The UW Seattle and UW Tacoma programs share this mission and goals statement.

BASW Program Mission

As members of the University of Washington Seattle School of Social Work Bachelor of Arts in Social Welfare program, we commit ourselves to promoting social, economic, and racial justice for oppressed populations and enhancing the quality of life for all.

We strive to maximize human welfare and health through the education of our students to become:

  • Effective change-makers and collaborators towards social, economic, and racial justice.
  • Skilled in working with diverse individuals, families, and communities with compassion and using a strengths-based lens.
  • Empowered, skilled, and culturally responsive social work practitioners.
  • Able to apply multilevel analysis to understand how institutions, policies, and larger social structures can affect individuals and communities. 
  • Actively engaged in personal and institutional social justice and antiracism work, critical self-reflection, and practice according to our profession’s ethical code and values. 
  • Able to critically analyze research and evaluation. 
  • Able to cultivate their own well-being and resilience through self-care and mindfulness.
  • Self-aware of their own positionality and able to engage with cultural humility and awareness of intersectionality.
  • Prepared to contribute to the health, well-being, and empowerment of disadvantaged communities and populations.
  • Able to respond flexibly and adapt to working in changing contexts. 

We strive to provide equitable pathways to careers in social work for students from under-represented populations, including students of color, first generation college students, students who are immigrants, disabled students, undocumented students, LGBTQ+ students, and others with marginalized identities.

BASW Program Goals

  1. To prepare entry-level baccalaureate social workers for generalist practice in a multicultural context that is rooted in knowledge and skills for understanding and solving complex social problems within the values of professional social work.
  2. To prepare generalist social workers who can be informed and effective leaders able to understand and take action to challenge injustice and promote social and economic justice.
  3. To foster a comparative and critical examination of social welfare and social work history, policies, research, and practice interventions in the education of social work practitioners dedicated to public service that promotes a more humane society.
  4. To prepare for graduate education.

UW Tacoma holds one additional goal:

    5.  To provide access to social work education to residents of the south Puget Sound region.