Our DSW curriculum is anchored in project-based, case-based, and transformative learning approaches with the goal of engaging students in critical and innovative thinking. Through the lens of human rights and social justice, you will learn to develop and enact policies that advance social, economic, and environmental justice for vulnerable populations.
This online, synchronous program consists of 48-credits that are taken over three years at six credits per semester. Each year, you will attend a week-long summer residency on campus as well as an online weekend residency in January, where you will bond with your cohort and professors, learn about campus resources, and enjoy a keynote presentation from an international expert.
In your first year of study, you will build a strong conceptual foundation of social work topics such as social work history, theories of social work, social work systems and dynamics, and leadership in the field.
The second year of the program focuses on tools you’ll need to be successful in creating sustainable change, including data analysis, research methods, and organization and management. Here, you will also choose whether to pursue the policy or education track for the remainder of the program based on your professional goals. At the end of year two, you will have presented a leadership portfolio that includes a literature review, case study manuscript, and proposal for your final capstone project.
In your final year of study, you will work with a faculty mentor to prepare and implement your human rights leadership project. You will have opportunities throughout the program to diversify your skillset with advanced electives in areas such as education, nursing, history and anthropology, geography, and political science.
A Diverse Curriculum
50% of all required readings, bibliographies, and cited sources include diverse authors from the U.S. and across the globe, with particular emphasis on scholarship from the Global South.