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School of Social Work

Faculty

Maria Brown, Kenneth N. Corvo, Kendra DeLoach McCutcheon, Jennifer Genovese, Ryan Heath, Eric Kingson, Kenneth Marfilius, Tracey Musarra Marchese, Nancy R. Mudrick, Fei Pei, Stephanie Pilkay, Carrie Jefferson Smith, Yvonne Smith, Matthew Spitzmueller, Xiafei Wang

Staff

Graduate

The School of Social Work educates practitioners grounded in social work values and evidence-informed practice to foster strengths and to respond to human service needs of local, state, national and global communities. We accomplish this in collaboration with the practice community through teaching, research, scholarship, and service aimed at achieving social and economic justice in a diverse society.

The school offers two graduate programs leading to the Social Work, MSW  degree. The first is a two-year M.S.W. program. The second is an advanced standing program, open only to students who hold a bachelor’s degree in social work from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. Both graduate programs prepare students for advanced social work practice and leadership. The graduate program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.

The master’s degree in Social Work is available in two formats, a traditional on-campus program as a full-time or part-time graduate study. A 60 credit, 36 months part-time online program is available starting Summer 2021 (for online traditional MSW students) and a 36 credit, 24 months, part-time online program starting Fall 2021 (for both online traditional and Advanced Standing MSW students). Rolling admission is for those applicants who apply for the online MSW program.

Additional information regarding the online Master of Social Work program can be found at https://onlinegrad.syracuse.edu/social-work/.

The social work program is based on the concept of ecological systems. This concept maintains that the fundamental focus of social work practice is on the transactions of people and their environments and the constant state of reciprocity in which each shapes the other. Social work intervention aims to promote the progressive forces and minimize the regressive forces in those transactions.

More than 200 social welfare and health agencies in Central New York provide graduate field instruction opportunities. Graduate students in the two-year degree program must complete 1000 hours of field experience concurrent with their academic work, thereby integrating classroom and field learning.

Dual M.S.W./M.A. program in Social Work and Marriage and Family Therapy  

Please note that effective Fall 2018, students will initially apply to either the MSW or MA program only, with admission to the Dual MSW/MA program at the end of year one via an internal admission process.

The interdisciplinary program allows students to complete degrees in two distinct professions, the Master of Social Work (MSW) and the Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) in three years. The dual degree exposes students to the philosophical and legal distinctions of both degrees, creates a unique opportunity for MSW students to deepen their clinical training with couples and families, and introduces MFT students to a broader range of social work and social welfare course offerings, as well as the art of clinical diagnosis which is in the scope of practice of the Social Work profession.

The dual degree is offered as both a 96-credit, three -year program (for students not admitted to the Advanced Standing MSW program), or a 78-credit two-year program (for students admitted to the MSW Advanced Standing program), both of which must be pursued fulltime.

The program extends the advanced clinical preparation of the MSW to include an additional year of intensive MFT clinical supervision. It combines the MSW ability to work with systems of all sizes with the more singular focus on families by MFT.

Social Work, JD/MS  

The Juris Doctor/MSW is a joint degree which may be conferred by the College of Law and the Syracuse University Department of Social Work. Students enrolled in these programs may obtain their J.D. and M.S.W. in substantially less time than would be necessary if both programs were separately pursued. The MSW can be completed in conjunction with the H.D. in 3 years of full-time study along with summer coursework and field experience. Because a joint degree program involves reciprocal application of electives, students are not awarded either degree until the requirements for both degrees are completed.

Admission

Students in the two-year M.S.W. program begin full-time study only in the fall semester. Advanced standing students begin study in the second summer session. The awarding of the degree requires a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 in all courses required for the degree. All degree requirements must have been completed within seven years prior to the date of the degree award.

Matriculated students who voluntarily interrupt graduate study for more than one academic year and wish to be re-admitted will be evaluated by the MSW Program and Field Office directors. Required reevaluation criteria vary according to individual circumstances. The re-admission process is initiated by a letter to the director of the MSW program in the School of Social Work, outlining circumstances of interruption and plans for completion of graduate study.

Transfer Credit

Graduate credit earned in another accredited graduate school and carrying a grade of B or higher may be transferred toward the M.S.W. degree, so long as it forms an integral part of the degree program and is approved by the School of Social Work. A maximum of 12 credits from other graduate study may be transferred toward the 60-credit M.S.W. degree requirement. Academic credit is not given for life experience or previous work experience. Advanced standing M.S.W. students may not transfer credits from another college or university.

Decisions regarding credit transfer are made independent of admissions decisions. Matriculation as a transfer student in the School of Social Work requires completion of the formal admissions process.

Part-Time Study

Students unable to enroll full time may complete the program through part-time study. Several options are available. Evening, daytime, and summer courses are offered. Several courses may also be available in one week intensive “minimester” formats.

Financial Aid

Limited departmental financial aid is available. All financial aid decisions are made independent of and subsequent to decisions on admission.

Programs

• Social Work, Advanced Standing Program, MSW
• Social Work, MSW

• Social Work and Marriage and Family Therapy Dual Degree, MA/MSW
• Social Work, JD/MS

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