Welcome to the Missouri State University’s Master of Social Work program website! We are delighted in your interest in a Master of Social Work (MSW) and in possibly pursuing it at our institution.
Consistent with the public affairs mission of the Missouri State University, the Master's Social Work MSW) program's mission is to prepare graduate students for professional advanced practice. With a concentration in Family Health, the program's vision is that its gradates become ethical leaders in the social services, with a commitment to community improvement and a respect for the diversity of its members.
Career Options with an MSW:
An MSW is one of the most versatile graduate degrees in the professional helping field and provides many career paths after graduation. Masters-level social workers, in particular, are prepared to become leaders and independent practitioners in their communities in numerous ways. Typically, graduates of our program eventually take on roles as independent providers, developers or managers of social work and/or human services in a variety of settings. Our coursework and field training also prepares MSWs for eventual licensure as clinical social workers in their respective states.
Masters-level social workers find themselves in working almost any setting within the professional helping field. Some of these include:
- Community Mental Health
- International Social Work
- Mental Health Therapy/Clinical Social Work
- Development Disabilities
- Military Social Work
- Parent Education/ Family Planning
- Crisis Intervention
- School Alternative Programs
- Hospital/Medical Social Work
- Public Welfare or Housing Assistance
- Hospice and Palliative Care
- Home Services
- Domestic or Family Violence
- Adoptive Family Assessment and Placement
- Child Abuse & Neglect
- Homeless Family Assistance
- Gerontology or Elderly Services
- Criminal Justice
- Advocacy, Consulting and Planning Services
MSWs realize exciting and rewarding careers as they help real people with real problems. One aspect that sets social workers apart from other helping disciplines is their focus on the influence one’s environment and social or family systems in their problems, not just their internal psychology. As such, social workers perform comprehensive assessments and treatment plans with their clients and programs that greatly impact the lives of those they serve.
For more information on careers in social work, please visit the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) website at http://www.naswdc.org/pressroom/features/general/profession.asp.
About an MSW and Missouri State:
The MSW program at Missouri State University prepares students from an advanced generalist perspective. This means that it provides the education and training needed for its graduates to enter into a full range of advanced social work roles, including direct practice, assessment and triage, program development and/or management and various administrative positions. It is fully accredited by Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
The program also has a family-centered social work focus in its advanced concentration courses with an emphasis on the Family Health Perspective, a model of holistic family wellness that provides a solid foundation for many career paths in the social work field (both at micro and macro levels). Advanced practice classes provide in depth training on counseling with couples, families and individuals from a family context. The program also provides electives in areas including rural health, legal/forensic social work, substance abuse, domestic violence and child and family play therapy. Exact offerings vary from year to year but are designed to provide several areas of interests for students in the program.
The full-time and part-time faculty at the School of Social Work are highly skilled and dedicated professionals who care deeply about their students and the quality of the education provided to them. Most faculty members have worked in actual social work settings and bring a wealth of education and practical experience to their courses. They represent a broad range of interests and expertise.
MSW classes meet once a week and are mostly offered in the evenings (with a few in the late afternoon), in order to accommodate students who work or commute. A few courses are also offered on-line or in a mixed (“hybrid”) format that combines classroom and non-classroom methods and meet less than weekly. The School is fully accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Social Work Education (CSWE).
Missouri State University is the second largest university system in Missouri and a premier center of higher education in the southwest Missouri region. It is a quickly growing institution that is highly respected across the nation. The Springfield and Joplin areas are also considered very pleasant areas to live and work.
If you would like further program information or an application packet mailed to you, please contact our administrative coordinator at 417-836-6953.
If you have any specific questions about the MSW program or the application process, please contact the program coordinator listed below for your campus of interest:
Springfield campus: Dr. Darryl Haslam, 417-836-4259 or dhaslam@MissouriState.edu
Joplin campus: Ms. Renee White, 417-629-3942 or reneewhite@missouristate.edu