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Programs

"Buffalo State gave me a really good start. It prepared me well for the rigor of graduate study at New York University. Now I am a practicing social worker in a mental health clinic."
—Sanchia Palmer, social worker, Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services, Bronx, NY

Social work majors focus on professional preparation, drawing from a required academic background in the liberal arts. Courses cover values and ethics, diversity, social and economic justice, and populations at risk.

Students who graduate with a B.S. in social work assist the elderly, children, families, and people faced with disabilities, mental illnesses, and many different problems in living. Graduates also learn various ways to contribute to the development of social welfare policy.

Our recent graduates are represented in a wide variety of practice fields at agencies such as Horizon Health Services, Case Western Reserve University, Community Action Organization, Georgia Department of Family and Children Services, Big Brothers-Big Sisters, Transitional Services, AIDS Community Services, Community Services for the Developmentally Disabled, to name a few. Find out about additional career options for social work graduates here (PDF, 13KB).

The social welfare minor enables students who are majoring in other disciplines to understand the welfare system and the people it affects.

By studying social work, you’ll learn:

  • The skills required to work with clients who are diverse in race, ethnicity, gender, class, sexual orientation, ability, and religion
  • The history of the social work profession and social welfare policy; existing policy and services; and methods to analyze social welfare policy
  • The value and use of the scientific method to assess social work theory and practice
  • The knowledge and skills learned from a liberal arts education, including writing, logical thinking and analysis, human origins, government processes, aspects of social institutions, and psychological functions
  • Policies, procedures, funding sources, structures, functions, rules, and regulations of community agencies

Social Work Department