Students receive their Key to social work during orientation at the University of Calgary. Faculty of Social Work Bachelor of Social Work

SOWK 201 Program Requirement

If you've never had any formal social work education, your journey starts with this important introduction

What is Social Work 201?

SOWK 201 provides an overview of the history, philosophical foundation, codes of ethics, practice standards, theoretical perspectives and diverse fields of practice related to social work. You'll learn in a variety of ways, including: inquiry-based learning, readings, learning from guest speakers and discussions. 

SOWK 201 has no pre-requisites or co-requisites.

Do I need SOWK 201?

If you've never had any formal social work instruction - i.e. a social work diploma - SOWK 201 is a program requirement

Minimum 'C-' Grade

You must achieve a minimum grade of ‘C-' to meet program requirements, with a maximum number of two course attempts.

Fulfilling the Requirement

SOWK 201 is offered online in the Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer terms.

Before you apply to the BSW

You can take SOWK 201 any time before or during the application cycle.

It is offered online in the Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer terms.

If you aren't a current UCalgary student, you'll need to apply to Open Studies.

After BSW admission

Accepted to the BSW? Need SOWK 201? You're encouraged to complete in spring/summer prior to starting the program, but it can be taken in fall during block week in addition to your first term BSW workload.

SOWK 201 is a program requirement, and pre-requisite for other courses. Completion by the end of the fall term is strongly recommended. 

What is Block Week?

Apply today

Apply to Open Studies

Want to complete SOWK 201 prior to admission? Use the UCalgary Open Studies application and pay the application fee.

Questions

Questions

Open Studies application questions? Email admissions@ucalgary.ca or call +1.403.210.7625

Register for SOWK 201

Register

Once you've been admitted, register for SOWK 201 through your Student Centre for Spring, Summer, or Fall block week. If the course is full, contact Student Services for help with course registration.

What's next?

Now that you are registered for SOWK 201, you may be wondering what's next? We've outlined a few steps below to help you get started.

If you're newly admitted, learn more about IT Services, including your UCalgary email and eLearning Tools such as D2L in the Getting Started Guide.


The Faculty of Social Work will only use UCalgary email addresses to correspond with you. Monitor your UCalgary email immediately after you have accepted your offer and paid the deposit.

Undergraduate students are assessed tuition and general fees. Each academic term has its own fee payment deadline. Refer to the Academic Schedule for payment deadlines.

There are several options to pay tuition and general fees. The fastest and preferred payment method is online banking. Students who do not pay by the fee payment deadline will be assessed a late payment penalty.

Text books are available at our Alberta campus locations.

Calgary:

University of Calgary Bookstore in the MacEwan Student Centre.

Hours of operation: Mon. – Fri. 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sat. 10:00 am – 5:00 pm (closed Sundays/holidays).

Edmonton:

Text books are purchased through the University of Alberta Bookstore in the Students’ Union Building (SUB).

Hours of operation: Mon. – Fri. 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (closed weekends/holidays; expanded hours during peak periods).

Lethbridge: 

Textbooks are purchased through the University of Lethbridge Bookstore in the Students’ Union Building (Level 2).

Hours of operation: Mon. – Fri. 8:30 am – 4:30 pm; Sat. noon – 4:00 pm (closed Sundays/holidays)