M.S.W. Specializations
Master of Social Work
The M.S.W. program prepares social workers for leadership in the profession and for advanced social work practice. Its goals are:
- To prepare students to shape the profession’s future by providing education in family-based, community-based, and culturally competent practice approaches using the person in environment framework; and
- To prepare competent professionals for autonomous practice and leadership within the professional community that includes advanced interventions at multiple system levels, supervision, program development, program administration, training, evaluation of practice, dissemination of new models of practice, and policy development.
The School offers the MSW Program at four sites across the state: Iowa City, Quad Cities, Des Moines, and Sioux City. Each site provides a structured sequence of courses as well as opportunities for individualized plans of study based on an adult learning model. All sites have opportunities to access the wealth of resources of a Research University. The MSW Program prepares social workers for advanced social work practice and leadership in the profession in one of two concentrations: Family-Centered Practice and Integrated Practice. While providing all students with the skills for competent practice using an advanced generalist model, both concentrations allow students to develop advanced skills to work with individuals of all ages, families, groups, organizations and communities and advocate for social change. Students are provided the opportunity to develop the competencies necessary for leadership in addressing the unique context of social work practice in the state of Iowa that includes a large and increasing, proportion of elders, recent immigrants to rural communities, and rural poverty.
The MSW Program develops advanced skills in applying the values and ethics of the social work profession to complex ethical issues. The program has a strong liberal arts focus and the research mission of the University ensures that students learn about faculty research, critical thinking, analytic and scientific ways of thinking, and practice and program evaluation.
The MSW program's fundamental goals are met through a set of foundation requirements in which students demonstrate competencies and practice behaviors identified by the Council on Social Work Education. Upon completion of the foundation requirements, students elect courses that will enhance their individual practice goals and prepare them for advanced courses and field placement.
The Family Centered and Integrated Practice concentrations, while emphasizing skill development at different levels of intervention, are both generalist in their overall approach. This broad approach is compatible with the eco-systemic perspective of the social work profession and is also important given that the School is located in a predominantly rural state.
Many of our graduates work in small-to-medium size organizations that do not have highly specialized practices. Therefore the School must prepare social workers to be flexible in their roles and able to perform a wide range of tasks at various system levels in order to serve their communities.
Family Centered Practice
The Family Centered Practice concentration prepares students for direct services to individuals and families (sensitivity to a variety of family structures is emphasized.) The goals are to increase competence of individuals, to support family functioning, and to decrease the need for various types of institutionalization.
Graduates of this concentration work in mental health, traditional family service as well as the intensive family based service, and child welfare agencies.
Integrated Practice
The Integrated Practice Concentration teaches a model of practice which aims to meet the multiple needs of individuals and families through culturally sensitive assessment, planning, intervention, and evaluation in multiple systems. These skills are needed for a broad set of interventions that are used by social workers doing family-centered, case management, and community practice. The Integrated Practice curriculum is designed for students who will work in settings where advanced generalist interventions are necessary, such as community-based and family-based agencies, rural settings, and large complex organizations (hospitals, schools, and correctional facilities). In these settings, social workers function as team members and team leaders, and must often coordinate activities across different departments and agencies.
The integrated concentration teaches planning and intervention skills designed to directly change larger systems through needs assessment research, planning and mobilizing resources (including grant writing), intervening in multiple systems using parallel processes (including team and network building) and designing and managing computerized information systems for the purpose of client assessment and program evaluation. These skills are particularly useful for students who will serve in the roles of case manager, service coordinator, supervisor, and program planner and developer.
Individualized Plans
A structured-sequenced program is utilized for planning an individualized program for each student. The program requires 48 semester hours for students who have earned the BA or BSW from a Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accredited program. Those with BA degrees in other disciplines earn the MSW by completing 60 semester hours.
Students from diverse academic and experiential backgrounds are needed in our profession–we welcome your inquiries.
Faculty advisors mentor students regarding career goals and selection of electives. Full and part-time options are available. It is possible to be employed while taking courses, particularly on the part-time schedule. Since a very important component of the curriculum is the practicum experience, a flexible work schedule during those semesters is necessary.
While not required, many students choose to develop an area of specialized knowledge while completing our advanced generalist curriculum. Students can take a set of carefully planned electives designed to develop competencies that prepare them for a particular area of social work practice. Up to 12 hours of electives can be scheduled in one or more areas. The fields of practice are:
- Children and Families
- Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice
- Gerontology
- Health and Mental Health
- Marriage and Family
- School Social Work
- Substance Abuse
- End of Life Care
- Child Welfare
Field Learning
One mechanism for individualizing a student’s program is the preparation for and selection of the practicum. Field education is a central component of any social work program. In Iowa we are privileged to have a network of excellent practitioners who provide critical practicum instruction and supervision for the benefit of the next generation of professional social workers. In addition, alumni serve as committee members and adjunct faculty–thus providing essential practitioner input to the curriculum and future School programs.
Joint Degree Programs
Social Work and Law
To pursue joint degrees under the Joint Degree Program, students must apply to and be accepted to both the College of Law and the School of Social Work through the Graduate College. Students have the option of seeking admission to the Joint Degree Program after matriculation at the College of Law by applying to the graduate college of interest during the first year of law school. Similarly, students who have already begun graduate work at The University of Iowa may apply to the College of Law and seek admission to the Joint Degree Program.
http://www.law.uiowa.edu/
Social Work and Urban & Regional Planning
Students in the joint-degree program in social work obtain the M.S.W. (master of social work) and the M.A. in planning. These students generally pursue a human-services-planning concentration. Graduates of this joint program find careers as human-services planners for local planning agencies, non-profit social service agencies, and state governments. The combined degree improves the graduate's qualifications for positions of responsibility in human services or social-services planning and administration. The M.S.W. degree requires 60 hours. The joint-degree option in planning and social work reduces the total semester-hour requirement for both degrees from 110 to 83-85. Students can complete the course work in 3 years by taking 11-13 hours in summer school and averaging 12 hours per semester during the academic year. Students in the joint M.S.W. program may take the Social Work Practicum in place of the Field Problems core requirements.
www.urban.uiowa.edu
