The School of Social Work offers four main academic programs: Bachelor of Social Work (BSW), Bachelor of Science in Substance Use and Treatment (BSSUT), Master of Social Work (MSW), and the Ph.D. in Social Work. The BSW and MSW programs are fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. In addition, SSW offers three minors: Substance Use Treatment (SUT), Social Welfare & Social Justice (SWSJ), and Diversity Studies minor with a certificate option. SSW also offers six graduate certificates: Administrative Leadership, Policy Leadership, Community Leadership and Organizational Leadership.
In the BSW program students learn the knowledge, skills, and values of the growing Social Work profession and gain both classroom and community-based experiences preparing them for a wide range of entry level generalist practice social work and social work service positions.
The BSSUT program offers a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the biological, psychological, and social aspects of substance use disorders and related behaviors. Students learn how to treat individuals, families, groups, and communities.
Both the BSW and BSSUT programs offer in-person and fully online options.
In the MSW program students prepare for advanced level and supervisory positions in micro, mezzo, and macro practice. Students learn evidence-based assessment, diagnosis and intervention with children, adults, and families. Students can choose an advanced specialty in direct clinical practice or macro administrative practice, leadership, and advocacy. The five MSW advanced specialties are Mental Health & Substance Misuse, Children & Families, Health, Aging or Community & Administrative Practice.
The MSW program is offered in-person and fully online with traditional and cohort programs.
In the Ph.D. program students learn the application of research methods and procedures to issues of importance to Social Work and social welfare. Our doctoral program is designed to produce high-ranking scholars who will make significant contributions to the knowledge base of the profession in Social Work academia.
The School of Social Work was founded in 1967 with the establishment of the Masters of Science in Social Work (MSSW) program. The School admitted its first class in 1968, and the MSSW program was accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) in 1970.
The Bachelors of Social Work (BSW) degree was founded in 1979 under the auspices of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work and accredited in 1982.
The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Social Work degree program was initiated in 1983. Prior to 1983, the Graduate School of Social Work, the College of Business Administration, and the Institute of Urban Studies, were jointly involved in operating an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Administration degree program.
On September 1, 1991, subsequent to the issuance of a report by the Joint Committee for the Study of Relations Between the Graduate and Undergraduate Social Work Programs, the BSW and MSSW programs were brought together into a unified administrative and academic unit, the School of Social Work.
In 1997 the School started a dual Ph.D. in International Comparative Social Welfare with the Universidad Autónoma De Nuevo León in Monterrey, Mexico to provide the first Ph.D. program in Social Work in Mexico. This program was made possible as a result of the initiative, vision, and support of the administration of both universities, the school's deans at the time, and the social work faculty of both institutions.