M.S.W. - Master of Social Work

MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK PROGRAM MISSION STATEMENT

Since 1985 the Bachelor of Social Work Program has been fully committed to the essential beliefs and values representative of Limestone College as a liberal arts institution. This heritage is the foundation for the Master of Social Work (MSW) degree program at Limestone College. This program is currently under candidacy with the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). When the program completes the developmental work required by CSWE the program will be accredited. Course work for accepted students will begin in the fall of 2020. The MSW program will have as a specialization, Advanced Generalist Practice in Mental Health. Students are required to develop competency in areas specific to the nine core competencies sited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Students are expected to excel in written and oral presentation, to demonstrate competency in the development of professional and ethical practice, to engage in effective practice with differences and diversity, and to promote social and economic justice through client advocacy. Further, the program’s mission is to prepare students who can demonstrate, through practice, knowledge of the professional self, appropriate social work values, ethics, and interpersonal skills to improve quality of life and affect social change. These practice skills and competencies will be applied especially in practice with those members of society identified as marginalized, at risk, or forgotten. Lastly, the program promotes and supports the organizational belief and value of intellectual maturity, respect for the individual’s culture and professional self-awareness.

THE GOALS OF THE SOCIAL WORK PROGRAM ARE:

1. To prepare students with a (BSW) Degree in Social Work from a CSWE accredited college or university program, for employment as an advanced generalist social worker. The mission of the MSW Program is to educate students to become competent advanced practice social workers. Further, to train students to utilize critical thinking skills to assess the influence of multiple and interlocking personal, structural, and societal systems of power on marginalized populations while in the process of treatment planning. The program incorporates the use of advanced social work theories and methodologies for culturally relevant assessment, intervention, and evaluation at multiple levels of complexity. Theories are examined across these systems and tested in field placement in order to promote human and social wellbeing. The use of an empowerment practice affirms the strengths and capabilities of people, values human diversity, and promotes social justice.

2. To provide access to graduate-level social work education to diverse individuals and groups of students. Especially for those who for economic, social, or geographical reasons would not be able to pursue a social work education elsewhere and through this process promote cultural diversity.

3. To prepare students who are aware of their responsibility to continue their professional growth and development by providing up-to-date content about social work practice with client systems of various sizes and types. The program seeks to provide the most current content regarding the social contexts of practice, the changing nature of those contexts, the behavior of organizations, and the dynamics of change at all environmental levels.

4. To integrate throughout the curriculum the values and ethics that guide professional social workers in their practice, with special emphasis on social and economic justice. Further, the program employs a global overview of the use of best practices in various practice environments.