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Master of Social
Work Degree Requirements
The academic program
leading to the Master of Social Work degree equips the student for
careers in direct services, and macro practice. The M.S.W degree is conferred after satisfactory
completion of the prescribed requirements that provide specialized
understanding of methods and processes in Social Work practice. The
minimum requirements for advanced standing students are 45 credits
with a cumulative GPA of 3.0. The minimum requirements for all other
students are 60 credits with a cumulative GPA of 3.0. To be applied
toward a degree, graduate credits must be earned within the past
five (5) years. A letter grading system is utilized. Students choose
a level of intervention or mode of practice as a major area of
concentration, as well as a field of practice. This choice of
concentration is supported by a foundation curriculum, fields of
practice, and field instruction. Specific areas of concentration are
subject to changes.
The purpose of the
fields of practice concentration is to provide a knowledge base in
the student's chosen area of specialization in social work. The
courses examine policies, programs, and services; two semesters are
required. The fields of practice include: criminal justice,
social gerontology, mental health, social work in health care
settings, family and child welfare, and displaced
populations.
Supervised Field
Instruction is provided for students in a wide range of agencies and
organizations covering the fields of practice listed above. The
educational experience takes place in a large number of approved
field settings on a concurrent field instruction methods
model.
Electives
Students may choose
electives from any of the following options:
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courses in direct
service, community organization or social service management
concentrations or fields of practice concentrations which are not
required for their chosen majors
-
from the list of
general electives in the social work curriculum
-
from course
offerings of other schools or colleges in the University
or
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from the Consortium
of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area. Courses
should be chosen in consultation with the student's
advisor.
Part-Time
Enrollment
Part-time enrollment
is available each semester with evening classes scheduled that cover
foundation curriculum content. Under the part-time option, students
are permitted to develop an individualized part-time course of
studies with their advisers or they may choose the Planned Part-Time
Program as recommended by the School. The Planned Part-time Program
options are:
-
Plan 1: The
usual full-time, two year program is distributed over a three to
four year period, enabling a student to complete the degree
requirements in four years.
-
Plan 2: A
student completes half the degree requirements, 30 hours in
full-time enrollment, and 30 hours in part-time enrollment, over a
three year period.
Field
Instruction
Field Education is an integral part
of the MSW program. It is the class that takes place at an agency
site and is the practical learning component of the curriculum. Its
purpose is to provide opportunities for students to develop
competence in practical skills within the framework of social work
values and ethics. This
“off campus classroom" experience requires the first year student
to spend 16 hours per week and the second year student
20 hours per week at an agency in the Greater Washington, DC
metropolitan area (DC, MD &VA). The Office of Field Education chooses these
sites. This course carries 6 credit hours per semester and accounts
for over 1/3 of the 60 credits required for the completion of the MSW degree.
The field education program also requires a mandatory orientation
for all entering students and ongoing field education seminars,
which are structured as on campus classes. Student experiences at
their field education sites are often the most memorable ones as
they matriculate through the MSW program. The field education
opportunities are diverse and are generally supervised by licensed social work
practitioners. These experiences are exciting, challenging and
provide opportunities for professional development in a practical
sense. In field education, students are engaged in actual supervised
practice in order to learn about how to work with clients. Goals of field instruction include but are not limited to
the: (1) identification with the profession, (2) integration of
classroom knowledge with practical experiences, (3) laboratory
experience to develop, strengthen and increase social work skills
and knowledge, (4)
exposure to different social work settings, (5) opportunity to
determine a specialty in an of area of practice, and (6) opportunity
to learn about social and economic justice, and advocacy.
Field education placement
opportunities range from federal agencies, national and
international agencies headquartered in the Nation's Capital to
public and private agencies, and grassroots organizations. These
opportunities are all designed to provide experiences to enhance
classroom learning.
Field education complements the curriculum by providing
practice opportunities to explore, expand, and explain the “Black
Perspectives as articulated in our school’s mission, vision and
principles. Applicants choosing the MSW program should consider
these experiences for professional growth when planning their
entry into the program. The Office of Field Education along with
other faculty will assist students in their field experiences to
insure that each student receives an appropriate learning
experience.
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