• Skip to Content
  • AZ Index
  • Catalog Home
  • Institution Home
West Virginia University 2024-2025 Academic Catalog
WVU Home
Would you like to search this site specifically, or all WVU websites?
  • Catalog Home
  • WVU Morgantown
    • Undergraduate Catalog
    • Graduate/​Professional Catalog
  • WVU Potomac State College
    • Applied Sciences
    • Liberal Arts
    • STEM
    • Regents Bachelor of Arts
  • WVU Institute of Technology
    • School of Arts and Sciences
    • School of Business
    • School of Engineering-​Leonard C. Nelson
    • School of Nursing
  • Archived Catalogs
  • Catalog Home/
  • WVU Potomac State College/
  • Liberal Arts/
  • Pre-Social Work
WVU Potomac State College Catalog

Pre-Social Work, A.A.

  • Overview
  • Faculty
  • Admissions Requirements
  • Major
  • Learning Outcomes

Department website: https://academics.potomacstatecollege.edu/majors/two-year-programs/pre-social-work

Degree Offered

  • Associate of Arts

Nature of the Program

The Pre-Social Work curriculum prepares students for transfer to the Division of Social Work at West Virginia University and can be adapted to the needs of those planning to transfer to other institutions. The Pre-Social Work student at WVU Potomac State College is automatically under the Social Work standards of the West Virginia University Division of Social Work. After two years at WVU Potomac State students can transfer to West Virginia University and apply to the professional social work major. The WVU Division of Social Work is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.

Career Opportunities

Completing a BSW degree allows for immediate access to employment opportunities. A wide variety of employment settings are available for professional social workers, including foster care, adoption, probation and parole, public assistance, day care services, school social services, services to veterans, social services in a medical or mental hospital, drug and alcohol programs, recreational services such as Boy Scouts, YWCA, rehabilitation centers, state and local government agencies, nursing homes, research, social action, and fundraising.


Faculty

Chair

  • Cassandra Pritts - M.A. History (Duquesne University)
    Year @ PSC (2011)

Assistant professor

  • Kristin Smouse - MSW (West Virginia University)
    Year @ PSC (2019)

Admissions

Students are admitted directly into the Pre-Social Work major.  During their fourth semester, students apply to be admitted to the professional level of the Social Work major.

Benchmark Expectations

Pre-Social Work majors must maintain a 2.00 GPA in their major courses; students must complete all required SOWK courses—in their proper sequence—with grades of C- or higher.  If a course is repeated, all attempts will be included in the calculation of the GPA. Students who are unable to meet the performance standards for social work courses are permitted to repeat a course once. Students who are unsuccessful in the second attempt will be counseled out of the program. 

Admission to the professional Social Work major at WVU 

In order for social work majors at WVU, its branch campuses (including Potomac State), or 2+2 program students to attain professional social work status, they must meet the B.S.W. program’s admission criteria, complete a formal application for admission, and have their application approved by the School of Social Work B.S.W. Admission Committee.  The process is competitive, and students are selectively admitted to the advanced level of the program for their final two years of education, which includes the upper-division courses in social work.

General Education Foundations

Please use this link to view a list of courses that meet each GEF requirement.

NOTE: Some major requirements will fulfill specific GEF requirements. Please see the curriculum requirements listed below for details on which GEFs you will need to select.

Course List
Code Title Hours
General Education Foundations
F1 - Composition & Rhetoric3-6
ENGL 101
& ENGL 102
Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric
and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research
or ENGL 103
Accelerated Academic Writing
F2A/F2B - Science & Technology4-6
F3 - Math & Quantitative Reasoning3-4
F4 - Society & Connections3
F5 - Human Inquiry & the Past3
F6 - The Arts & Creativity3
F7 - Global Studies & Diversity3
F8 - Focus (may be satisfied by completion of a minor, double major, or dual degree)9
Total Hours31-37

Please note that not all of the GEF courses are offered at all campuses. Students should consult with their advisor or academic department regarding the GEF course offerings available at their campus.

Curriculum Requirements

Course List
Code Title Hours
GEF Elective Requirements (2, 5, 6 and 8)15
WVUE 191First Year Seminar1
ENGL 101
& ENGL 102
Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric
and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research (GEF 1)
6
MATH 121Intro Concepts Of Mathematics (GEF 3)3
The following courses require a minimum GPA of 2.0:
POLS 220State and Local Government (GEF 4)3
PSYC 101Introduction to Psychology3
SOC 101Introduction to Sociology3
SOC 221Families and Society (GEF 8)3
SOWK 147Human Diversity (GEF 7 - minimum grade of C-)3
SOWK 151Introduction to Social Work (minimum grade of C-)3
PSYC 200-level Elective3
SOC or ANTH 200-level Elective3
Minority Content Course (Select one of the following):3
ENGL 154
African American Literature
ENGL 254
African American Literature
ENGL 285
Images of Women in Literature
HIST 250
West Virginia
PSYC 232
Sex Roles and Behavior
PSYC 345
Adulthood and Aging
SOC 235
Race and Ethnic Relations
WGST 170
Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies
Elective8
Total Hours60
*

Students who continue at WVU-Morgantown must maintain 2.5 cumulative GPA and complete 100 hours of verified Human Service Activity (paid or volunteer) by January of sophomore year.

Suggested Plan of Study

First Year
FallHoursSpringHours
ENGL 101 (GEF 1)3ENGL 102 (GEF 1)3
MATH 121 (GEF 3)3SOC 1013
SOWK 1513SOWK 147 (GEF 7)3
WVUE 1911GEF 23
GEF 63GEF 53
Elective2 
 15 15
Second Year
FallHoursSpringHours
POLS 220 (GEF 4)3SOC 221 (GEF 8)3
PSYC 1013PSYC 200-level Elective3
SOC or ANTH 200-level Elective3Minority Content Course3
GEF 23GEF 83
Elective3Elective3
 15 15
Total credit hours: 60

Major Learning Outcomes

Pre-Social Work

Upon successful completion of the A.A. degree, Pre-Social Work majors will be able to:

  1. Identify as a professional social worker and conduct oneself accordingly.
  2. Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice.
  3. Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments.
  4. Engage diversity and difference in practice.
  5. Advance human rights and social and economic justice.
  6. Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research.
  7. Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment.
  8. Engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to deliver effective social work services.
  • Child Development and Family Studies
  • Communication Studies
  • Criminology
  • Elementary Education
  • English
  • General Studies
  • History
  • Integrated Studies
  • Mental Health and Addiction Studies
  • Physical Education-​Coaching and Performance Science
  • Physical Education-​Physical Education Teacher Emphasis
  • Physical Education-​Sport Management Emphasis
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Secondary Education
  • Sociology
  • Pre-​Social Work

WVU Potomac State College

Information

  • Academic Standards
  • Admissions
  • Advising, Enrollment and Grades
  • Degree Regulations
  • FERPA
  • Financial Aid
  • Programs, Courses and Credits
  • Tuition, Fees and Residency
  • Veterans
  • Courses

Office of the University Registrar
P.O. Box 6878
Morgantown, WV 26506
Email: registrar@mail.wvu.edu
Phone: 304-293-5355

  • Accreditations
  • Web Standards
  • Questions or Comments?

© 2024-2025 West Virginia University. WVU is an EEO/Affirmative Action employer — Minority/Female/Disability/Veteran.

  • A-Z Site Index
  • Campus Map
  • WVU Careers
  • Directory
  • Give
  • Handshake Login
  • WVU Alert
  • WVU Today
  • WVU Portal
  • WVU on Facebook
  • WVU on Twitter
  • WVU on YouTube

The information on this page is subject to change without notice. Disclaimer

Print Options

  • Send Page to Printer

    Print this page.

  • Download Page (PDF)

    The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

  • Download Complete 2024-25 PDF Catalogs

    • WVU Morgantown - Graduate/Professional
    • WVU Morgantown - Undergraduate
    • WVU Keyser - Potomac State College
    • WVU Beckley - WVU Tech
    • WVU Morgantown - Law

    Download 2024-25 PDF Courses Catalogs

    • WVU Morgantown - Graduate/Professional Courses
    • WVU Morgantown - Undergraduate Courses
    • WVU Keyser - Potomac State College Courses
    • WVU Beckley - WVU Tech Courses

Print Options

  • Send Page to Printer

    Print this page.

  • Download PDF of this page

    The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

  • Download Complete 2020-21 PDF Catalogs

    • WVU Morgantown - Graduate/Professional
    • WVU Morgantown - Undergraduate
    • WVU Keyser - Potomac State College
    • WVU Beckley - WVU Tech
    • WVU Morgantown - Law

    Download 2020-21 PDF Courses Catalogs

    • WVU Morgantown - Graduate/Professional Courses
    • WVU Morgantown - Undergraduate Courses
    • WVU Keyser - Potomac State College Courses
    • WVU Beckley - WVU Tech Courses