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PROCEDURE FOR DECLARING
SOCIAL WELFARE AS YOUR MAJOR
Revised: 1/18/2008
***This document explains how freshman-entry or native UCB students can declare the major.
The process is different for transfer students.

SOCIAL WELFARE IS AN IMPACTED MAJOR:

Social Welfare is one of several "impacted majors" on campus. This means more students want to declare the major than available resources will allow, and some students are unable to declare the major due to space limitations. Also, L&S policy now restricts advanced students from even applying for an impacted major. L&S policy will not allow native students with more than 80 units - including units in progress - to declare the major at all. Transfer students may not declare an impacted major after their first semester at Cal has been completed. Back To Top

WHEN YOU SHOULD DECLARE:

Students who are interested in the major should meet with Sherman Boyson, the Undergraduate Advisor in 219 Haviland Hall to facilitate a timely declaration of the major.

A native student should complete the five pre-requisites as soon as possible in order to secure a slot for a graduation date that assumes just eight semesters at Cal. Current trends indicate that a native student should be finished with the prerequisites by the end of their third semester at UCB in order to declare the major without extending graduation past eight semesters. Back To Top

SCHEDULE FOR COMPLETION OF THE CORE COURSES FOR THE MAJOR:

Completion of the Social Major includes taking four core classes: SW 110: Social Work as a Profession; SW 112: Social Welfare Policy; SW 112: Practice in Social Work; and SW 116: Special Topics in Social Welfare. SW 110 is considered the introductory “gateway” course to the other cores – you must take SW 110 prior to, or at least simultaneously with any other core course. Once that gateway course is completed, Social Welfare majors may take the remaining core courses in any order they prefer. All four core courses will be offered during every academic period at UCB: Fall Semester, Spring Semester, and Summer Sessions.

When a student declares the major, they will be assigned an academic period when they will have to take the gateway course SW 110. 50 students will be assigned to the Fall class, 50 students will be assigned to the Spring course, and 30 students will be assigned to the Summer course. CURRENTLY, ALL SPACES IN THE FALL 2008 SW 110 COURSE HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED. The first available space for SW 110 is in Spring 2009. With that restriction, students interested in declaring the Social Welfare major should not plan on graduating prior to Spring 2010 at the earliest.

CURRENTLY, ALL SPACES IN THE FALL 2008 SW 110 COURSE HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED. The first available space for SW 110 is in Spring 2009. With that restriction, students interested in declaring the Social Welfare major should not plan on graduating prior to Spring 2010 at the earliest. Back To Top

PREREQUISITES:

There are five prerequisites that must be successfully completed with a minimum letter grade of C:

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICS
TWO COURSES FULFILLING THE L&S READING AND COMPOSITION REQUIREMENT

These courses can be taken at UC Berkeley or at another University or at a Community College. A list of the UCB specific courses that fulfill the prerequisites is in the yellow program brochure. For courses taken at another institution, the course title must indicate Introductory, Beginning, Elementary etc., and a transcript (unofficial is acceptable) must be presented at the time of declaring for grade verification.

Prerequisites completed prior to the Fall 2006 term will still be accepted with a C- or Passing grade. Back To Top

SCHEDULE FOR DECLARING THE MAJOR:

If you have completed all of the pre-requisites:
You can declare the major immediately assuming space is available. At the time of your declaration, you will be assigned to a specific semester to take SW 110, the introductory core course.

If you have not completed all of the pre-requisites, but you are currently enrolled in the remaining course/s needed:
You can place yourself on the waitlist by filling out the required paperwork. The date you submit the required paperwork to the Undergraduate Advisor will establish your priority date on the waitlist. The earliest you can place yourself on the waitlist is the first day of classes in the semester in which you are completing the pre-requisites. Note: You must be ENROLLED in a course in order to be assigned a priority date and placed on the waitlist. Tele-Bears waitlist status is not sufficient.
At the end of each semester, students who successfully complete their remaining prerequisites will be allowed to declare the major, assuming slots are available.

If you have not completed the pre-requisites, and are not enrolled in the remaining course/s needed:
You cannot be placed on the waitlist. Please speak with the Undergraduate Advisor who can advise you on the process of declaring the major. Back To Top

PROOF OF COMPLETION OF PREREQUISITES:

If you have taken all your prerequisites at UC Berkeley, the Undergraduate Advisor will have access to your transcript. If you have taken any of the prerequisites at another institution, you will need to provide a transcript. The transcript does not need to be official; an unofficial transcript will be acceptable. Back To Top

AN EXPLANATION OF YOUR STATUS ON THE WAITLIST:

The waitlist is for students who are completing the prerequisites. Waitlist students who successfully complete the prerequisites become eligible to declare the major at the end of the semester if space is available. If there are more students eligible than spaces are available, students will be selected from the waitlist in chronological order of when they submitted the paperwork to declare the major. Please note: There have been times when even sophomores who complete the prerequisites during their Spring semester have not been able to declare because of insufficient space. This has occurred in recent years. There are NO guarantees of declaration for students on the waitlist.

It is important to understand that any student who has already completed the prerequisites and can be accommodated with their preferred graduation date will be declared ahead of any student on the waitlist. This means that while your place on the waitlist is locked by your priority date and no one can get in front of you on the waitlist, there will be students who can declare the major during the semester and do not have to go onto the waitlist.

All students on the waitlist will be notified of their status in terms of declaring the major soon after the posting of grades for that semester.Back To Top

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Revised: 01/18/2008