About | Students | Faculty & Staff | Degrees & Programs | Forms | Alumni
Graduate Program
Information on the upcoming MSW Graduate Admissions Application Process for Fall 2010 will be posted in October 2010.
DSWE MSW GRADUATE HANDBOOK FALL 2008-2009
FALL 2007 - 2008 DSWE GRAD HANDBOOK
MSW GRADUATE STUDENT ADVISING FORM
GRADUATE STUDENT ADVISING FORM
The profession of social work and the Department of Social Work Education are dedicated to meeting the diverse social service needs of special populations of individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities. Because we are a practice-oriented profession, the graduates of our program deal with social concerns that range from societal oppression to people's emotional/behavioral problems. The social work practitioner who is educated in our program is taught to help at-risk populations which typically include the poor and homeless, abused/neglected children and adults, people of color, women, recent refugees, chronically mentally ill, developmentally disabled, physically ill or disabled, substance abusers, criminal offenders and the aged. In focusing on disadvantaged groups, the student is trained to use a range of traditional and non-traditional methods to promote well-being, personal growth, and social justice, e.g., individual client and large system policy advocating, brokering, consulting, individual, family and group counseling/ psychotherapy, mediating, researching, supervising and teaching. While the discipline of social work is deeply rooted in a rich, 100-year history of service, what the student as a social worker will "do" is no longer traditionally defined. The role of the social worker is constantly expanding into new and innovative service fields wherever a compassionate response to human need is indicated. Although not limited to the following, the student could typically find employment as a child welfare/protective services worker, alcohol/substance abuse counselor; school social worker, mental health/family services counselor, medical/rehabilitation worker, juvenile/adult justice worker, program developer, agency manager/administrator, volunteer coordinator, employee assistance program coordinator/worker, grass-roots community organizer or legislative advocate.
The master's degree in social work offered by our department is designed to educate advanced social work practitioners who can meet complex client needs within a diversity of public and private human service settings and who can perform in a variety of roles using multiple social work practice methodologies. This course of study prepares the student learner for autonomous social work practice at multiple levels of intervention as well as for doctoral study in social work and related human service arenas.