Studying Social Work Online: Great Choice or Disaster in the Making?
Studying social work online has both advantages and disadvantages. While this degree program could be a dream-come-true for some students, it could be a disaster for others. It all depends on your work habits, study skills, learning style, availability, and motivation. You can receive a valuable education from an online school or a brick-and-mortar institution; which is better depends to a large degree on the individual. Here are some details about studying social work on the Internet:
Advantages
- The coursework is conducive to online study. Classes such as The History of Social Welfare, Ethnic and Cultural Awareness, and Organizational Development can be taken easily online because the bulk of work is readings, lectures, essay writing, and exams. Unlike a degree in Studio Art or Massage Therapy where you need to interact first-hand with materials, resources, or people, most of the courses needed to earn a degree in social work follow the traditional model of textbooks and lectures.
- Online classes offer flexibility in schedule. If you have a family or are working part- or full-time, you can arrange to take classes in the evenings or on the weekends, at your convenience. This means that you can make the coursework fit your schedule, rather than the other way around.
- You can learn anywhere with an Internet connection. Many students enroll in online programs because they live far away from a university, or because they are traveling or living abroad. Taking classes online makes these factors negligible.
- The degree program can cater to specific interests. Individualized instruction and a variety of course offerings are available online, so you can develop a program that fits your key interests in social work, perhaps working with children, the elderly, or those struggling with addictions.
Disadvantages
- Some courses are completed better in person. Face-to-face time is needed in the field in classes like Applying Action Research, Human Services Practicum, and Direct Practice with Families.
- There is no hand-holding. Other students, professors, and advisors are not around to guide you firsthand through online programs the way they often are in campus-based schools. In order to be successful, you have to be very self-driven and know how to organize your time effectively.
- A fundamental aspect of social work is interpersonal interaction. People go into a career in social work because they want to help people – they want to enter the real world and better the lives of those in need every day through hands-on assistance. This sort of real-life interaction is not possible in an online program.
This program is a great choice if…
- You are a self-motivated worker.
- You prefer to be independent when working, learning, and studying.
- You have prior work, family, or social obligations that keep you from attending a campus-based school.
- You can set your own deadlines and follow your own schedule.
- You learn best by reading, writing, and/or listening, rather than by doing.
- You live far away from a college campus.
- You are already employed in a form of social work that contains face-to-face interaction with those in need, but want a degree to formalize your qualifications.
This program will be a disaster for you if…
- You prefer to work in pairs, groups, or teams.
- You are motivated by the people around you rather than yourself.
- You learn better by doing than by reading, writing, or listening.
- You are easily distracted.
- You cannot create and maintain schedules without external motivation.
- You are pursuing an online degree because being “up close and personal” with people is not your idea of fun. A career in social work is all about being “up close and personal,” so an online degree is only prolonging the obvious: social work is not for you.
Article Resources:
Auburn University
Capella University
Texas State University, San Marcos