll in Cal State East Bay after completing high school or transfer as a lower-division student (fewer than 60 units). The other degree road map is for students who transfer into Cal State East Bay after completing an associates degree or 60 units for transfer.
BSW Degree Road Map for First-Year or Lower-Division Transfer Students
Major Requirements
Students will need to complete the following upper-division courses to meet the major requirements. The program is sequenced and ideally designed for students to start after achieving upper-division status (completing all lower-division GE courses AND at least 60 units or have transferred in as upper-division transfers):
| Course | Units | Semester |
|---|---|---|
| SW 300: Intro to Social Work Theories & Human Behavior in the Social Environment | 4 | Fall |
| SW 301: Race, Gender, & Inequality | 4 | Fall |
| SW 305: Careers in Social Work | 2 | Fall |
| SW 325W: Writing in Social Work | 4 | Fall |
| SW 302: Social Welfare Policies and Institutions | 4 | Spring |
| SW 303: Introduction to Social Welfare Research | 4 | Spring |
| SW 306: Transition to Social Work Practicum | 2 | Spring |
| SW 411: Generalist Practice I | 4 | Fall (final year) |
| SW 495A: Social Work Practicum I | 4 | Fall (final year) |
| SW 412: Generalist Practice II | 4 | Spring (final year) |
| SW 495B: Social Work Practicum II | 4 | Spring (final year) |
For more information about advising or program requirements, please contact BSWAdvising@csueastbay.edu