School of Social Welfare

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The School of Social Welfare

The University of Kansas School of Social Welfare is the oldest school of social welfare in the state and the only one to offer degree preparation from undergraduate through doctoral degrees. 

Social work education began at KU in 1937. The Master of Social Work program, established in Lawrence and at the KU Medical Center in Kansas City in 1946, has been continuously accredited since 1948. The Bachelor of Social Work degree has been awarded since 1971. In 1974, the B.S.W. program became one of the first in the nation to receive accredited status. The Council on Social Work Education, the accrediting body for social work education, most recently reaccredited the B.S.W. and M.S.W. programs in 2018. 

Vision, Mission, and Guiding Principles & Values

Vision Statement

All individuals, families, & communities utilize their power to achieve justice, equity, & well-being.

Mission

The University of Kansas School of Social Welfare, rooted in the Strengths Perspective, aims to transform lives and social contexts and promote social, economic, and environmental justice in Kansas, the nation and the world.  We do so by educating students to practice with integrity and competence; advancing the science and knowledge base of social work through scholarship and research; and participating in community-engaged service.

Guiding Principles and Values

The work of the KU School of Social Welfare is guided and driven by a set of principles and values that inform our teaching, research endeavors, and service to community at various levels.  These include:  

Relationship Building: We engage in relationship building that fosters creativity, collaboration, and mutual learning. Relationship building is essential across practice, scholarship, education and service.  We take a strengths approach as we serve our local, state, national, and global communities.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:  We embrace the inherent worth of all people. By taking the position of cultural humility and applying the lens of intersectionality, we seek to develop and promote modes of anti-oppressive social work and dismantle structures of exclusion.

Practice with Integrity:  We demonstrate our integrity and trustworthiness as scholars, educators, practitioners, and community members by promoting social work values, ethical practice, and the process of critical reflection.

Multisystem Competency: We recognize that social, economic, and environmental injustices are the root causes of inequities and multiple strategies are necessary to address these. Our work integrates micro/macro social work and builds collaboration across systems and disciplines to create multi-level change.

Critical Perspective: We engage in deliberate and continuing examination of social conditions and solutions. We use critical inquiry to analyze and challenge existing structures and systems in order to advance the field and promote social, economic, and environmental justice.

Empirically Informed Social Work: We rigorously advance empirical research that impacts the social work knowledge base. By translating and applying evidence, we continually transform practice and policy across multiple systems.

Our Promise

With each relationship, we vow to be a true partner by providing a diverse, equitable and safe environment that encourages forward thinking and creates inclusive experiences that drive social change.

As a School within a comprehensive, premier research university we strive to:

  • Offer innovative programming that recruits, graduates and supports uniquely qualified and compassionate social workers,
  • Drive discoveries that transform lives, and
  • Embrace our responsibility to promote social, economic, and environmental justice in Kansas, the nation and the world.

Goals

  1. To prepare B.S.W., M.S.W., D.S.W., and Ph.D. students to practice with integrity and attain multi-level competency while working to promote well-being and build community.
  2. To conduct, disseminate, and translate theoretical and empirically informed scholarship and research that impacts the social work knowledge base and transforms practice and policy. 
  3. To promote social, economic, and environmental justice through service at local, state, national, and international levels.

The Programs

Students have the opportunity to prepare for professional careers in social work at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels.  Curriculums are carefully designed to bring students from the introductory level through advanced study in clinical social work practice or social work macro practice.  Doctoral programs prepare students to become leaders in social work practice and policy through research, teaching, and scholarship.  All programs are structured to support the guiding principles and values of the School.

The B.S.W. Program prepares students for generalist practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities at the entry-level and prepares students for advanced graduate work in social work, as well as for degree programs in other disciplines. Our M.S.W. degree prepares graduates for clinical or macro social work practice.  At the B.S.W and M.S.W. levels, classroom work is one half of professional preparation; practicum placements are the other half.  Placements in social service agencies offer students the opportunity to apply skills learned in the classroom. Students spend time in practicum settings throughout Kansas and the country.

The online Doctor of Social Work (D.S.W.) Program gives current social workers the opportunity to further advance their skills in leadership, pedagogy, and the implementation of scientific knowledge in practice settings.

Our KU School of Social Welfare Doctoral Program (Ph.D.) graduates develop the knowledge and skills to drive discovery and advance the field of social work. The Ph.D. program offers a rigorous curriculum, real-world research experience, and individualized mentoring by world-renowned scholars.

The Profession

The mission of the social work profession is rooted in a set of core values.  These core values, embraced by social workers throughout the profession’s history, are the foundation of social work’s unique purpose and perspective:

  • Service
  • Social justice
  • Dignity and worth of the person
  • Importance of human relationships
  • Integrity
  • Competence

NASW Code of Ethics

As a guide to professional conduct, the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers represents the fundamental values of the profession and offers a set of values, principles and standards to guide decision-making and everyday professional conduct of social workers. It is relevant to all social workers and social work students regardless of their specific functions or settings.

View the entire Code of Ethics or request a copy.

Resources

Student Handbook

The student handbook contains full descriptions of policies and other details for degree programs and field practicum.

Faculty

The School’s mission is supported through a variety of faculty members, including tenure-track faculty, professors of the practice, and part-time lecturers and field practicum instructors. Tenure track faculty teach and conduct research. The faculty’s scholarly interests, as reflected in teaching, research, and publications, span a wide range of social justices issues, including health, mental health, child welfare, criminal justice, gerontology, LGBTQ+ populations, gender equity, poverty reduction and asset building, and macro social work including community practice and social work administration. 

School of Social Welfare faculty members hold doctoral degrees in social work, social welfare, and other fields. Professors of the Practice are faculty who possess expertise in the field of social work and provide students with progressive professional instruction based on extensive experience in the profession.  In addition, outstanding social work practitioners serve as part-time classroom lecturers, and 300 social work practitioners serve as practicum instructors. 

Faculty members serve the public interest and the profession of social work as consultants and board members in professional and citizens’ organizations.

Research Office

The School supports research and scholarship designed to impact social service delivery and policy at the local, national and international levels. Grounded in the Strengths Perspective and with strong ties to the Grand Challenges for Social Work, we design and conduct applied research and scholarship that advances the science and knowledge base of social work through collaboration, curriculum, scholarship and research.  Learn more at https://socwel.ku.edu/research.