phd social work programs chicago

Doctoral Program

As a member of the Crown Family School Doctoral Program, you will join a select group of outstanding students and scholars who advance an interdisciplinary approach to social work and social welfare scholarship. The program is designed to deepen students' mastery of both social science theory and research methods so that they are prepared to contribute to scholarly knowledge in innovative ways. The PhD in social work opens doors to university-level research and teaching positions and high-level policy research. In the doctoral program, you have the flexibility of designing your own course of study in tandem with related disciplines across the University of Chicago. What makes Crown Family School different is that our students receive the theoretical training needed to become applied social scientists.

Research Centers

The Crown Family School's Doctoral Program enjoys full access to a rich network of scholars, libraries, institutes, and centers that only a research university such as the University of Chicago can offer. Many of our students work with scholars at the following centers. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list:

• Center for Health Administration Studies
• Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality
• Center for the Study of Race, Politics & Culture
• Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago
• Chicago Center for Youth Violence Prevention
• Pozen Family Center for Human Rights
• UChicago Consortium on School Research

Curriculum         Requirements & Timeline          How to apply

2023-2024 Academic Catalog

Loyola university chicago, 2023-2024 catalog.

The Academic Catalog is the official listing of courses, programs of study, academic policies and degree requirements for Loyola University Chicago. It is published every year in advance of the next academic year.

School and Academic Centers and Institutes

Undergraduate academic standards and regulations, arrupe academic standards and regulations, professional license disclosures, accreditation, social work (phd).

The PhD in Social Work program, established in 1986, extends the tradition of educating students skilled in clinical research, scholarship, and teaching with the Jesuit ideals of service to others and commitment to social justice as its foundation. The doctoral program prepares students for leadership roles in diverse practice and academic arenas.

Our mission is to educate and train doctoral students to be independent scholars who conduct rigorous social work research and deliver effective teaching strategies to future social workers. The Ph.D. Program at Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work builds on its clinical reputation by preparing doctoral students to create and evaluate practice-informed, client-centered interventions and policies that impact practice at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Doctoral students are trained in these practice-informed approaches to understand and respond to the complex social, racial, and economic justice issues that impact the most marginalized and oppressed in our society. The doctoral program reflects the social justice mission of our university by training doctoral students to engage in reflective and intentional study to become scholars who transform themselves, their community, the profession, and their world.

Program Goals

The specific goals of the PhD Program at the School of Social Work at Loyola University Chicago and consistent with national goals as outlined in the Group for Advancement of Doctoral Education are to prepare professionals for:

• Scholarship and research in areas that include but are not limited to theory building, the effectiveness of practice interventions, and program evaluation.
• Academic teaching in the content areas of theory, practice, research, and policy.
• The advancement of the social work profession in a context that is global, and multi-cultural, requiring and addressing global-based human rights violations and inequalities.
• Leadership in the profession’s commitment to remedying the growing and profound inequality with a commitment to policies, practices, and research that remedy those inequalities and their immediate negative effects on vulnerable populations.
• Inter-disciplinary scholarly work through course electives taken outside the SSW (School of Social Work) to enhance student’s learning toward the completion of their dissertation.

The PhD in Social work requires 48 credit hours of coursework, a comprehensive examination, and a dissertation.

Coursework Requirements

The PhD in Social Work courses expand on student's understanding of social work research methodology and teaching. 

The goal of elective courses is to enhance the quality and scholarship of the dissertation. The Director of the Doctoral Program should be consulted to provide advising about potential elective courses.

All PhD students and students in thesis-based Master's degree programs must successfully complete UNIV 370 Responsible Conduct in Research and Scholarship or other approved coursework in responsible conduct of research as part of the degree requirements. It is strongly recommended that students complete this two-day training before beginning the dissertation/thesis stage of the program.

Once a student has completed coursework, they are registered for SOWK 827 Doctoral Study or SOWK 600 Dissertation Supervision to maintain standing in the Graduate School. It is not necessary for students to register for either of these courses during the summer term, but it is imperative that they register for either of these two courses every fall and spring term until graduation.

Suggested Sequence of Courses

After coursework listed below is complete, students begin taking SOWK 827 Doctoral Study  or SOWK 600 Dissertation Supervision until dissertation defense.

The below sequence of courses is meant to be used as a suggested path for completing coursework.  An individual student’s completion of requirements depends on course offerings in a given term as well as the start term for a major or graduate study.  Students should consult their advisor for assistance with course selection.

Comprehensive Examinations

Once students have completed the core curriculum (the second year of course work) they prepare for the Comprehensive Exam which is taken during the fall semester of their third year and prior to developing a dissertation proposal.  The written and oral exam tests knowledge and critical thinking in research and micro/mezzo/macro theories and practices in the context of social justice applications.

Dissertation

Students are encouraged to begin thinking about specific areas for scholarly inquiry early in their course of study and to discuss these interests with full time faculty members who have similar interest and expertise. The educational experiences are planned to facilitate the development of skills of intensive investigation and the application of research techniques to clinical phenomenon, process and/or services. A dissertation proposal chairperson may be selected as early as the second semester of study. The selection of the Chairperson is normally a matter of mutual agreement between the student and the faculty member involved. The development of the dissertation proposal is a continuous process of focus, modification, and refinement until the proposal is developed to the satisfaction of the student and the dissertation chairperson.

The following criteria will be applied by members of the Dissertation Proposal Committee in determining acceptability of the document and in granting final approval:

• Proposals must have as their ultimate objective a contribution to the knowledge of the practice of social work. This objective may be in the advancement of relevant theory, the improvement of practice, the process out outcomes, or synthesis of existing knowledge.
• The formulated research question must be based on informed and extensive knowledge of theory and prior empirical study in the specific area of pursuit.
• Clear concepts and well articulated research questions must be formulated.
• Client systems, other social systems, and social service delivery systems are acceptable foci for subject matter within the context of practice related problems, situations, interactions, processes, and outcomes.
• Replication of other studies is acceptable provided theory is advanced by way of its application to practice. This implies thinking though of alternative explanations of prior findings, the formulation of questions and hypotheses which reflect this thinking and the development of designs which take into account the gaps and/or limitations of prior work.
• Proposals must include an acceptable plan and methodology of inquiry. No single research methodology is favored or prohibited. The proposed study may be exploratory, experimental or historic in nature. Appropriate guidelines for the collection of data and data analysis must be stated.
• Sample size must be appropriate to the nature of the study, the questions asked and methods to be used. Intensive case study (individual, group or family) and single subject approached may be acceptable. However, replication over series of cases may improve the potential for committee approval as a dissertation topic and would provide opportunity for comparative analysis.
• When agency accessibility and cooperation is essential to the study, a plan based on preliminary negotiations when attention to feasibility must be presented.
• Proposals must accord with the policies and procedures of all relevant review boards for the Protection of Human Subjects.

When the Chairperson is satisfied that a report is reaching a stage at which approval from the Committee is likely, the Chairperson will request the Director of the Doctoral Program to schedule a Dissertation Hearing which will be open to the public and advertised to the students and faculty and the School of Social Work.

After the Dissertation Committee has given final approval to the Dissertation, the student must bring the manuscript form into conformance with official specifications and to submit all appropriate abstracts and forms. Students should be aware that they will not be allowed to graduate unless the Graduate School is satisfied that they have met all the requirements related to the submissions of the final document.

Graduate & Professional Standards and Regulations

Students in graduate and professional programs can find their Academic Policies in Graduate and Professional Academic Standards and Regulations under their school. Any additional University Policies supercede school policies.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of the program, doctoral students in the PhD program should be able to demonstrate the following competencies as practice-informed researchers and teachers in the field of social work.

History of the Profession and its Influence on Current Practice, Policy, and Research

• An advanced understanding of the history and current issues of the social work profession, including their relevance for policy, practice, research, and theory development.
• An advanced understanding of the social work profession in a social-economic-political global and multicultural context that addresses human rights violations and inequalities.
• An advanced understanding of the purpose, use, and misuse of theories across the micro, mezzo, and macro continuum of social work.
• Ability to understand the evolution and integration of theory as it applies to practice-informed research and research-informed practice.
• An advanced understanding of how theory influences the shape and design of research, its analysis, and its interpretation.
• Ability to critically analyze theories to contribute to the development and operationalization of theories that best address social problems.
• An understanding of multiple quantitative and qualitative research methodologies.
• Advanced skills in a particular methodology as demonstrated in dissertation work.
• Skills and experience in data analysis and preparation of data for dissemination, such as with conference presentations and manuscript submissions.
• Capabilities as an independent research scholar, able to contribute to a body of knowledge in one’s area of interest.
• Skills in academic teaching such as syllabus development, delivery methods, assignments, organizational methods, and grading criteria in both in-person and online formats.
• Developing a personal pedagogical style and teaching strategies for the classroom to develop and maintain an inclusive classroom tailored to the learning styles of diverse students and their intersectional identities.
• Develop a portfolio of teaching experience across content areas.
• Realize, recognize, and manage personal fallibility, vulnerability, and positionality as the instructor of a course.

Organizations, Leadership, and Social Change

• Theorize and evaluate how macro practice methods are used to advance social change and social justice
• Identify how interdisciplinary theories relate to power, representation, political and civic participation, critical consciousness, and youth development
• Critically analyze when, why, and how progressive theories of social change can create synergy or conflict
• Understand the evolution and development of service delivery within organizations

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The Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice

This is an archived copy of the 2023-2024 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, plesae visit http://catalog.uchicago.edu .

The Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice is dedicated to working toward a more just and humane society through research, teaching, and service to the community. As one of the oldest and most highly regarded graduate schools of social work, the Crown Family School prepares professionals to handle society’s most difficult problems by developing new knowledge, promoting a deeper understanding of the causes and human costs of social inequities, and building bridges between rigorous research and the practice of helping individuals, families, and communities to achieve a better quality of life.

Professional Purpose

In January 2021, the School received a $75 million gift from James and Paula Crown and the Crown family—the largest ever in support of a school of social work. In recognition of this significant gift, the school, long known as the School of Social Service Administration, was renamed the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. The gift will expand financial support to students, accelerate faculty hiring and research initiatives, and deepen our ambitious community-engaged research, especially our work on Chicago’s South Side.

Founded in 1908, the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice is regarded as one of the world’s foremost schools of social work, ranking anywhere from first to third in reputational surveys. Through a combination of research, teaching, and practice, the Crown Family School has shaped the field for more than 100 years.

The School’s first leaders advanced a vision of social work as a real discipline, reimagining and revolutionizing the social work profession and social work education. They created a School that embodied the University’s core mission of civic engagement, striving to enact social reform and make enduring impact through rigorous research. The School conducted the first empirical investigations of social welfare problems and solutions; established the first, and still leading, scholarly journal for the profession ( Social Service Review ); offered the first university-based graduate professional degrees in social work; and established the world’s first PhD program in social work and social welfare (celebrating its centennial in 2020). Today, scholars conduct research on public policies, human service organizations, social programs, and social work practice, studying such topics as child welfare, urban education, criminal justice disparities, homelessness, health care, policing, youth violence prevention, urban politics, low-wage employment, immigration, child and family policy, and substance use and abuse.

In July 2019, the Crown Family School became the academic home of UChicago’s Urban Education Institute (UEI). Through four integrated units, UEI conducts rigorous research (UChicago Consortium), trains educators (UChicago UTEP), operates school campuses (UChicago Charter), and provides research-based learning tools (UChicago Impact). The Crown Family School and UEI share a commitment to integrating research, education, and professional practice, with direct impact on communities, families, and individuals. Their history of significant collaborations includes work in education policy research, engaging students to improve K-12 public schooling, and translating research to practice as evidenced by the To&Through Project, a partnership between the Crown Family School’s Network for College Success and UEI.

The Crown Family School offers two Master's Degree Programs: Social Work, Social Policy, and Social Administration (SW), a two-year full-time program, and Social Sector Leadership and Nonprofit Management (SSL), a one-year full-time program. Both offer an integrated approach that prepare students to be a force of positive change in people's lives, but each program is distinctive. The Master of Arts Program has been accredited by the Council on Social Work Education and its predecessor organizations since 1919. The Crown Family School was reaccredited through June 2028. Our AM degree is equivalent to an MSW, but with a broader educational and experiential foundation that combines direct social work practice with policy development, interdisciplinary research and social science theory. The School also offers a combined AB/AM degree for University of Chicago undergraduate students in The College, Advanced Standing, Evening, and Part-time programs, and joint degree programs (AM/MBA, AM/MDiv, AM/MPP) for the Social Work, Social Policy, and Social Administration AM; a Part-time option for Social Sector Leadership; a dual AM SW/SSL program; a PhD program, and a PhD/AM program.

The Crown Family School also offers a minor,  Inequality, Social Problems, and Change , exclusively for students in the College. The minor, which is open to all majors, examines the underlying causes and consequences of—and innovative solutions to—society’s most pressing social problems. The minor places particular weight on understanding social issues that disproportionately affect marginalized and disadvantaged populations. It also helps students understand the ways in which social markers influence mass incarceration, immigration policy, access to health care, political power and participation, and physical and mental health.

Since 1920, our Doctoral Program has provided training for those interested in pursuing an academic career in social work and social welfare. The Crown Family School’s doctoral graduates are leaders in the field of social work and social welfare scholarship. The program is designed to deepen students' mastery of both social science theory and research methods so that students are prepared to contribute to scholarly knowledge in innovative ways. The program accommodates students who are interested in developing and evaluating practice methods and interventions as well as those interested in understanding social problems and accompanying institutional and political responses. The diverse theoretical approaches of the Crown Family School's faculty make it uniquely positioned to support an interdisciplinary course of study.

In 2020, to honor the legacy of Professor Allison Davis, the Crown Family School and the Division of the Social Sciences announced a call for applications from doctoral students for the 2020-21 Allison Davis Research Awards. Davis studied systems of stratification and segregation between and within racial and ethnic groups in the United States. He documented the effects of social stratification and segregation on family life, language use, educational attainment, and the development of personality and character of children and adolescents in American minority groups. He also aimed at discovering social policies and practices that promised to promote the healthy development of all children and youth. Six awards of up to $10,000 were given to students who are conducting research related to the ones Davis studied throughout his life.

The Crown Family School’s educational program is informed by the values of the social work profession. As such, we prepare professionals who are committed to improving the lives of vulnerable and diverse populations and promoting social and economic justice locally, nationally, and globally. Social work values ensure that service is driven by a humanistic perspective that values difference and asks us to consider the impact of our ideas and our work on the well-being of our clients, of our colleagues, of our agencies, and on society as a whole. Our values require that we treat others with dignity and respect and make human rights and social justice central to our work. As a School, the Crown Family School strives to be an exemplar of social work education, committed to fostering an inclusive, engaging, and rigorous educational experience, welcoming to all.

Our values require that we behave ethically in both our personal and professional lives. Our ethical precepts encompass such matters as treating our clients with dignity, honoring human diversity and differences, never exploiting clients for our own interests, and always acting in the best interest of clients. This is accomplished through human relationships, honoring the value of integrity, and giving graduates the competence to achieve professional goals of the highest quality. Similar precepts govern our relationships with other professionals. We recognize our responsibilities to the organizations for which we work, but we also have the obligation to question policies and practices in the workplace that may not be aligned with the best interests of our clients. We value scientific inquiry and the use of scientific evidence, as well as the development and implementation of evidence-based policy and practice. Finally, our values require continued professional growth and development through lifelong learning.

Program Context

University of chicago.

Since its founding, the University’s mission has been expressed in its motto,  Crescat scientia; vita excolatur , “Let knowledge grow from more to more; and so be human life enriched.” The University is committed to the development of new knowledge, both for its own sake and for the common good. The link of its mission to the mission and purpose of the Crown Family School is clear. As social problems become more complex, interconnected, and sprawling, the Crown Family School is building upon its distinctive interdisciplinary and applied traditions to generate more robust knowledge and to educate the most talented social work leaders, thereby achieving even greater social benefit, both locally and globally.

The Crown Family School’s first dean, Edith Abbott, said in 1920 when it became a full-fledged professional school, that “only in a university, and only in a great university, could a school of social work get the educational facilities that advanced professional students must have if they were to become the efficient public servants of democracy.” Robert Zimmer, the University's 13th president, shares her sentiment and stated during his address during the 487th convocation, “The University of Chicago, from its very inception, has been driven by a singular focus on inquiry…with a firm belief in the value of open, rigorous, and intense inquiry and a common understanding that this must be the defining feature of this university. Everything about the University of Chicago that we recognize as distinctive flows from this commitment.”

The Mies van der Rohe-designed building that is home to the University of Chicago’s Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice was dedicated in honor of Edith Abbott, PhD 1905 on March 17, 2021 and is now named Edith Abbott Hall.

City of Chicago

As a great American city, Chicago and its surroundings provide a superb context for learning in the field. It is one of the nation’s most diverse cities—a kaleidoscope of social and cultural traditions and populations. Chicago experiences all of the significant problems of the modern metropolis: poverty, violence, crime, dysfunctional schools, inadequate health services, drug use, family breakdown, social exclusion, and community disruption. Our students are able to witness, learn from, and contribute to this complex of activity.

Chicago has notably been at the forefront of pioneering movements in social work, community organizing, women’s rights, urban planning and architecture, labor organizing, and African American politics. Building on this tradition, recent initiatives such as the University of Chicago Urban Labs, including its Health Lab; the Network for College Success; the Employment Instability, Family Well-being, and Social Policy Network (EINet); the STI and HIV Intervention Network (SHINE); CalYouth; the Smart Decarceration Project; the Chicago Center for HIV Elimination; and the Chicago Center for Youth Violence Prevention (one of six national Academic Centers of Excellence funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)—all led or co-led by Crown Family School faculty—yield both knowledge for the field at-large and tangible benefit to the citizens of Chicago, as well as offer opportunities to expand the University’s partnership with the City of Chicago. Our ever-deepening partnerships with the neighbors in our community serve to enhance the quality of life and economic development of Chicago’s South Side, as well as the City of Chicago more broadly and beyond to the national and international levels. With this, the Crown Family School plays a very visible role in materially advancing the University’s larger purpose to “enrich human lives.”

To further advance our community commitment, the Crown Family School added an Assistant Dean of Civic Engagement to lead new initiatives and deepen relationships with community partners. These mutually-beneficial partnerships are designed to enrich the academic experiences of our students and expand opportunities for research, while including and responding to the voices and needs of our community neighbors. In fall of 2018, the Crown Family School partnered with other campus entities when the University hosts the annual Clinton Global Initiative University. The summit welcomed more than 1,000 undergraduates and graduate students from around the world, subject matter experts, and other public figures, who addressed urgent social, economic, and environmental issues. At the conclusion of the summit, attendees participated in a “day of action” to support a project in an adjacent neighborhood.

The Crown Family School launched Civic Treks, a new partnership with the Institute of Politics, which gives students an inside look at how Chicago works through discussions and meetings with civic leaders. Treks focus on pressing social issues, including educational inequality, police accountability, community organizing, and urban segregation, and gentrification. With the Booth School of Business, the Crown Family School has launched a partnership that expands social entrepreneurship programming for Crown Family School students. Through co-hosted extracurricular workshops on social entrepreneurship, combined with existing courses, students are working to develop innovative solutions to social, economic, and environmental challenges. Crown Family School students also have the opportunity to compete for venture capital funding to put their ideas into action.

Through another partnership, the Crown Family School and UChicago’s Office of Civic Engagement now is offering a Certificate in Nonprofit Management. This two-year program is geared to early to mid-stage nonprofit professionals working in or focused on Chicago’s South Side. It equips participants with the hands-on skills and theoretical knowledge needed to manage effective organizations. Students take workshops at the Community Programs Accelerator and complete a nonprofit management course taught by a Crown Family School professor.

The Crown Family School has been a chief architect in developing other University urban efforts, including the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation, which draws on the strengths of the University of Chicago, as well as the Crown Family School’s approach in applying multiple lenses to complex social problems. As a hub focused on the possibilities of urbanization, the Institute will accelerate urban scholarship through seed funding for such issues as health care, youth development, and violence reduction research – areas where the Crown Family School plays a major role. And as home to urban scholars trained in a dozen different disciplines, the Crown Family School also is vital to UChicago Urban, a newly launched University commitment that strives to understand urban issues and create positive impact on urban life. 

The Global Context

As social problems become more globally interconnected, the Crown Family School implemented a strategic international social welfare program agenda. Our program integrates cross-national and comparative content into our curriculum, including study-abroad and internship placement opportunities for students, lectures by international scholars visiting Chicago, and scholarly and student exchanges in partnership with peer institutions. One outgrowth of our growing visibility on the global stage is an acceleration of our international student enrollment.

With support from the University’s Provost’s Office, the Crown Family School has expanded its faculty ranks, bringing in faculty with explicit expertise in global and international social welfare. Our first of several faculty hires in this emerging domain joined us in July 2012; since then, the Crown Family School has hired additional faculty members, allowing the School to forge a defining role in the globalization of social welfare concerns and problems. Our faculty examine social welfare policy and practice across Asia, Central/Latin America, the former Soviet Union, and Africa, which also complements work in Europe. The Crown Family School faculty also serve on the Steering Committee of the University’s Center in Delhi, the University’s Beijing Governance Committee, and the international advisory board of the  Indian Journal of Social Work . We are completing our seventh year of a concentration in international social work, which builds out field experiences in India, China, and Hong Kong, and through the University’s Human Rights program. In addition, this year, we welcomed a second cohort of students to the global social policy and practice certificate.

We run an annual, intensive, one-month study-abroad program on urban poverty and community practice for our master’s students in collaboration with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai, India, the oldest established school of social work in that country. This program combines classroom instruction, field experience (pairing the Crown Family School with TISS students in a small set of community placements), seminar discussion, and informal engagement with students and faculty from both schools. The program includes a reciprocal exchange in Chicago, in which TISS students engage in a parallel program to the one in India, strengthening comparative learning across institutions and countries and building meaningful peer relationships. This work has also begun to generate research collaboration among faculty at both institutions.

In China, the Crown Family School has established a relationship with colleagues at Peking University (PKU), the home to mainland China’s oldest and most well-established social work program. We have hosted PKU faculty at Chicago on two separate occasions and have visited PKU to share insights and orientations to social work curriculum and field education as well as to explore common research interests. We are also partnering with PKU as part of the China Collaborative, an effort jointly sponsored by the Council of Social Work Education in the United States, China Association of Social Work Educators in China, and the International Association of Schools of Social Work to foster the advancement of social work education and the professionalization of social work in China during a time of rapid development. In addition to co-organizing with PKU two workshops in Beijing, the Crown Family School hosted, in fall 2014, a delegation of faculty from some of China’s leading social work programs, introducing them to a week-long immersion in the Crown Family School’s robust educational fieldwork-classroom integration.

We established, in 2013, an intensive Institute in China in partnership with Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) that focuses on responses to social exclusion in Hong Kong, mainland China, and the United States. The annual program allows students from the Crown Family School and PolyU to learn from and gain perspectives from each other. The intensive institutes have included local site visits in Hong Kong and Mainland China, where students have examined local social welfare issues facing migrants, asylum seekers, and tenant farmers, including housing shortages, health inequality, and economic development policies. As with the TISS program, this exchange is designed to maximize interaction and learning between students from Hong Kong, China, the U.S., and elsewhere, through a range of formal curricular, field-oriented, and informal interactions, and to leverage the comparative perspective such an exchange might provide to think critically about social work practice and social welfare.

The Crown Family School, with our counterparts at Peking University, co-sponsored and hosted a series of scholarly seminars and strategic planning workshops with support from the University of Chicago’s recently established Beijing Center. Over the past few years, the Crown Family School hosted a series of symposia and workshops, in collaboration with colleagues at Peking University, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and Seoul National University, focused on the challenges of globalization and urbanization. These symposia explored international perspectives on social policy and urban problems, bringing together scholars from China, the United States, India, and South Korea to explore knowledge about, policy responses to, and enduring questions focused on urbanization and globalization across particular substantive themes—education, health, children and youth, and poverty and development—as they are playing out across these four national contexts. The symposia provided a foundation for collaborative research exploring the theme of inequality and social exclusion and how it is generated, reproduced, and responded to cross-nationally in the context of globalization. An edited volume based on this work,  Social Exclusion in Cross-National Perspective: Actors, Actions, and Impacts from Above and Below , is now available from Oxford University Press.   

Further galvanizing our efforts is the Tripartite Collaboration for Advancing Social Work in China, launched in 2016, which establishes an endowed joint social work educational exchange program in partnership with PKU and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Working together, the three universities seek to promote the development of graduate social work education and research in China; facilitate international collaborative graduate education and research among the participating universities; and improve the quality of social work education in China, promoting a rigorously professionalized, effective, and ethical social work workforce and service system. In 2017, the Collaboration launched the  Enduring Foundation  project, an on-the-ground effort to address the needs of migrant families affected by rapid urbanization. This community-based project seeks to promote the positive development and mental health of rural children and adolescents through parenting training workshops, mentoring programs, and community programs. In addition to these developing relationships, the presence of the University of Chicago’s Beijing and Paris Centers and the recent opening of the University’s Centers in Delhi and Hong Kong offer exciting opportunities for cross-national exchanges, seminars, and conferences, including hosting students and scholars from China, India, the United States, and other countries for varying periods of time.

In February 2021, the Crown Family School announced a $25 million gift from the Kiphart Family Foundation that will establish the Susan and Richard Kiphart Center for Global Health and Social Development, led in partnership with the Biological Sciences Division. The Kiphart Center will serve as the University’s gateway in bringing together teams from around the University and partner communities to address social determinants of health and improve infrastructure to promote community health and well-being around the world.

Guiding Principles of the Crown Family School Master’s Curriculum

The Crown Family School's curriculum promotes social justice through its commitment to pluralism, rigorous inquiry, engaged interdisciplinary scholarship, integrative practice, critical thinking, and informed action. These curricular commitments prepare students to understand the complex contexts and power structures that maintain and reproduce inequality and injustice, and to take action to promote individual, social, and structural change.

1. Social Justice

The Crown Family School supports students to analyze the social, historical, political, economic, and organizational factors that reinforce inequity and injustice. Students and faculty consider their own and others’ positionality within those structures, with an appreciation of how identities and affiliations may intersect to compound or mitigate privilege and oppression. We work to increase access, opportunity, and agency in order to dismantle systems of oppression and to help meet the basic needs of diverse individuals, families, and communities with compassion and humaneness.

2. Intellectual Pluralism

Intellectual pluralism is at the heart of the Crown Family School’s teaching. The curriculum reflects the intellectual diversity of our faculty, who come from an array of academic disciplines and professions and represent a variety of political perspectives. This pluralism allows our students and faculty to appreciate multiple ways of knowing, to be critical of what counts as knowledge and research, and to be more inclusive of perspectives that have not traditionally been centered in social work curricula. Our intellectual pluralism also encourages ongoing interrogation of the concept of social justice, which is central to the mission of social work. It also provides us with the tools and flexibility to engage effectively with a broad range of individuals, communities, and social institutions.

3. Engaged Scholarship and Teaching

Crown Family School faculty are committed to promoting social justice and social equality through engaged scholarship and education. Scholarship at the Crown Family School emerges from interactive engagement with practitioners, policy makers, and communities. Crown Family School faculty members actively integrate their research into curricula and teaching. Students are educated to identify and analyze the causes, consequences of, and approaches to ameliorating human suffering and social injustice.

4. Integrative Practice

Our curriculum is built on the assumption that all social workers need to understand and act to mobilize change with and within individuals, families, communities, organizations, public institutions, and political and economic systems. Drawing upon and integrating field and classroom experiences, students will develop skills to practice across multiple levels. In addition, students are trained to use integrative frameworks that move beyond the micro-­macro dichotomy.

5. Critical Thinking

Students learn to effectively question, assess, evaluate, and respond to assumptions, claims, and values, including those from social science and social work research. Students learn to consider a range of perspectives; carefully assess their assumptions, validity, and implications; and become skilled and insightful evaluators of their own thinking. This process includes reflection on how one’s own affiliations and identities may lead to blind spots and biases. Students learn to integrate a critical sensibility into practice so as to make meaningful contributions to the profession, the client base, and to the analysis and resolution of social problems.

6. Theory to Action Students prepare for positions of leadership and to be stewards of change while working in dynamic sociopolitical and fiscal contexts in hundreds of vetted field placements throughout Chicago and its surrounding communities. Chicago has a rich history of social reform, social service innovation, and community organizing that gives context and continuity to students' field experiences. The field model provides opportunity for students to engage in coursework and field work concurrently, challenging students to assess, understand and address the extraordinary range of needs that bring people into contact with nonprofit, public and private agencies. Simultaneously, students learn from the tremendous strength, resilience, and knowledge held by the individuals and communities they serve. Students are encouraged to identify practice questions that lead to analysis, research, and new approaches toward ameliorating social exclusion through community-­engaged fieldwork.

While we strive to create conditions that will largely negate the need for a social work profession, we realize that social service programs and organizations serve vital safety net functions and can aid in societal transformations toward equity and social justice. Crown Family School faculty recognize that individuals, families, and communities are rarely helped by mediocre interventions and programs. Similarly, society is rarely served by poorly conducted research or poorly crafted social policies. Therefore, the Crown Family School strives towards excellence in our practice, teaching, and scholarship.

Goals of the School

Carrying out the Crown Family School’s mission to enrich human life through scholarship, education, and service dedicated toward advancing a more socially just and humane society, we tackle the most intractable and costly of social problems by developing rigorous knowledge and rigorously trained professionals, as well as by leading and informing the field in ways that advance our society and the concerns of those who are most vulnerable. In keeping with its mission, the School’s goals are:

• To educate competent and effective professionals able to apply clinical, analytical, and organizational knowledge and skills to solve social problems and relieve the distress of vulnerable individuals through ethical practice in a rapidly changing global environment. This requires a learning environment that models respect for diversity and lifelong learners who can think critically about the world around them.
• To produce scholarship that enhances our understanding of the nature and sources of problems of individuals, families, communities, and society and of effective means of preventing and intervening with those problems.
• And to use the School’s resources to advance social justice and to serve its immediate community and the field of social welfare through the translation of knowledge into action. We aim to provide leadership both institutionally and through the efforts of individual faculty.

Graduates of the Crown Family School should be able:

• To understand that the foundation of effective service lies in a grasp of the environment. Individual distress occurs in a social context involving the interaction of biological, psychological, familial, economic, community, and cultural factors.
• To understand that theories supported by empirical evidence serve as conceptual frameworks for examining individual distress, organizational functioning, community contexts, and social policies. These theories are drawn from multiple disciplines and become the foundation for a coherent framework from which to respond to human needs and promote social justice.
• To think critically and challenge the underlying assumptions, core values, conceptual frameworks, and evidence on which our professional knowledge is based.
• To engage in competent, ethical, and effective social work, clinical practice, or social administration.
• And to become effective leaders in the fields of social work and social welfare.

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PhD Admissions

Admission requirements.

Attend an Information Session

All applicants must complete a University of Illinois Graduate College Application .

The Graduate College application includes the following items.

• Personal statement
• Illustrative writing
• 3 letters of reference
• Unofficial transcripts from all educational institutions
• In order for your application to be complete you will need to have all official transcripts mailed to: School of Social Work  |  1010 W. Nevada  |  Urbana, IL 61801 or official e-scripts to [email protected]
• International Applicants must provide a TOEFL score.  Minimum TOEFL score is 103.
• International Applicants must provide Proof of Funding Documentation.

Are you interested in applying to the Joint MSW/PhD program?

The Joint MSW/PhD program is available to students that already possess a master’s degree in another discipline but would now like to obtain both a MSW degree and a PhD degree in Social Work.

• To apply to this joint program, please use the Graduate College Application and the guidelines above; you will choose the PhD degree as your program of interest.
• Students applying to Joint MSW/PhD program need to complete the MSW Personal Statement and email to Cheryl Street.

THE APPLICATION DEADLINE IS JANUARY 15th

Msw personal statement.

The Admissions Committee needs to understand as fully as possible the various circumstances in your experiences and education that have particular relevance for your plan for social work education and employment. In order to do that, you will need to provide a personal statement that addresses the questions below.

Instructions:

1. Download these questions and address them in a Word document. The completed Personal Statement should be 4-6 pages in length (double-spaced). You may use headers.

2. The completed Personal Statement must be uploaded to the Graduate College Application under the “program specific questions” section.*

3. This statement will be evaluated by the content as well as quality of writing.

A. Interest in Social Work

1. If you have worked in another profession or field, or if your undergraduate degree is from another discipline, explain why you are choosing social work education at this time.

2. What experiences have contributed to your interest in social work?

3. What area of social work interests you?

4. Discuss your career goals and indicate which personal, vocational, volunteer, or educational experiences have influenced your choice.

5. What do you expect to gain from a professional education?

B. Life Experiences Related to Social Work

1. What are important values in your life? How will these values assist or hinder your work with underrepresented/ vulnerable populations?

2. Discuss your experiences with cultures, groups, or individuals different than your own and share what you learned from these experiences.

3. Describe an experience in which you exercised leadership, responsibility, and/or judgment, and discuss what you learned from that experience.

4. Why do you think you would be a good social worker?

Graduate education is an investment of time and resources. Please discuss in detail the support you plan to utilize (social, financial, familial) that will help you succeed in graduate school.

*The MSW Personal Statement should be used for the Graduate College Application Statement. You do not need to do a separate statement for the Graduate College Application.

Email MSW personal statement to:

Cheryl Street

Director of Graduate Enrollment Management, Graduate Recruiter and Advisor

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Admission Requirements

The program is open to students who have obtained a master’s degree in social work (MSW) and have demonstrated leadership and scholarly potential. A limited number of persons with advanced degrees in other human service professions or in related social sciences are also considered for admission. Persons admitted without the MSW degree are required to complete all requirements for the master’s degree before beginning doctoral courses.

Applicants are considered on an individual basis. Transcripts from all colleges attended must be submitted. In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, applicants must meet the following program requirements:

• Prior Degrees Master’s degree required. Most applicants have a Master of Social Work degree; applicants with advanced training in other human service professions or in related social sciences are also eligible for consideration. Applicants must have satisfactorily passed a course in college-level statistics. 
• Grade Point Average At least 3.00/4.00 in the final 60 semester (90 quarter) hours of undergraduate study and for all work beyond the baccalaureate.
• Tests Required None.
• TOEFL 80, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21 (iBT Test); 60, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Writing 21 (revised Paper-Delivered Test), OR ,
• IELTS 6.5, with subscores of 6.0 for all four subscores, OR ,
• PTE-Academic 54, with subscores of Reading 51, Listening 47, Speaking 53, and Writing 56.
• Letters of Recommendation Three letters of recommendation required, ordinarily including former instructors and work supervisors. Contact the Jane Addams College of Social Work for more information.
• Personal Statement Required. Applicants must submit a statement of their interest in social work, their long range career goals and scholarly interests, and how those fit with the mission of the college.
• Other Requirements Applications must be submitted electronically through the UIC Graduate Admission Upload Process. Admissions are restricted to the fall semester.
• Deadlines Application deadlines for this program are listed on the Graduate College website.

Degree Requirements

In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, students must meet the following program requirements:

• Minimum Semester Hours Required 96 from the baccalaureate.
• Course Work At least 9 semester hours must be earned at UIC in each of two consecutive terms. Students are expected to complete the residence requirement during the first or second year of their study. Students without a Master of Social Work may apply for admission if they have advanced training in other human service professions or in related social sciences. If offered admission, such students must complete all requirements for the Master of Social Work degree before beginning doctoral courses.
• Qualifying Examination Required.
• Preliminary Examination Required.
• Dissertation Required.

Interdepartmental Concentrations

Students earning a graduate degree in this department may complement their courses by enrolling in select concentrations after consulting with their graduate advisor. Interdepartmental concentrations available for this degree include:

• Black Studies
• Gender and Women's Studies
• Latin American and Latino Studies
• Survey Research Methodology
• Violence Studies

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Jane Addams College of Social Work

Phd program plan of study, stages of study heading link copy link.

Doctoral study is divided into three stages. The first stage generally covers work leading to the Master of Social Work. Persons admitted without the Master of Social Work must enroll full-time and complete all requirements for the Master of Social Work degree before beginning doctoral coursework.

Students who already hold the MSW are granted 32 credits toward the PhD and start at the second stage of doctoral work. Requirements include 24 credits of social work doctoral coursework and 18 hours of elective coursework. Successful passing of the written qualifying examinations and the approval of a dissertation proposal complete this stage.

The third stage of doctoral work involves the design, completion and final defense of the dissertation during which the student earns at least 22 SocW 599 Thesis Research credits. Completion of at least 96 total course credits is required for graduation.

Full-Time and Part-Time Study Heading link Copy link

A full-time student enrolls for a minimum of 12 semester hours per semester and completes coursework in two years. Summer registration is not required. The option of beginning the program on a part-time basis is available to holders of the Master of Social Work. Initially, a part-time student may take less than 12 hours of credit per term, usually 6 per term and completes coursework in three years. There are no special course offerings in the College of Social Work for PhD students in the summer session.

Selection of Courses Heading link Copy link

The program is interdisciplinary and has a strong research emphasis. Anthropology, economics, education, sociology, psychology, women’s studies, public health, urban planning, law, industrial and labor relations, political science and business management are among the areas that often are of particular interest to students pursuing advanced education in social work. Students may take courses at both campuses of the University of Illinois system-Chicago and Urbana-Champaign.

The PhD program also participates in the Chicago Metropolitan Exchange , a collaboration between Northwestern University, University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago. The Jane Addams College of Social Work offers a number of required core doctoral courses. Beyond these courses, faculty advisers will help students to select specific courses inside and outside of the college in order to provide a unified plan of study based on the substantive interests and career goals of the students.

PhD course descriptions are on the Current PhD Students page .

Apply to the PhD Program

More about the phd program heading link copy link.

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School of Social Work Ranked 28th Best Graduate School of Social Work

• Five-Year BSW-MSW
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Student Services Newsletter

Read the latest announcements and news!

Susan Grossman's Legacy at Loyola

Advocacy Day in Springfield Provides Hands-On Macro Social Work Experience

Agency of the Year 2024

Loyola Names Patricia A. Findley, DrPH, MSW ’89, LCSW, as Dean of the School of Social Work, effective July 1, 2024.

Loyola university chicago school of social work.

NEW "Knowing Women from Collectivist Cultures" Continuing Education Series

Announcing the 2024 Group Work Spring CEU Series

SSW Awarded Healthcare Foundation of Northern Lake County Grant

$194K Granted to the Certificate in Alcohol and Other Drug Counseling Workforce Expansion Program

Singer Named "Social Work Pioneer" by NASW

Two Social Work Students Named 2023-24 Schweitzer Fellows

Michael Stokely Kelly Summer Institute 2023

SSW Faculty Contribute to Goal of Ending Gender-Based Violence

Best Social Work Schools by U.S. News and World Report

Online Bilingual MSW Offers Flexibility to Passionate Students

LoyolaLinked: School of Social Work

Commencement Profile: Camille Morhun

SSW Names Josselyn Agency Partner of the Year

Online Bilingual MSW Q&A with Professor Francisco Lozornio, Ph.D.

Marcia Spira Scholarship Fund

Alumni Spotlight - E.M. Branch & Associates

SSW to Partner with Skokie School District 69 for School-Based Internships

SSW Sponsors Families Through Loyola Gives

Second Edition of Dr. Michael Dentato's Book Released

LUC Students Step Up to Aid Migrants in Chicago

Ph.D. Student Named Health Policy Research Scholar

Community Immersion Program

SSW Alum Champions Childhood Mental Health with ICMHP

Social Work Students Respond to Highland Park Tragedy

Terry Northcut Named Lucian and Carol Welch Matusak Endowed Professor

How Goutham Menon Impacted Social Work Education: Ideas to Implementation

Loyola Students Earn Awards at WEST Conference

Building Bridges North-South - A Synodal Encounter between Pope Francis and University Students

Introducing the Certificate in Advanced Psychotherapy

Learn about our programs from a student's perspective

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Purdue University Northwest to offer Master of Social Work degree

Purdue University Northwest (PNW) will begin recruiting students for its new Master of Social Work (MSW) program that is expected to enroll its first cohort in fall 2025.

PNW’s MSW program will prepare advanced generalist social workers who are well-qualified to meet social services needs in our metropolitan region.

“Engaging individuals as partners in the helping process is key to social work,” said Anne Gregory , dean of the College of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences at PNW. “If you are someone interested in building and strengthening relationships in ways that promote, maintain and enhance the well-being of individuals, families, organizations and our communities, then the PNW MSW program is for you.”

The MSW curriculum will center on anti-oppressive social work practice that advocates for social, racial, economic and environmental justice for all vulnerable populations. After completion of PNW’s MSW degree, graduates will be eligible for social work licensure (LSW).

MSW graduates earn qualifications to begin careers in sectors such as mental health, government, hospitals, schools, deaddiction centers and advocacy agencies.

The new MSW program will greatly expand PNW's ability to respond to the educational, professional, social service, mental health and advocacy needs of Northwest Indiana and beyond. Mike Johnson, chair of the department of Behavioral Sciences at PNW

“Our stellar social work faculty are very excited to offer the MSW program at PNW,” said Shreya Bhandari , professor of Social Work and director of PNW’s MSW program. “We are currently working on gaining initial accreditation with the Council on Social Work Education, the body that accredits social work programs across the nation.”

“The new MSW program will greatly expand PNW’s ability to respond to the educational, professional, social service, mental health and advocacy needs of Northwest Indiana and beyond,” said Mike Johnson , chair of the department of Behavioral Sciences at PNW.

MSW students at PNW will be able to leverage synergistic connections between other related graduate programs at the university, including PNW’s Counseling, Couple and Family Therapy, and Psychology programs. PNW has offered a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work program since 2016 that is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.

To learn more about PNW’s MSW program, visit pnw.edu/msw . Applications will be accepted through January 15, 2025. More information about graduate studies at PNW is also available at pnw.edu/graduate-studies .

Daywatch: Depression in infancy

Good morning, Chicago.

Did you know babies can get depressed?

Andria Goss, associate vice president of clinical and community services at the Erikson Institute, a graduate school for social work, early childhood education and child development programs, said people are astonished when they learn and appreciate that fact.

“Babies experience everything as a bodily feeling: If a parent is stressed, depressed and/or anxious, the baby is picking up on that,” she said. “Imagine a mom who has her own stresses and sometimes she’s able to focus on her baby and other times there’s an interaction, she’s angry, or not attuned to the baby, not doing the stuff that engages the baby. They have this on-off, on-off repeatedly. The baby doesn’t know what to do with that because the baby is working hard to get smiles, elicit cooing and it’s not happening. At a certain point, with all those failed attempts, the baby stops trying … and withdraws.”

Goss said that although that’s an extreme example, it illustrates how babies pick up stressors from their environment and don’t know what to do with them. When such interactions become chronic, that can create challenges in the parent-child relationship.

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Darcel Rockett .

Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.

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More Illinois health care facilities would have to report patient abuse, under new bill

Doctors’ offices and clinics affiliated with hospitals would have to report allegations of patient abuse to the state health department under a measure introduced by Illinois lawmakers this week — legislation that comes about three months after a Chicago Tribune investigation examined the issue.

US reaches a new clean energy milestone, with 5 million solar projects installed

The nation now has more than 5 million solar installations, most of them on residential rooftops, the Solar Energy Industries Association announced on Thursday.

The announcement comes just eight years after the nation reached 1 million installations, SEIA said in a news release.

Vice President Kamala Harris takes optimistic tone at fundraising event in Glencoe

A week after President Joe Biden’s  latest campaign stop in Chicago , Vice President Kamala Harris appeared at a fundraiser in Glencoe, where she offered a message of hope for the Democratic ticket in November despite some polls that indicate otherwise.

Protesters plan Gaza-focused DNC march, won’t apply for Chicago permit

The organizers of many of Chicago’s biggest pro-Palestinian rallies are planning a march during this summer’s Democratic National Convention — and vowed Thursday not to apply for a city protest permit.

Former city staffer removed from do-not-hire list by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration, appeals from two other Lightfoot holdovers remain pending

Josué Ortiz, who was the director of digital strategy in the mayor’s press office, was notified last month that his petition to get off the city’s “Ineligible for Rehire” list was approved. Ortiz was fired and hit with the no-hire status after he and others on his team complained about treatment by high-ranking Johnson officials.

But the two others slapped with the city government employment ban — Dora Meza and Azhley Rodriguez — confirmed to the Tribune that their appeals remained pending as of this week.

Illinois legislature approves measure to amend state biometric privacy law

Illinois’ biometric privacy law, which the state legislature passed in 2008, requires companies to gain consent before they collect and store biometric information such as fingerprints or retina scans. It’s considered the strictest such law in the country, in part because it allows individuals to sue over alleged violations. Companies that have been caught in the law’s crosshairs include Facebook, which paid out a $650 million settlement over its facial tagging feature, and Google, which settled a case over its facial grouping tool on Google Photos for $100 million.

White Sox takeaways as they head to Yankee Stadium, including who might be their All-Star representative

Only three years ago, a Chicago White Sox-New York Yankees affair merited national TV exposure in the first Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, Iowa.

But that 2021 game, made famous by  Tim Anderson’s walk-off home run  into the cornfield, is a distant memory for the Sox, who enter this weekend’s series in New York at the start of another long rebuild.

• Chicago baseball report: Jose Cuas resets for Cubs, while Paul Skenes puts the ‘fast’ in fastball

Bears Q&A: How does Las Vegas view the over/under win total? What’s the game of the year on the schedule?

The Chicago Bears now know their 2024 schedule, and thoughts quickly turned toward what kind of record they might end up with.

Early odds show Las Vegas sees the Bears as right around a .500 team, and the Tribune’s Brad Biggs begins his weekly Bears mailbag with one analyst’s thoughts on that figure.

10 movies for summer: Sequels and reboots, but fingers crossed for a surprise

Like many recent summer movie seasons, but more so, sequels, reboots and spinoffs rule our screen world, writes Tribune critic Michael Phillips . Summer 2024 is the summer of colons or numbers in titles: “Inside Out 2.” The fourth “Bad Boys” movie, “Bad Boys: Ride or Die.” The fourth “Despicable Me.” The seventh “Alien,” not counting the Alien vs. Predator outings.

‘The Big Cigar’ review: When a Black Panther founder fled to Cuba with the help of a Hollywood producer

Developed by Jim Hecht (and based on a 2012 article by Joshuah Bearman), the series makes its intentions clear at the outset, with the voice of Newton, played by André Holland, offering a disclaimer: “The story I’m about to tell you is true. At least, mostly true. Or at least how I remember it. But it is coming through the lens of Hollywood, so let’s see how much of my story they’re really willing to show.” Tribune critic Nina Metz has this review.

What to do in Chicago: ‘Mortified Live,’ Holly Humberstone and open season for festivals

Also this weekend: Authors speak at the Writers Festival, CHIRP Music Film Fest screenings and Megan Thee Stallion concerts.

©2024 Chicago Tribune. Visit chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Please visit our commencement page to watch the 2024 ceremony and view the Class of 2024 Name Book

Fall 2024 On-Campus MSW Application FINAL Deadline: July 16, 2024

USC Master of Social Work

Be an agent of change.  .

Society is changing more rapidly than ever, creating dynamic and complex challenges that require us to develop integrative practice methods to empower students and the field. Our curriculum revolves around experiential, practice and competency-based learning, and culturally-responsive training all informed by evidence and best practices. From the classroom to the field, the USC-SDP MSW experience will stretch, grow and broaden our students' perspective and practice — positioning our graduates to create lasting social change.

Request Information

So, are you ready to reimagine the future? 

Social workers make a real difference, driving change at a policy level, within an organization, or by working with individuals one-on-one. 

USC’s Master of Social Work will empower you to pursue bold, compassionate solutions to complex social challenges. Our program will prepare you to enter the workforce and immediately engage with the issues that matter most to you.  

Our MSW Program 

For decades, as a faculty, we have delivered bold, principled, and forward-thinking training to social workers. We will build upon our history and our identity to advance our field. We are innovators and change-makers. Our MSW is designed to empower USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck graduates to see and understand their clients through an integrative, nuanced, and dynamic lens. Culturally-responsive and evidence-informed practice has always been the core focus.

Our Integrative Social Work specialization is created for people like you who cannot wait to change the world. Our MSW provides an Advanced Generalist education with a specialization in Integrative Social Work practice. Integrative Social Work is the intentional use of a person in environment perspective that offers a comprehensive understanding of a client across all practice domains to implement the most effective intervention. It brings historical, cultural, and political perspectives and a critical understanding of difference and oppression to bear in understanding the person and environment, social problems, interventions, and possibilities for social justice-oriented action.

MSW coursework's designed to be accessible and customizable to meet students with varied interests and needs. Students may take courses full-time or part-time, fully in-person on campus in LA or completely online. Hybrid options (first year in person in LA or San Diego) and second-year online also are available. 

Foundational courses in assessment and clinical practice, theory, research, social policy, self-care and wellness, professional values, and ethics in complex decision-making. Specialized courses can be customized along tracks such as courses focused on military, adult health and wellness, children, youth and families, and schools and military. Students may also choose not to identify a track and take courses across tracks. Hands-on practicum education allows students to apply skills learned in class. Students may also choose to enhance their degree with additional specialized education with University certificates.  Certificates are offered within the School of Social Work and across programs at the University. 

This intensive program includes 1,200 hours of hands-on practicum education to practice and apply the skills you learn in class. After you complete this program, you will be prepared to find meaningful work that makes a difference.

Our Curriculum

Licensure and Credentialing

The Master of Social Work (MSW) program at USC is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), and designed to help meet the eligibility requirements for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) and Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) examination to obtain licensure. The MSW program provides a pathway to licensure, but does not satisfy all requirements for licensure upon completion of the program.

Requirements for licensure, including levels of licensure, vary by state and students should review the USC Licensure and Certifications site for state-specific MSW course requirements and restrictions. Students interested in pursuing licensure should also contact the licensing board for the state in which they hope to become licensed to determine specific requirements for licensure, including any requirements that are beyond the scope of the MSW program.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you care about changing the world for the better, a degree in social work will give you the skills and experience to make a real difference in the lives of individuals and society as a whole.   The MSW prepares you for a wide variety of career paths — in public, private and nonprofit sectors — and the flexibility and expertise to move from one setting, population and organization to another with ease.

The MSW was designed to be accessible and flexible in order to meet the needs of students who want a full-time program or those who are simultaneously working or have other responsibilities and are looking for more of a part-time option. In-person, online or hybrid (first-year in-person and second-year online) exist in full-time and part-time options.

Accelerated 12 Months

Students who previously earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from an accredited university may be eligible to complete their MSW in 12 months. Perfect for career-changers who want to go back to school full-time to get back in the workforce as quickly as possible.

Full-Time 24 Months

Perfect for career changers or recent graduates that have some exposure to social work practice and have the time to engage in an immersive educational program in person or online.

Part-Time 28 Months

Perfect for working professionals who need to work around a day job while pursuing their master’s degree.

Online Variable

Perfect for students who live further away or cannot get to campus regularly. 

We partner with four other prestigious professional schools at USC, in addition to Hebrew Union College, to offer eight options for a concurrent degree. While obtaining your MSW, you can earn one of the following:

• Juris Doctor (JD)
• Master of Business Administration (MBA)
• MS in Gerontology  (MSG)
• MA in Jewish Nonprofit Management  (MAJNM)
• Master of Urban Planning (MUP)
• Master of Public Administration (MPA)
• Master of Public Health (MPH)
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Social Work

A dual degree option requires separate admission to each program.

We require all new students to attend orientation sessions that introduce you to campus resources, support services, curriculum, financial aid, field instruction and technology. An international student adviser also is available to help foreign students become oriented to the school.

Yes. Graduate student housing is offered to graduate students in LA at the University Park Campus. USC Housing Services offers a wide variety of housing options for graduate students, from residence halls to apartments. Most MSW students do not live in university housing since the Los Angeles area has numerous interesting communities in which to live, many within a reasonable commuting distance from USC. If you decide to apply for housing, we recommend that you meet the Priority Deadline for the MSW program so that you can receive your admission decision as early as possible — housing applications may only be submitted once you have been admitted to USC.

Practicum Education

Our students are energized by the vibrant urban classroom of Los Angeles , a global city on the frontlines of social change. We have partnerships with some of the largest providers of social services in the country, so there is no better place to get the practicum training that will prepare you for the real challenges of the work. Many of our internships lead to permanent job placements post-graduation. 

Practicum Education

The University of Southern California consistently ranks among the nation's top accredited social work graduate programs in U.S. News & World Report . Our cutting edge research makes us a go-to program for students interested in:

Aging Artificial Intelligence     Behavioral and Mental Health Child Welfare Crisis and Disaster Recovery    Homelessness    

Human Trafficking Substance Use Social Determinants of Health Social Response to Climate Change Trauma-Informed Care Veterans and Military Families

MSW students have the option to receive specialized training along a track . Tracks are reflective of common areas of interest and may change in order to adapt to changing needs.

Adult Mental Health & Wellness

Children, Youth and Families

Social Change and Innovation

School and Educational Settings

Military Populations and Settings

How can I learn more about the MSW?

Attend an Info Session

Meet With a Student Ambassador

Paying for Graduate School

Request More Info

MSW Formats

Customize your MSW degree based on your timeline, interests and preferred method of delivery.

12-36 Months 

Study social work in the heart of Los Angeles and learn face-to-face with your peers and renowned faculty.

• 1-, 2- and 3-Year courses of study
• Full- and part-time options
• Day and evening classes
• Classes on-campus in Los Angeles
• Advanced Standing option available

Earn your MSW while you work or tend to other responsibilities with our flexible hybrid formats.

• 2-, 2.5- and 3-Year courses of study
• Full- and part-time hybrid options
• Day, evening and weekend classes
• Up to 12 synchronous units online with remaining classes on-campus in Los Angeles or San Diego
• Part-time option  only available in LA

18-24 Months 

Engage with our integrative social work curriculum wherever you are with the online MSW. 

• 1.5- and 2-Year courses of study
• Synchronous classes can be taken anywhere

What careers can I have with an MSW?

An MSW from Suzanne Dwork-Peck School of Social Work will provide you with many ways to change the world. You can choose the path that you want to take, whether that's working with specific groups of people or affecting policy changes that improve our society for everyone. 

Our dynamic, supportive academic environment makes space for you to think deeply, act courageously and explore new ways to create meaningful change. 

How to Apply     Apply Now