Gate Courses

Additional Navigation

Gate Process

Admissions Process

You may declare a major in social work at any time. However, this does not automatically approve you into the BSSW Program. You will be officially approved into the program only after you have successfully completed SOWK 294 (approved through Gate 1). Typically, if you are following a more traditional 4-year schedule, you are eligible for SOWK 294 (Gate 1) in your sophomore year. If you are a hybrid student who transfers in courses, you may be eligible to apply as soon as your second semester at LU, depending on the transferred courses. If you have not met the criteria by that time, you may apply in a subsequent semester.

Eligibility

All of the following criteria must be met in order to be eligible to apply for SOWK 294 (Gate 1):

You must be in good standing with the department, which includes the following:
- Have a “C” or higher in all Major and Major Foundational Requirements.
- Maintain satisfactory citizenship and ethical behavior.
- Consistently demonstrate the values of the profession: integrity, service, the value of human relationships, dignity, and worth of a person, competence, and social justice.
You must have a minimum GPA of 2.5.
All required prerequisite courses for SOWK 294 (Gate 1) must either be completed or in progress during the semester you are registered for SOWK 294.
- SOWK 101 is the only prerequisite for Gate 1 that must be successfully completed prior to a student’s enrollment in SOWK 294.

Students have access to the more detailed eligibility requirements for each Gate course after being accepted into the university.

Registration

Students will register for the Gate courses using the Course Registration Tool in the same manner that registration for traditional classes is done. Online students can also be registered for Gate courses by contacting LUO Advising. Students must register for these courses by the registration deadlines for A term courses set by the Registrar’s office.

Students who are registered for a Gate course but then drop below eligibility requirements during the Gate course will not be eligible to successfully complete or pass the course. If this happens, students will need to re-enroll in the course for a future semester when they again meet the eligibility requirements.