Master of Social Work
The Master of Social Work degree program develops knowledge, values and skills necessary for advanced social work practice in a particular concentration area. Social Work education is based on the following:
- Foundation curriculum: The foundation curriculum is organized around the theme of preparation for generalist practice, including services to the poor and oppressed and efforts to alleviate poverty, oppression and discrimination. Course content includes social work practice, social welfare policy and services, research, human behavior and the social environment and field instruction. Also included is content on social work values and ethics, diversity, social and economic justice, oppression and ways in which social work can affect policy processes. The foundation is designed to help students develop an appreciation for a critical, scientific approach to practice, practice evaluation and knowledge development.
- Advanced curriculum: The advanced curriculum is designed to build on the foundation curriculum by focusing on a specific field of practice. Education is provided for the development of advanced practitioners committed to practice that includes service to the poor and oppressed and who work to alleviate poverty, oppression and discrimination. Currently the college offers four areas of concentration: Child and Family, Community Health and Urban Development, Mental Health, school social work and a Certificate in Evidence-Based Mental Health Practice with Children. Each includes specific courses and field instruction.
The MSW Program has:
- Advanced Standing: The Advanced Standing Program Options is for applicants who have earned a Bachelor of Social Work degree from a CSWE accredited program within the last six years. These students typically complete the Master of Social Work Program within two semesters or two semesters and a summer.
- Full Time: Full-time students complete the degree in two years.
- PM: A three-year program option, known as the PM Program Option, is also available. Under the PM Program Option, students extend the usual first year of full-time study over two years, with classroom courses scheduled in the late afternoon and evening. Students in the first year of the full-time program and for the first two years of the PM Program are assigned a class schedule by the Jane Addams College of Social Work. In their third year, PM students must register for full-time study in the regular day program.
The College also has students who transfer to the College from another CSWE accredited Master of Social Work program. The transfer student will be admitted as a foundation or advanced student, depending upon the courses taken at the MSW Program from which the student transfer.
The four areas of concentration within the program that represent areas of service important to the well-being of urban, at-risk populations:
- Child and Family: The Child and Family (CF) Concentration emphasizes public sector services-programs that touch the lives of large numbers of urban, at-risk populations.
- Community Health and Urban Development: The Community Health and Urban Development (CHUD) Concentration prepares students for advanced practice in collaboration with community-based organizations, voluntary associations and institutions that serve urban, at-risk populations.
- Mental Health: The Mental Health (MH) Concentration, with its emphasis on public sector services and strengths-based practice, directly addresses the needs of urban, at-risk clients having a wide range of needs.
- School: Urban school systems are at the center of contemporary efforts to improve the quality of life for the most at-risk urban populations. The School Social Work Concentration prepares social workers to make important contributions in primary, middle and secondary school settings.