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Master of Social Work


The MSW program prepares beginning generalist and advanced social work practitioners to practice competently and effectively with urban families, groups, organizations, and communities. The program is committed to the alleviation of human suffering and the improvement of the quality of life for urban residents. Because African Americans make up a substantial percentage of the urban population and are over-represented among urban residents facing unrelenting social and economic problems, the program has a major focus on preparing its graduates to address, systematically and strategically, issues of poverty and socioeconomic disadvantage, interpersonal and community violence, substance abuse, and mental health problems, social injustice, and discrimination.

The MSW Program offers two options:

Dr. Dana Burdnell Wilson , Interim Chairperson

The masters department in the School of Social Work has a mission that complements the university and is consistent with the purposes of social work education by preparing autonomous social work professionals to become leaders in the urban community. The department's emphasis on alleviating poverty and human suffering, oppression, and injustice through multi-level and specialized fields of practice further addresses the hallmarks of the social work profession.