Social Work

Major Requirements

Carthage offers a major in social work, which prepares students for beginning professional social work practice. Social work is not offered as a minor.

The Social Work Program is fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. Students interested in a degree in social work must apply for admission to the Social Work Program.

Learn more about:
The Social Work Major
Recommended Courses
Admission into the Social Work Program
Honors in the Major
Dual Majors

Please note: Current students should follow the printed version of the College Catalog, and work with their advisors and the department chair to ensure all requirements are met.

The Social Work Major

The social work major consists of 11 social work courses and four supporting courses. Students must apply for admission to the Social Work Program after completing SWK 2000. See admission requirements. There is no requirement in the Social Work Major to also carry a minor.

Social Work Courses (take all)

SWK 2300 Contemporary Issues in Social Work (4 cr.)
SWK 2400 Human Behavior in the Social Environment (4 cr.)
SWK 3000 Social Welfare Research (4 cr.)
SWK 3100 Social Welfare Policy Analysis (4 cr.)
SWK 3200 Social Work Practice I (4 cr.)
SWK 3300 Social Work Practice II (4 cr.)
SWK 4200 Social Work Practice III (4 cr.)
SWK 4300 Integrative Seminar in Social Work (4 cr.)
SWK 4610 Field Placement in Social Work (4 cr.)
SWK 4620 Field Placement in Social Work (4 cr.)
SWK 4990 Senior Thesis Completion (4 cr.)

Supporting Courses (take all)

SOC 1000 Principles of Sociology (4 cr.)
PYC 1500 Intro to Psychology (4 cr.)
SSC 2330 Behavioral Research Statistics (4 cr.)

Choose one

ECN 3240 Public Sector Economics (4 cr.)
ECN 3250 Economics of Poverty and Income Inequality (4 cr.)


To meet Council on Social Work Education guidelines, the following courses are recommended:

BIO 1040 Human Anatomy or PYC 2100 Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience
To fulfill Natural Science distributional requirements

POL 2400 American Government
To meet Social Science distribution requirements

If you are planning to pursue graduate study in Illinois, it is required that you take a course in American History and a course in Race/Ethnicity and Culture.


Senior Project

All students will complete a senior project on ethical dilemmas in SWK 4300. This course should be taken concurrently with SWK 4990: Senior Thesis completion.


Dual Majors

It is possible to have a dual major with social work and another field. Common dual majors are social work and Spanish, Sociology, Psychology, Religion or Business.


Honors in the Major

Departments at Carthage offer students the opportunity to earn Honors in their major. Each department may establish the requirements for Honors in that department. Please see the department chair for details.

Basic requirements for Honors in a major include an overall GPA of 3.5 at graduation, completion of all requirements for the major, a formal recommendation by department faculty, a rating of “excellent” on the senior thesis by department faculty, and presentation of the senior thesis to an audience beyond the department.


** It is very important that all transfer students see the department chair immediately upon acceptance to Carthage.

Academic Resources

Prospective Students

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