Grand Rapids MSW Program Open House
Tuesday, October 21
6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Refreshments and registration: 6 to 6:30 p.m.
Go to the open house page at www.gr.wmich.edu/mswopenhouse for more details and an online RSVP.
Program Information
The Western Michigan University School of Social Work educates social workers to advocate for social and economic justice and personal well-being for all people. The faculty provides leadership on local, national, and international levels through research, scholarship, community service and partnerships, and other creative activities relevant to the profession.
What is the Master of Social Work Program?
Social Work is a broad profession that seeks to help people interact more effectively with one another and with the environment. As our society has become increasingly complex, people in both urban and rural settings are experiencing a corresponding increase in problems related to meeting basic human needs such as employment, adequate income level, healthcare, family relationships, and mental health. Social Work seeks to identify and correct both the individual and social causes of problems and toward this end has developed a person-in-environment perspective.
The master's degree program in Social Work (M.S.W.) prepares students for direct-service and leadership positions in the field of social welfare.
- Strengthening student's critical thinking skills, helping them formulate a vision of a just society, and enabling them to move towards the realization of their vision.
- Preparing ethical, competent, reflective practitioners to work with individuals, families, groups, organizations, communities, and institutions within a global and changing environment.
- Fostering sensitivity to diversity, cultural competence, and practice effectiveness.
- Offering a nurturing, respectful, inclusive environment that maximizes the contributions and development of students, faculty, and staff.
Social Work is projected to be among the top eleven growth fields this decade. Individuals with a Master of Social Work degree will find rewarding job opportunities, and will maximize the impact they have on clients. Social Workers practice in a wide range of settings, including counseling agencies, mental health clinics, corrections facilities, neighborhood community centers, schools, family and child welfare agencies, legislative offices, and industry.
The M.S.W. faculty emphasize substantial personal attention and contact with students, both in the classroom and in developing and supervising practicum experiences in the field. The cohort system affords students the opportunity to build relationships and professional contacts with their peers as they progress through the program.
The 60-hour extended-study graduate curriculum is highly structured and sequential. In the 39-hour advanced-standing program, students attend two classes in each of the spring and summer sessions before commencing the specialization courses and field education in the fall and spring semesters.
Full-time and extended-study students have two field placements, in different agencies in fall and spring semesters. Advanced-standing students have one field placement in the summer II, fall, and spring semesters of the second year in the program. Students from the two programs--extended study and advanced standing--choose from the two concentrations of study: interpersonal practice or policy, planning, and administration.
Certificate or Specialization Programs open close
In addition to the concentration choices, students may choose to specialize further by enrolling in one or more of the certificate or specialization programs offered by the College of Health and Human Services. Students can persue options in alcohol and drug abuse, holistic healthcare, marriage and family counseling, or school social work. Each of these certificate programs requires a specific field placement that can also satisfy the M.S.W. field education requirements. The classes can also satisfy the elective requirement in the M.S.W. program.
