Texas Tech Social Work Programs
Prairie View A&M’s social work programs feature the only MSW degree in Texas with an Africentric curriculum that specializes in medical social work and behavioral health. Texas medical social workers earn between $50,000 and $90,000 yearly, making this unique specialization a gateway to excellent career opportunities.
Prairie View A&M’s social work program has shaped countless careers since the Council on Social Work Education accredited it in 1980. The program opens doors to a booming job market – Texas reported 5,764 openings for medical social workers and 12,387 positions in behavioral health as of March 2022. The curriculum combines evidence-based interventions with advanced clinical practice, and students learn to champion better social policies across rural and urban communities.
Social Work Degrees Offered at Prairie View
Prairie View A&M University provides complete social work education programs at undergraduate and graduate levels. The Department of Social Work runs fully accredited programs that prepare you for different career paths in social work.
The Bachelor of Social Work (BASW) degree program at Prairie View requires 120 total semester credit hours. This program prepares you for entry-level professional generalist social work and builds a foundation for advanced study. The BASW curriculum gives you skills in micro, mezzo, and macro-level practice. You’ll learn to work with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
The university also offers a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree with a clinical focus. The MSW program has two formats:
- Traditional Program – 56 semester credit hours
- Advanced Standing Program – 33 semester credit hours
The Advanced Standing option works best if you earned a BSW degree from a CSWE-accredited institution in the last six years. You can complete this accelerated track in just 11 continuous months.
Traditional Program students follow a curriculum with two distinct parts: the professional foundation (first year) and the clinical concentration (second year). The program has a well-laid-out curriculum plan with both full-time and part-time options.
Prairie View’s social work program stands out because of its delivery method. The MSW program uses an online format that makes it available to working professionals. You can balance your education with work and personal commitments easily.
Both programs follow the content and competency guidelines set by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accreditation standards. Prairie View A&M University runs one of the few fully CSWE-accredited BASW degree programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Texas.
Specializations
Prairie View A&M’s social work programs excel with their Medical Social Work and Behavioral Health specialization that features an Africentric approach. Graduates find success in the growing healthcare field, where medical social workers in Texas earn between $50,000 and $90,000 annually.
The program’s curriculum stands out with its Africentric framework. Students learn to value spirituality, interdependence, and collectivism. This foundation helps develop courses from a strength viewpoint and prepares students to provide culturally grounded, evidence-based services to African American/Black populations in Texas and nationwide.
Prairie View A&M’s Medical/Behavioral Health specialization meets the staffing needs of expanding hospitals and healthcare systems effectively. The program is Texas’s only MSW program that trains students specifically for medical social work. This makes it valuable, given the robust job market—5,764 medical social work openings and 12,387 behavioral health positions existed in Texas as of March 2022.
Students master several therapeutic approaches:
- Case management
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Motivational interviewing
- Dialectical behavior therapy
The program teaches rapport building, networking, self-awareness, and self-care—skills that matter in healthcare settings.
The curriculum focuses on three vital skill areas:
- Advanced micro-level social work practice with individuals
- Advanced mezzo-level social work practice with families and small groups
- Advanced macro-level social work practice with organizations and communities
These skills help you work in mental and behavioral health settings, both urban and rural. You’ll apply medical and systems approaches to various client needs. Graduates leave with strong interpersonal skills and know how to assess clinical interventions while working alongside medical and behavioral health experts.
Online and Hybrid Options
Prairie View A&M University’s distance learning adds great value to its social work education programs. The MSW program has a fully online delivery format. This makes advanced education available to working professionals who need to balance their career with studies.
The university’s online clinical Master of Social Work degree keeps its medical and behavioral health focus. Students can schedule their coursework around work commitments without compromising on quality or depth of education.
Technology-enabled learning methods are at the heart of the university’s distance education. Students take part in video conferencing, podcasts, and live-streaming events. These tools help students learn and encourage group participation—a vital part of social work education. Class schedules rotate to help professionals access content when it suits them best.
The digital learning environment builds essential career skills needed today. Students in Prairie View’s social work program develop strong critical thinking, effective communication, and team leadership skills. These abilities are highly valued in professional settings.
Prairie View has a well-laid-out approval process for faculty members who want to teach distance education courses. Faculty must submit the “Request for Approval to Offer a Course via Distance Education” form for departmental and college approval. They then complete a “Self-Study Course Approval Form” for CIITS.
Students should check current course listings when planning their schedule since new online options may become available after these approval cycles.
Graduation rates
The graduation rates of Prairie View A&M social work programs tell an interesting story about what you can expect as a student. The university’s 6-year graduation rate is 41%.
The completion timeline shows some variation. About 13% of students finish in four years, while 45% complete their degrees within eight years. The retention rate is a bright spot at 74%, which means most first-year students come back for their sophomore year. This number beats both the national average of 70.57% and Texas state average of 68.17%.
The social work program awarded bachelor’s degrees to 41 students in the 2021-2022 academic year. Women made up 93% of these graduates and men 7%, with 83% of students identifying as Black or African American.
Different demographic groups show varying levels of success at Prairie View A&M. To name just one example, see these graduation rates:
- Black/African American students: 37% graduation rate
- Hispanic students: 49% graduation rate
- Asian students: 57% graduation rate
- International students: 67% graduation rate
All the same, some factors make a big difference in completion rates. Students have a much better chance of graduating – up to 72.5% – when they keep good grades after their first year, stay in campus housing for two years, come in with a high school GPA above 3.04, have a family contribution above $2,215, and join two or more student programs.
Prairie View A&M’s social work program mirrors these university-wide numbers but shines in supporting underrepresented groups. Your chances of finishing your degree on time go up when you use campus resources and keep your grades strong.
Career outcomes
The program opens doors to even better opportunities for students pursuing advanced degrees. Medical Social Workers from Prairie View earn between $50,000 and $90,000 annually in Texas. Their specialized training matches perfectly with market demands – Texas reported 5,764 medical social work openings and 12,387 behavioral health positions as of March 2022.
Students gain a competitive advantage through the program’s emphasis on medical and behavioral health. Graduates qualify to pursue the prestigious Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) certification, which significantly boosts their career growth and earning potential.
This 145-year-old university consistently delivers excellent returns on educational investment. Prairie View A&M leads all 101 HBCUs nationwide – its graduates earn an average of $50,000 in their first job after graduation. The university ranks eighth among 148 Texas colleges for best average starting salaries.
The program’s dedication to career preparation shows through its blend of knowledge, values, and practical skills needed for competent practice. Students learn problem-solving and service delivery techniques that create valuable skills for social work settings of all types.
Unique Features about the Social Work Programs at Prairie View
Prairie View A&M stands apart as the only Texas MSW program at a historically Black college/university. This unique difference shows through the program’s blend of hands-on experience with culturally responsive education.
Students apply nine core competencies through real-life service delivery. The program connects classroom theory with practical experience and shows how social policies affect service delivery. Students learn to develop research questions about their practice and assess intervention effectiveness.
The prairie view social work curriculum takes a cultural competence approach. It adopts an Africentric model that allows students to accept core values of spirituality, interdependence, and collectivism. This viewpoint creates a learning environment where minority students don’t face common challenges like alienation, discrimination, and stereotyping.
Prairie View A&M social work faculty members bring outstanding teaching credentials along with notable research achievements and extensive practice experience. They prioritize individual advisement with a remarkably low faculty-to-student ratio.
The program’s extensive partnership network adds significant value. The School of Social Work collaborates with social service agencies at local and national levels. Students learn from qualified social workers who work alongside university clinical faculty during these placements.
Prairie View social work has produced outstanding professionals since receiving CSWE accreditation in 1980. The program maintains its dedication to student-centered learning and community involvement while pursuing social and economic justice. This mix of practical experience, cultural awareness, and community connections builds an educational foundation that prepares students for meaningful practice in various settings.