Coming Soon – Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)
Now Enrolling Students for Fall 2026
For more information on our new Bachelor of Social Work (BSW), please contact Lauren Barrow (barrowl@chc.edu) or Nancy DeCesare (decesaren@chc.edu).
Social Work (BSW)
The Bachelor in Social Work (BSW) allows individuals to pursue a career in the social work profession. CHC students will graduate with the skills, knowledge, and values to become a culturally responsible social work practitioner who thinks critically and creatively, and is enabled to contribute to the transformation of the global world.
WHY GET YOUR SOCIAL WORK DEGREE AT CHC?
Chestnut Hill College provides a student-centered collaborative learning environment that educates students to be ethical and competent social work practitioners in a diverse global world. We graduate students committed to building a more equitable society built on right relationships, inclusiveness, diversity, equality, economic, environmental, and social justice, and the dignity and worth of every human being.
In addition, Chestnut Hill College’s location offers benefits to students. Nestled between Montgomery County and Philadelphia, PA, CHC students are close to both city and suburb, opening up no shortage of internships or experiential learning opportunities.
CHC’s program is ever-evolving to confront the challenges of producing a career ready graduate. Through active, reflective, and research-based learning, the coursework in the program empowers and encourages students to make connections between theory and practice, and best prepares them for a dynamic and fulfilling career.
The diversity of people, perspectives, and cultures at the College and in the workplace is valued and explored with particular emphasis and appreciation for vulnerable populations. All courses are designed to make students think critically and creatively about each person’s potential to contribute to a more just and humane future.
Social workers do many things. They are found in schools, social service agencies, mental health centers, courts, crisis counseling centers, residential treatment facilities, and hospitals, just to name a few. In these settings, they provide a broad range of services to individuals, families, groups, and communities, including advocacy, case management, and networking.
A bachelor in social work (BSW) from CHC provides the following:
- Preparation for a social work position in an agency that provides services to children-at-risk, including those in foster care, children and adults with disabilities, elders, people with mental illnesses or substance abuse problems, and other vulnerable and oppressed populations
- Preparation for graduate study in social work, human services, counseling, education, law, and many other fields
- Preparation for serving marginalized and oppressed members of society
- Preparation for careers that involve working with culturally diverse populations in a variety of settings, locally, nationally, and globally
Social work professionals perform a variety of roles. These include:
- Broker for community resources, i.e.: foster/adoptive services, re-entry support, child life specialists
- Teacher / Advocate for daily living skills
- Advocate for the vulnerable, i.e.: the elderly, the very young, the differently abled
- Mediator between clients and agencies, i.e.: DHHS,
- Primary caregiver to children or adults with disabilities
- Lobbyist
Field Placements:
Experiential learning is a vital component of the social work curriculum at Chestnut Hill College. With support from the Center, students are mentored by a field placement director to identify and apply for a placement and work on-site, completing tasks consistent with that position. Additional professional preparation support is provided through a professional seminar that students are required to take.
The combined BS in Social Work/MS in Human Services Management provides an excellent opportunity for qualified social work majors in the School of Undergraduate Studies to complete a masters degree in Human Services Management in the School of Graduate Studies. Students majoring in Social Work are eligible to apply to the program once they have achieved Senior status. Transfer students must take a minimum of 15 credits at Chestnut Hill College and earn a Career 3.20 GPA in these courses before making application to the program. Each student will be expected to meet the admissions requirements of the School of Graduate Studies and be provisionally accepted into the program before registering for any graduate courses. Formal acceptance will be granted upon receipt of a transcript verifying successful completion of the undergraduate degree program. For more information, please contact Lauren Barrow (barrowl@chc.edu).
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Lauren M. Barrow, Ph.D.
Chair, Center for Education, Advocacy & Social Justice Associate Professor of Criminal Justice
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Nancy DeCesare, IHM, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW
Director, Social Work