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The Ethelyn R. Strong School of Social Work

The Master of Social Work degree program is based on the assumption that social workers should operate from a common base of knowledge, philosophy, values, and skills. The program is designed to transmit these basic components through a solid foundation of core and concentration courses. Opportunities are provided for enlarging the breadth and depth of knowledge and skills in a range of substantive areas. The School of Social Work subscribes to an ecological/social systems approach which enables the practitioner to provide services based on client system needs using differential models of practice.

The program is built upon a humanistic, democratic philosophy which emphasizes the values of social justice and responsibility, and respect for human rights and dignity. Sensitivity to the unique experiences of African-Americans and other diverse groups, and a commitment to an egalitarian social order are integral features of the curriculum.

The overriding objective of the Master of Social Work Program is the preparation of students for advanced-level professional practice and leadership roles in the social welfare field, including direct service, supervision, administration, program planning, policy analysis, and resource development. A systematic, structured curriculum has been designed to facilitate a synthesis of theory and practice, and to inculcate usable knowledge and skills. Course content includes areas in Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Research Methods, Social Work Practice Methods, Social Welfare Policy, Social and Economic Justice, Diversity and Empowerment, in conjunction with a lengthy period of intensive field instruction. Through its graduate program, the School of Social Work strives to produce capable, well-informed graduates who may do the following:

• Achieve a level of analytical, interactional, and technological competence necessary for responsible and effective professional practice.
• Contribute to the advancement and refinement of theoretically sound, empirically tested, practice-relevant knowledge, and to the improvement of standards of professional research, education, and practice.
• Meet the needs, responsibilities, and manpower requirements of agencies and programs engaged in providing preventive, remedial, developmental, and rehabilitative services in Hampton Roads, across the Commonwealth of Virginia, and in other areas in and out of the country.
• Pursue advanced training in a doctoral program in social work or other specialized post-master’s training.

The Master’s program permits students to pursue a program of study from:

Clinical Concentration
This concentration provides the knowledge and skills needed for advanced clinical social work practice in agencies providing direct services to various client populations. Knowledge and skills derived through this concentration prepare the practitioner to competently and effectively intervene with individuals, families, and small groups in a number of organizational settings, such as child and family services, health, mental health, school social work and aging. In the interest of in-depth training, students are given an opportunity to become thoroughly familiar with a range of theories and practice approaches used with individuals, groups, and families.