Graduate Studies in Social Work

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Master of Social Work (Online Only)

Dr. Cindy Lee, Director, Associate Professor of Social Work
Dr. Victoria Anyikwa, Associate Professor of Social Work
Courtney Wiest, Director of MSW Field Education, Instructor of Social Work

Saint Leo University's Master of Social Work Program is an innovative full-time online program. Classes are attended via webcam and are presented online. This technology allows for face-to-face interaction in the convenience of the student's home. Given this innovation of a full-time graduate  online program, students should enter the program knowing that they will have to meet for weekly classes via webcam, be available for normal daytime work hours for internships, and adjust their lives to meet the demands and expectations of the Saint Leo University MSW online program.  Please review the entire program curriculum and all MSW Program information on the Saint Leo website to make an informed decision regarding meeting the demands of the program.

The Master of Social Work Program's mission is to prepare graduate students for professional advanced practice in becoming leaders through the provision of social work services that promote social and economic justice, and human rights locally, nationally, and globally. The program further expects graduates to contribute to the empowerment of people/groups that experience discrimination and oppression. Graduates are prepared to be leaders in advanced clinical social work practice serving all areas of the population, in particular the increasing aging population, military personnel, and the workforce population.

The MSW Program is a two-year, 62-credit-hour program. The two-year program starts each fall semester. In order to begin this program, you must apply no later than July 1 of each year. If you miss this deadline, you will have to wait until the next fall to begin the program.

A one-year, 32-credit-hour Advanced Standing program will be offered to those who have completed a BSW degree from a CSWE-accredited program within the last five years. The one-year Advanced Standing program starts each summer. In order to begin the Advanced Standing program, you must apply no later than March 15 of each year. If you miss this deadline, you will have to wait until the next summer to begin this program. A three-year program began in fall 2011. A three-year program consists of two classes per 16 weeks with one semester offering three courses. This program is for those who cannot meet the curriculum course outline of the two-year program. The three-year program starts each fall. In order to begin this program, you must apply no later than July 1 of each year. If you miss this deadline, you will have to wait until the next fall to begin this program.

Attendance at a one-weekend on-campus seminar is required of all students enrolled in the MSW Program.

The first year of the program is the 30-credit-hour foundation year. The second year is the concentration year, and it is 32 credit hours. We offer the Advanced Clinical Practice concentration. The advanced standing students will complete only the advanced clinical practice concentration year  curriculum. In the three-year program, the foundation year is the first year and the first two semesters of the second year. The advanced clinical concentration year begins in the second year and continues through the end of the third year.

All programs are sequential and must be taken according to the curriculum outline for each program.

The Council on Social Work Education’s Commission on Accreditation affirmed Saint Leo University’s MSW Program Candidacy status at its June 2010 meeting. As is the case with all new MSW programs, Saint Leo University’s MSW program must complete a three-year candidacy period prior to receiving full accreditation. Achieving and maintaining Candidacy status indicates that the program is on the path to accreditation and assures our students that they will, according to CSWE policy, be considered to have graduated from an accredited program once the program achieves  accreditation. Full accreditation will be finalized after the first class has graduated. Once full accreditation has been completed, the first classes will be recognized as having fully accredited MSW degrees. Those who enter the program during candidacy can be eligible to take the clinical social work licensure exam. Each student is responsible for checking with his or her state licensing board to see if this program meets the educational criteria required to sit for the licensing exam in his or her state.

Our undergraduate Social Work Program has been continuously accredited since 1983.

Expected Program Outcomes

1. Identify as a professional social worker and conduct oneself accordingly.
2. Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice.
3. Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments.
4. Engage diversity and difference in practice.
5. Advance human rights and social and economic justice.
6. Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research.
7. Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment.
8. Engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to deliver effective social work services.
9. Respond to contexts that shape practice.
10. Engage, assess, intervene, and evaluate with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

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