Bachelor’s in social work earns CSWE accreditation

Liberty University has received accreditation for its Bachelor of Science in Social Work from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).

CSWE’s Commission on Accreditation is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the sole accrediting agency for social work education in the United States and its territories. The agency has accredited more than 800 bachelor’s and master’s degree social work programs, as well as individual social work educators, practitioners, and agencies dedicated to advancing quality social work education.

“I am so proud of our social work faculty and staff for all their hard work as they achieved the CSWE accreditation,” said School of Behavioral Sciences Dean Kenyon Knapp.

After a rigorous self-study and comprehensive site visit from CSWE, Liberty’s program was accredited for a four-year period.

“This a culmination of hard work and prayer,” said Christine Fulmer, associate professor and lead chair for the Department of Social Work. “Our students now have the confidence that their degree program is recognized and accredited by CSWE.”

Liberty’s B.S. in Social Work is offered residentially and online and aims to train students to be at the forefront of advocacy for justice, providing compassion and care for people who find themselves in need of social, mental, or spiritual help.

Fulmer said Liberty’s program is unique for a number of reasons. For instance, students are required to conduct 500 hours of field experience, while many programs require 400 hours.

Students enrolled online are also required to take an on-campus intensive where they connect with other students in the program and their professors.

Juniors and seniors have the chance to explore the field internationally through short-term academic trips or semester-long internships in places such as the Dominican Republic. (Behavioral Sciences students recently returned from a Spring Break trip to Spain where they worked with refugees and survivors of human trafficking.)

“We want our students to be impacting the world with the knowledge they are learning in the classroom,” Fulmer said. “We want them to bring the healing hope of Jesus.”

The program also takes steps to ensure students care for their own mental health in a challenging field, Fulmer said, with classes that instruct them on how to care for themselves holistically.