Social Work Major Through Des Moines Area Community College

The School of Social Work at Iowa has a tradition of innovation in social work education, activism, research, and public service. In particular, students' exposure to faculty expertise in a Research I university is one of the important characteristics that distinguishes Iowa’s social work program from other public and private programs in the state. Note: Admission to the major is selective.

Studying Social Work at Iowa

Student responsibilities

Review the responsibilities required to become and remain eligible for the 2 Plus 2 Guaranteed Graduation Plan.

Student Responsibilities

Des Moines Area Community College checkpoints

• Complete the fourth level of a single foreign language as needed for Iowa's General Education Program.
• Complete the following courses:
  • HSV 109 Introduction to Human Services with a grade of C or higher
  • BIO 156 Human Biology with Lab
• Complete one additional course from the following:
• ANT 105 Cultural Anthropology
• ANT 110 Faces of Culture
• ECN 120 Principles of Macroeconomics
• ECN 130 Principles of Microeconomics
• MAT 157 Statistics (may require a prerequisite course as suggested by math placement)
• Complete all requirements for the AA degree.
• Apply to the UI School of Social Work by the March 1 deadline and be accepted to the program. A minimum cumulative transfer grade-point average (GPA) of 2.50 is required at the time of application. Note: This is the minimum GPA to apply and does not guarantee acceptance to the major.
• It is strongly recommended that students have volunteer, internship, or work experience in areas related to social work before applying to the program.

The following required courses can be taken at Des Moines Area Community College OR The University of Iowa:

• POL  111  American National Government; 030:001 Introduction to American Politics at Iowa
• SOC 110 Introduction to Sociology; 034:001 Introduction to Sociology: Principles at Iowa
• PSY 111 Introduction to Psychology; 031:001 Elementary Psychology at Iowa

University of Iowa checkpoints

• Complete the UI courses required for this major, as specified in the UI General Catalog.
• Complete at least half of the remaining semester hours needed for your major and degree during each of your two years at Iowa. (A total of 33–38 semester hours is required for the social work major and 120 semester hours for the BA degree.)

A current schedule of UI courses is available on the Iowa Student Information Service (ISIS).