ULM’s social work program offers students training in helping others.

Social work is a professional degree program. The Council on Social Work Education has accredited the program since 1977.

The program consists of a pre-professional level component and a professional level component. 

Pamela Saulsberry, the social work program coordinator, said the skills of interviewing, assessment, intervention and evaluation that social workers learn are applicable in “a multiplicity of job areas.”

Saulsberry said social work is known as “the profession of many faces” because social workers are “found everywhere.”

The degree prepares graduates to enter the job market or go to graduate school.

Graduates have gone to work for the state at child welfare and juvenile justice facilities and for hospitals, hospice agencies, housing programs, community service agencies, senior service programs, services for women and children and homeless shelter facilities.

“Social work careers are for the brave and visionary, for people who can—and do—change the world one life at a time,” Saulsberry said.

Dylan Camp, a freshman social work major, said he is interested in “trying to see what does and doesn’t help people.”

Camp plans to become a licensed clinical social worker. Camp said the need for social workers is growing because “people will always need help.”

“By majoring in social work, you’d be choosing a profession that has potential to change numerous lives for the better,” Camp said.

Social work students can join the national Phi Alpha Honor Society if they meet the requirements of junior standing, a cumulative 3.0 GPA and a 3.25 GPA in social work courses.

All interested students can also join the Student Social Work Association.

Lauren Couvillion, a sophomore pre-social work major, said there are more social work majors than she originally realized.

“I love helping people and social work gives me the opportunity to turn my passion for people into a career,” Couvillion said.

Though she said it is early to make a final decision, Couvillion plans to work with children as a caseworker, work in the foster care system or serve as an abuse counselor.

Couvillion said she often hears during her studies that social work is a profession “about helping people help themselves.”

Field experience for students includes required internships in approved social service settings, a service learning project that prepares them for professional duties and the ability to work with ULM’s Title IV-E Child Welfare Information Project.

The project provides practice in areas such as child protection, family services, home development and more. Those who complete the program can apply to intern with the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services.

The median national annual sal-ary for social workers is $44,200, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Saulsberry said the profession is estimated to grow by about 15 percent by 2022.

“Most importantly, social workers make more than people realize, because we make a difference,” Saulsberry said.