Community benefit is what a new academic program for Bakersfield from Fresno Pacific University is all about.
Openings are available now for students in the Bachelor of Arts in Social Work, a degree completion program for those with some college hoping to complete a university degree. The first cohort—a group of students who will progress together for mutual support throughout the program—will begin in July 2106. Classes will meet at the FPU Bakersfield Campus, 11000 River Run Blvd.
This will be the first B.A. in Social Work available in Bakersfield, and the demand is already strong. “There’s a high need for social work professionals,” said Jonathan Clark, M.S.W., FPU social work degree completion program director and assistant professor of social work.
Earning the degree will give graduates an entrée into the social work profession through employment in a variety of public or private agencies. People with associate degrees in human services, for example, need a bachelor’s to become social work practitioners. “Social work is becoming more professionalized and people need more training to advance,” Clark said.
Faculty will be area working professionals, and the university is working with local agencies and leaders to provide internships and permanent jobs as well as community colleges to get the word out to students. Plans are to launch two cohorts each year, one on July and one in January. Classes will meet one night a week.
The bachelor’s degree completion program in social work began in North Fresno and Visalia in 2014, and has grown to 68 students in seven cohorts. Clark sees the same kind of potential in the South Valley. “We’re expecting great things from Bakersfield and Kern County,” he said.
More information at fresno.edu/programs-majors/degree-completion/social-work