The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) has reaffirmed Belmont University’s social work program accreditation for the next eight years. The action came at the February meeting of the Council’s Commission on Accreditation, and recognizes the university’s social work department with its highest endorsement. “This is great news for our students,” said Dr. Lorraina Scholten, Chair of Belmont’s Social Work Department, “not only to know that their education meets the highest standards of our profession, but also to benefit from the advanced standing they will enjoy in graduate programs around the country.”
Belmont University offers a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree and the program has been accredited since 1999. The Council on Social Work Education represents more than 3,000 individual members, as well as graduate and undergraduate programs of professional social work education. Founded in 1952, this partnership of educational and professional institutions, social welfare agencies, and private citizens is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the sole accrediting agency for social work education in this country. CSWE administers a multi-step accreditation process that involves program self-studies, site visits, and commission reviews. There are currently 471 fully-accredited baccalaureate social work programs in the United States.
The Social Work Department is part of the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing at Belmont University. This alignment affords social work majors the opportunity to interface with allied health pre-professionals in nursing, occupational and physical therapy, and pharmacy, enhancing their preparation for a wide array of career options. Social work students at Belmont also benefit from individual attention from faculty members who are experienced practitioners, excellent field placement options, and unique course offerings. The Social Work Department is housed in the Gordon E. Inman Center on the campus’ northeast corner.