Social Work Programs at Texas A&M-Central Texas

Social work careers are growing at an impressive 7% rate between 2013 and 2033, which is significantly higher than the 4% growth expected in the overall economy. Texas A&M University-Central Texas Social Work Programs give you a straightforward path into this expanding field. The nationally recognized professional degrees prepare you to get your license right after graduation.

Your Bachelor of Social Work from Texas A&M University-Central Texas opens up many career paths in child protective services, mental health, adoption, and geriatric services. On top of that, the program helps you become a Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker in Texas after completing this CSWE accredited program. Licensed Professional Social Workers tackle some of society’s toughest challenges while serving on the front lines of social welfare agencies.

The degree sets you up for immediate professional practice and builds a solid foundation for graduate studies. In this piece, we’ll show you how Texas A&M-Central Texas can help you reach your social work career goals.

Types of Social Work Degrees Offered at Texas A&M University – Central Texas

Texas A&M University-Central Texas has CSWE-accredited programs that create clear paths for future social workers. These programs give you the skills and knowledge to handle complex social issues in settings of all types.

The Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program builds your foundation in social work. This degree readies you for entry-level roles in social service agencies and community groups. You’ll learn both theory and practice through field work to get a detailed grasp of social work basics. The program also lets you take the Texas state exam to become a Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker (LBSW).

The Master of Social Work (MSW) program takes your practice to the next level. You’ll gain specialized training that builds your clinical abilities and leadership skills. The program teaches advanced social work theories and methods while you gain experience through supervised field work. After finishing, you can get your Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) credential and work toward Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) status once you complete your supervised hours.

Both programs use a skills-based curriculum that meets industry standards and state license rules. The courses help you develop assessment skills, intervention strategies, policy analysis abilities, and research expertise.

Field education stands as a key part of these degrees. You’ll work as an intern at partner agencies around Central Texas. This hands-on experience lets you use classroom concepts in real-life situations with professional guidance.

Small class sizes create room for meaningful talks and personal attention from experienced faculty members. This close-knit setting improves your learning and helps build strong professional networks that last throughout your career.

Degree Specializations

Texas A&M University-Central Texas social work programs prepare you to practice in a variety of settings and with different populations. These programs go beyond general social service degrees. They build specific skills you need to tackle complex social challenges.

The social work department takes an advanced generalist approach. This gives you a detailed understanding of multiple practice areas. Your skills will be valuable in child welfare, mental health, healthcare, and community advocacy.

What makes this program special is its focus on working with vulnerable populations. You’ll learn to help domestic violence victims, foster children, people with mental illness, and human trafficking survivors. The curriculum also prepares you to work in rural settings where you’ll help underserved communities face unique challenges.

Strong ethical practice sits at the heart of these programs. You’ll follow a professional code that respects each person’s unique situation. This ethical foundation helps you create social policies that make society better.

Field education plays a key role in your specialization. The university has built mutually beneficial alliances with hundreds of agencies. The Social Work Department works with Child Protective Services to give you real-life experience in child welfare through the Title IV-E program.

After graduation, you can specialize in:

• Child and family social work
• Healthcare and medical social work
• Mental health and substance abuse treatment
• Geriatric and hospice care
• School-based social work
• Probation and criminal justice
• Policy analysis and advocacy
• Non-profit administration

The program fits your lifestyle with full-time and part-time options. You can move forward at your own pace. Your studies will develop nine core competencies including ethical behavior, research skills, policy practice, and strategies to help individuals, families, groups, and communities.

Online and Hybrid Options

Texas A&M University-Central Texas’s Social Work Department stands out from other Texas programs by delivering most instruction through face-to-face classroom experiences. The department does not offer fully online options for their social work courses. Students get direct interaction and develop interpersonal skills that are crucial to effective social work practice.

The social work department blends traditional teaching with web technology to improve learning outcomes. Instructors use Canvas as their learning platform to share supportive materials like web links, files, and short recorded videos. This combination preserves classroom instruction’s benefits while providing extra resources to students.

WebEx hosts synchronous class meetings during scheduled times when special situations arise[153]. Students must follow strict guidelines in these virtual sessions. The rules include appropriate location choice, professional dress code, keeping screens on for 80-90% of the time, and never joining from moving vehicles[153]. These rules help maintain a professional learning environment.

Several other Texas universities do offer fully online MSW programs, including Texas A&M University-Commerce with its 100% online format except for required internships. Texas State University, University of Houston, and University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley also provide online options. But Texas A&M-Central Texas takes a different path with its focus on in-person teaching.

Faculty members bring their extensive field experience directly to students through face-to-face classes. This approach helps develop strong interpersonal skills and professional identity. Students should expect mostly on-campus attendance, though web-assisted components complement their classroom learning experience.

Graduation Rates

Texas A&M University-Central Texas shows promising trends in graduation metrics for future social work students. The university maintains a 56% six-year graduation rate overall, which helps measure program success.

The Bachelor of Social Work program’s degree completion numbers continue to grow. Students earned 41 degrees in 2019-2020, up from 22 degrees the previous year. Female graduates far outnumber male graduates in a consistent pattern. To name just one example, 34 females and 7 males completed the program in 2019-2020.

BSW students take about 7.5-7.6 semesters to complete their degree requirements. This timeline extends beyond the university-wide undergraduate average of 6.6 semesters. We needed more time because of detailed social work education and field placements.

The social work program’s student success rates keep improving. First-year retention rates hit 91.7% for the 2018-2019 cohort. These numbers surpass both the College of Arts and Sciences average (76.3%) and the university-wide average (72.9%) during that period. This suggests strong student satisfaction and involvement.

Graduate outcomes show diversity across the program:

• Hispanic graduates: 17 of 41 completions in 2019-2020
• White graduates: 13 during the same period
• African American graduates: showed strong representation in earlier years

Transfer students make up much of the student body, with a 29.77% transfer rate. These numbers, combined with overall graduation statistics, show how Texas A&M-Central Texas supports different educational paths toward social work licensure and career preparation.

Career Outcomes

Texas A&M-Central Texas social work graduates quickly find jobs that let them make a difference in their communities. Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board reports show 60% of social work graduates found jobs in Texas within a year after graduating in 2016-2017. The numbers changed the following year, with 39.5% of 2017-2018 graduates finding employment.

Starting salaries for these graduates averaged $20,248 in 2016-2017 and went up to $23,408 in 2017-2018. While these numbers are lower than the university’s overall undergraduate average of $36,434, entry-level positions often lead to better opportunities with experience. The job market looks bright, as the US will need more than 90,000 new social workers before 2029.

Your degree completion makes you eligible to take the Association of Social Work Boards exams for licensure. First-time test takers pass at rates of 67.9% for Bachelor’s level and 72.5% for Master’s level nationwide. Getting licensed will boost your job prospects by a lot.

The program prepares you for careers in:

• Child and family services
• Healthcare and medical settings
• Mental health and substance abuse treatment
• Case management in public agencies
• Educational settings
• Geriatric and hospice care

Students excel beyond just graduation numbers. The university’s Phi Alpha Honor Society chapter has earned national recognition for 12 straight years through its community projects. This achievement shows how well the program teaches students to handle real-life challenges.

Recent surveys reveal 70% of 2019 graduates from all programs either found jobs, continued their education, or joined the military. Students who completed internships and worked with Career and Professional Development services had better success rates after graduation. This proves the value of hands-on learning opportunities the program provides.

What’s Unique about the Social Work Programs at Texas A&M University – Central Texas

Texas A&M University-Central Texas Social Work Programs offer much more than just degrees. Small class sizes create an intimate learning environment where students receive personal attention from experienced faculty members. Students benefit from individual mentoring throughout their educational trip.

The program’s core lies in its faculty expertise. Instructors bring their field experience to the classroom and connect theoretical concepts with practical applications. Their real-life viewpoint helps students develop skills they can use right after graduation.

Face-to-face instruction makes these programs unique when many Texas social work schools are changing to online education. Students develop crucial interpersonal skills through in-person learning that they need to work effectively as social workers.

Strong community ties give students exceptional advantages. Strategic collaborations with hundreds of agencies in Central Texas provide field placement opportunities of all types. The department works with Child Protective Services through the Title IV-E program to give students specialized child welfare experience.

The program’s community service record speaks volumes. Their Phi Alpha Honor Society chapter has earned national recognition for 12 straight years. This achievement highlights their dedication to serving the community.

The Council on Social Work Education’s accreditation proves the program meets professional standards. Graduates can apply for licenses right after completing their degree thanks to this accreditation.

The program takes an all-encompassing approach to social work education. Students learn technical skills along with ethical development and cultural competence. These qualities help them tackle complex social challenges in communities of all types.

Texas A&M University-Central Texas prepares social workers who serve their communities with both skill and heart. The program combines complete preparation for licensure with a deep commitment to developing compassionate practitioners.