Online BA in Social Work
Lead Change. Empower Communities. Finish Your Degree.
YOUR FUTURE STARTS HERE
Complete the form below to learn more about our online programs and how to get started.
At a Glance
Advance your career with the University of Oklahoma’s online BASW degree—a CSWE-accredited program designed for transfer students and working professionals. Whether you’re already serving in human services or seeking a purposeful career change, this flexible, 100% online degree equips you to advocate for individuals, families, and communities while building the skills needed for professional social work practice.
The program provides a transfer-friendly pathway to complete your degree and qualify for licensure. You’ll gain expertise in assessment, intervention, and advocacy, preparing you for roles that make a difference in healthcare, child welfare, mental health, and beyond.
100% Online
Time to Complete:
2 to 4 years (varies by transfer credits)
Credit Hours:
120
Time Commitment:
15 to 20 hours weekly
start dates
Fall, Spring, Summer
cost
OU’s online BASW is an investment in your future — and OU Online is committed to making that investment accessible and transparent.
Tuition and fees for the program are $550 per credit hour.
Books and additional materials are not included.
YOUR FUTURE STARTS HERE
Complete the form below to learn more about our online programs and how to get started.
About the Online Bachelor’s in Social Work (BASW)
The University of Oklahoma’s online Bachelor of Arts in Social Work (BASW) is a 120-credit-hour degree completion program designed for transfer students and working professionals who want to finish their degree and advance into professional social work roles. This CSWE-accredited program provides the credential needed for licensure and graduate study, opening doors to careers that make a lasting impact in communities.
Delivered through OU’s Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work, the fully online curriculum emphasizes ethical practice, evidence-based interventions, and trauma-informed care. Students gain hands-on experience through 400 hours of supervised field education in local agencies, applying classroom learning in real-world settings under licensed social work supervision. Coursework builds expertise in assessment, intervention, and advocacy, preparing graduates to serve individuals, families, and communities across diverse practice environments.
As a BASW graduate, you can go on to earn your Master of Social Work degree in as little as one additional year through the OU’s online Master of Social Work Advanced Standing degree program.
What Can You Do With a Bachelor’s in Social Work?
OU’s 100% online Bachelor of Arts in Social Work prepares professionals to lead with confidence in human services, healthcare, and community advocacy. Whether you’re advancing in your current role or pursuing a new path, this degree equips you with the ethical decision-making, communication, and problem-solving skills needed to empower individuals and drive change in your community. Graduates are prepared for impactful careers in local, state, and federal agencies, as well as nonprofit and private sector organizations. Career opportunities include:
- Child Welfare Social Worker
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker
- Case Manager
- Gerontology Social Worker
- Hospital Social Worker
- Disability Services
- Healthcare Social Worker
- School Social Worker
- Community Outreach Coordinator
- Veterans Services Social Worker
- Foster Care
- Hospice/Palliative Care
Whether you’re seeking promotion, transitioning to a new agency, or stepping into a leadership role, OU’s Social Work degree gives you the tools to lead with clarity, compassion, and purpose.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Industry Insights: Social Work Workforce Outlook
Professionals with strong assessment, intervention, and advocacy skills are in high demand across healthcare, child welfare, mental health, and community service sectors. OU’s online Bachelor of Arts in Social Work prepares graduates to step into roles that require ethical decision-making, critical thinking, and practical problem-solving.
- Median Pay: $61,330 for social workers (all specialties)
- Job Outlook: 6% projected growth through 2034
- Annual Openings: Approximately 74,000 positions nationwide
The median pay figures reflect earnings for professionals working in these occupations and may represent mid-career compensation. Entry-level salaries vary based on role, employer, experience, and geographic location.
As communities face complex social challenges, the need for qualified social workers continues to grow. From hospitals and schools to nonprofit agencies and government programs, professionals with a BA in Social Work are essential to building stronger support systems and improving lives.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – Social Workers
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Program Outcomes: Social Work Expertise for Career Growth
OU’s online Bachelor of Arts in Social Work equips you with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to turn your passion for helping others into a professional career. You’ll graduate prepared to lead change, strengthen communities, and make a meaningful impact in the lives of individuals and families.
Through this program, you’ll learn how to:
- Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior aligned with national social work standards
- Build strong relationships and engage effectively with individuals, families, and communities
- Apply evidence-based interventions across micro, mezzo, and macro practice levels
- Conduct comprehensive biopsychosocial assessments that inform effective care plans
- Advocate for policies that improve access to services and support vulnerable populations
- Use research and data to evaluate outcomes and enhance practice effectiveness
Whether you’re advancing in your current role or preparing for a new chapter, the BA in Social Work gives you the tools to create lasting change and build a career with purpose.
BASW Online Course Details
OU’s Bachelor of Arts in Social Work combines flexibility with rigor through fully online, asynchronous, 8-week courses designed for transfer students and working professionals. The curriculum builds from foundational principles to advanced practice methods, culminating in a capstone seminar and 400 hours of supervised field education in local agencies. Each course is structured to deliver practical insight, sharpen critical thinking, and prepare graduates for professional social work roles.
Introduction to Social Work
Credit Hours: 3
Defines the profession of social work and describes its historical development. Provides foundation knowledge in social work values, professional ethics, and the history of social welfare and social services policy in the United States.
Interviewing Skills for Generalist Practice
Credit Hours: 3
Introduction to basic interviewing and communication skills utilized in culturally sensitive, generalist social work practice. Emphasis on the development of self-awareness and skill development and on providing both didactic and experiential learning.
Generalist Practice with Families and Groups
Credit Hours: 3
The second of three generalist social work practice courses; explicates a generalist perspective that focuses on the knowledge, values, skills and techniques appropriate for engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation with families and small groups.
Social Welfare Policy: Analysis and Practice
Credit Hours: 3
An undergraduate level historical and descriptive review of federal and state social welfare programming, introduction to social welfare policy analysis, and the role of the social work profession in affecting change in social welfare policy.
Undergraduate Social Work Research Methods I
Credit Hours: 3
Introduction to the design and implementation of quantitative and qualitative research methods appropriate to social work practice evaluation and program evaluation.
Generalist Practice with Organizations and Communities
Credit Hours: 3
Third of three methods courses in the social work practice sequence using a generalist model focuses on knowledge, values and skills requisite for social work practice with various client systems. Course emphasizes development of knowledge and skills specific for assessment and intervention with organizations and communities.
Practicum Seminar I
Credit Hours: 3
The integration of classroom course content with the learning of practice skills in the field setting.
Practicum Seminar II
Credit Hours: 3
This is the Capstone course for the BASW. The purpose of this course is for students to demonstrate application of major social work content including social work research, social welfare policy, human behavior in the social environment, human diversity, and social work practice in the context of a field practicum setting.
Trauma-Informed Practice in Child Welfare
Credit Hours: 3
Students who are being funded by the Child Welfare program are required to take this course. This course will provide a multi-dimensional exploration of trauma and the importance of trauma informed child welfare practice. Skill development focuses on building a strong knowledge base concerning trauma that will support ethical social work practice and an emphasis on strengths-based social work service delivery. This course also brings forward the concepts of trauma informed organizational practice.
Forensic Social Work
Credit Hours: 3
This course provides an overview of forensic social work practice and theory. Additionally, it illustrates skills for working with diverse populations across the lifespan and across diverse settings, such as community, medical, school, child welfare, mental health and addictions, and juvenile and criminal justice settings.
Statistics for Social Work
Credit Hours: 3
Introduction to statistics and data analysis in social work and the helping professions. Covers descriptive statistics (univariate and bivariate), inferential statistics (estimation and significance tests) and data interpretation (causality and generalizability).
Generalist Practice with Individuals and Families
Credit Hours: 3
First of three generalist social work practice courses explicates a generalist perspective that focuses on the knowledge, values, skills, and techniques appropriate for engagement, assessment, intervention and evaluation with individuals and families.
Human Behavior: Individuals and Families
Credit Hours: 3
Within a social systems framework and bio-psychosocial perspective, students learn empirically based theories which deal with life-span development and family dynamics. This course provides a theoretical foundation for micro-level generalist practice.
Understanding Social Determinants of Health
Credit Hours: 3
Course prepares students for generalist practice by equipping them with systems-oriented perspective on individual and community wellbeing. It emphasizes ethical and evidence-informed approaches to working with populations impacted by disparities in opportunity, access, and health. Using SDOH as an organizing framework, the course fosters analytical and communication skills essential for addressing human needs across micro, mezzo, and macro contexts.
Undergraduate Social Work Research Methods II
Credit Hours: 3
Introduction to applied data analysis methods appropriate to research in social work practice evaluation and human services program evaluation.
Practicum Planning
Credit Hours: 1
This course provides structure and support to students as they complete the necessary university-based and agency-based onboarding tasks to secure an educationally focused and professionally supervised practicum placement in a community-based agency or program. Students must be enrolled in SWK 4311 during the semester prior to enrolling in SWK 4315 - Social Work Practicum I.
Practicum I
Credit Hours: 5
A structured, educationally directed experience in social work practice, provided under the supervision of a qualified social worker as practicum instructor.
Practicum II
Credit Hours: 5
A continuation of the educational experience in S WK 4315. In combination with Practicum Seminar II (S WK 4323), this course comprises the General Education capstone experience in social work.
Preventing and Treating Substance Abuse Disorders
Credit Hours: 3
Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders. Course emphasizes best practices in the areas of treatment and prevention of substance use disorders, and the strategic prevention framework. Cultural influences and issues important to special populations will be also reviewed.
Why OU Online: Career-Ready Social Work Education
OU Online delivers high-quality, career-focused programs built for working professionals—combining the flexibility of a 100% online format with the academic excellence of a flagship public university. Offered through the University of Oklahoma’s Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work, the Bachelor of Arts in Social Work prepares students to lead in human services, healthcare, and community advocacy.
With a curriculum grounded in ethical practice, evidence-based interventions, and professional standards, this degree equips you to navigate complex social systems and make informed decisions that improve lives. OU Online’s student-centered approach ensures you receive personalized support, expert instruction, and a flexible learning experience that fits your schedule and goals.
Whether you’re finishing your degree or preparing for a career transition, OU Online gives you the tools to lead with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
Faculty Expertise: Real-World Leadership in Social Work
The University of Oklahoma’s Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work brings together faculty with deep experience in professional practice and social work education. These educators specialize in areas such as child welfare, healthcare, mental health, policy analysis, and community development—fields that shape the program’s practical, career-focused curriculum.
OU faculty are recognized for their ability to translate complex social work concepts into actionable knowledge for professionals. Many maintain active licenses and have held leadership roles in agencies and advocacy organizations, bringing real-world insight into every course. Their mentorship and expertise prepare students to graduate ready for licensure and professional impact.
Robust Student Support
OU Online offers comprehensive student support services tailored to the needs of working professionals. From academic support and online tutoring to mental health counseling and career development resources, students in the BA in Social Work program receive the guidance they need to succeed. The program’s flexible format accommodates the needs of working professionals, allowing you to expand your skills while maintaining full-time employment.
Global Alumni Network
With more than 250,000 alumni across the world, becoming a Sooner means joining a powerful network of healthcare professionals, researchers, and leaders. OU’s alumni community offers valuable connections, mentorship opportunities, and career support to help you accelerate your path in human services, social work, and community advocacy.
Flexible Format
The Bachelor of Arts in Social Work is delivered 100% online in a flexible format designed for working professionals. Earn your degree while balancing full-time work, family responsibilities, and personal goals. Study from anywhere and build the leadership, communication, and strategic thinking skills needed to advance your career in social work.
With 100% online, asynchronous, 8-week courses and a student-centered approach, OU Online makes it possible to grow your career without putting it on hold. Whether you’re seeking promotion, transitioning to a new industry, or stepping into a leadership role, this program is built to fit your schedule and support your success.
Tailored Experience
Elective options and interdisciplinary coursework allow students to customize their learning experience based on career interests in business, nonprofit, government, or education. The program’s dynamic format keeps professionals engaged, fosters collaboration with faculty and peers, and builds the skills needed to lead with confidence, clarity, and impact in today’s evolving workplaces.
Once you complete your BASW graduate, you can earn your Master of Social Work degree in as little as one additional year through OU’s online MSW Advanced Standing track.
Cost & Financial Aid
Earning your BASW online degree is an investment in your future—and OU Online is committed to making that investment accessible and transparent.
Tuition and fees for the program are $550 per credit hour.
Books and additional materials are not included.
Financial aid, scholarships, and employer tuition assistance may be available to help offset the cost. For questions about financial aid for your online program, contact the Online Aid office at onlineaid@ou.edu or call 405-325-2929.
*Please be aware that tuition and fees may change, as determined by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
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YOUR FUTURE STARTS HERE
Complete the form below to learn more about our online programs and how to get started.
