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Social Work, M.S.W.

The Department of Social Work in the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences at MTSU prepares students to serve as social work practitioners, scholars, and leaders who assist individuals, families, groups, and communities at the local, national, and international levels. Our faculty seeks to develop culturally informed, community-engaged students who promote social justice and respect for diversity and human rights through research, coursework, fieldwork, and public service.
The Social Work program is designed to fulfill several goals: 

  • To prepare a competent, diverse student population for advanced generalist social work practice based on professional values and ethics to serve client systems within each level of practice;
  • To provide the knowledge and skills necessary to promote the development of and advocacy for social policies and services that reduce the impact of poverty, oppression, and discrimination, and ensure social, environment, economic justice, and social justice across systems;
  • To provide a teaching environment that ensures the development of analytical skills and critical thinking as part of social work practice;
  • Support knowledge acquisition through active participation in the development, evaluation, and improvement of social work knowledge and skills via research aimed at advancing social work practice;
  • To promote the development of a multiple theoretical orientation applicable across systems and levels of practice that supports competency as advanced generalist social work professionals;
  • To provide an understanding of diversity and cultural competence, from a lens of cultural humility and with an emphasis on social justice, empowerment, and improving the well-being of people, and
  • To instill in students the history, purpose and philosophical underpinning reflected in the profession of social work and develop professional leadership skills across service delivery systems.

Careers
Requirements
Faculty
Information
Careers
Requirements
Faculty
Information

News Briefs

MTSU's Department of Social Work conducts training through partnerships

Dr. Harden, Ms. Holt and Mrs. Parker- Hill conducted a training entitled "Trauma-Informed Services in Criminal Justice Systems" with social workes and staff from the Tennessee Department of Correction. The training event was held at the Murfreesboro Day Reporting Center/Community Resource Center. Day Reporting Centers provide alternatives to incarceration by offering intensive outpatient programs to eligible participants. Ms. Holt and Mrs. Parker-Hill are completing their internships at the Center. The MTSU Department of Social Work values our partnership with the Tennessee Department of Correction and the Day Reporting Center programs. A special thank you goes out to Richard Boyd, Director of the Murfreesboro Day Reporting Center/Community Resource Center and MTSU alumnus for hosting the training.

MSW graduate student studies human rights issues in Germany

Megan Davenport, a Master of Social Work student, spent winter break in the Social Work Global Seminar course in Munich, Germany, offered by Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. The course provided Megan with an introduction to the development and current practice implications of contemporary human rights. The various field visits portrayed human rights principles as they relate to the social work profession in Germany. Historical sites, such as the Nuremberg trials courtroom and Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial, are also visited. Participating in the course allowed Megan to learn and collaborate with students and professionals from varying universities and backgrounds and allowed a unique first-hand observation of international social work practices. Megan reports that she left the course with an invigorated desire to engage in additional research and conversation of pertinent social work topics, such as how the U.S presents its own malicious past and how historical events remain influential to policy and practice. She is now inspired to affirm the vast educational and personal benefits of education abroad for the social work profession, and to encourage other social work students to seek a similar experience.

News Briefs

MTSU's Department of Social Work conducts training through partnerships

Dr. Harden, Ms. Holt and Mrs. Parker- Hill conducted a training entitled "Trauma-Informed Services in Criminal Justice Systems" with social workes and staff from the Tennessee Department of Correction. The training event was held at the Murfreesboro Day Reporting Center/Community Resource Center. Day Reporting Centers provide alternatives to incarceration by offering intensive outpatient programs to eligible participants. Ms. Holt and Mrs. Parker-Hill are completing their internships at the Center. The MTSU Department of Social Work values our partnership with the Tennessee Department of Correction and the Day Reporting Center programs. A special thank you goes out to Richard Boyd, Director of the Murfreesboro Day Reporting Center/Community Resource Center and MTSU alumnus for hosting the training.

MSW graduate student studies human rights issues in Germany

Megan Davenport, a Master of Social Work student, spent winter break in the Social Work Global Seminar course in Munich, Germany, offered by Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. The course provided Megan with an introduction to the development and current practice implications of contemporary human rights. The various field visits portrayed human rights principles as they relate to the social work profession in Germany. Historical sites, such as the Nuremberg trials courtroom and Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial, are also visited. Participating in the course allowed Megan to learn and collaborate with students and professionals from varying universities and backgrounds and allowed a unique first-hand observation of international social work practices. Megan reports that she left the course with an invigorated desire to engage in additional research and conversation of pertinent social work topics, such as how the U.S presents its own malicious past and how historical events remain influential to policy and practice. She is now inspired to affirm the vast educational and personal benefits of education abroad for the social work profession, and to encourage other social work students to seek a similar experience.

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CAREERS

The demand for social workers has been projected to grow 19% overall in the decade through 2022 and varies by specialty area of employment. Social workers are employed in a variety of settings, including mental health clinics, schools, child welfare and human service agencies, hospitals, nursing homes, home care agencies, residential treatment programs, and private practices. Mental health and substance abuse social workers are one of the two hottest careers in the state requiring a master’s degree, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor. Some possible professional paths for those with the Master of Social Work include

  • Child and family social worker
  • Clinical social worker
  • Clinical therapist
  • Geriatric social worker
  • Healthcare social worker
  • Hospice and palliative care social worker
  • Medical social worker
  • Mental health and substance abuse social worker
  • School social worker

Employers of MTSU alumni include

  • ACLU of Tennessee
  • Alzheimer's Association
  • Behavioral Health Services
  • Big Brothers and Big Sisters
  • Catholic Charities
  • Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center (Daniels Center)
  • Child Advocacy Center
  • Domestic Violence Program
  • Drug Court
  • Greenhouse Ministries
  • Mental Health Court
  • MTSU Disabled Student Services
  • Murfreesboro City Schools
  • Nashville Vet Center
  • Planned Parenthood
  • Probation and Parole
  • Project Help
  • Rutherford County Schools
  • Sunnington Assisted Living
  • Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth
  • Tennessee Department of Children's Services

REQUIREMENTS

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FACULTY

INFORMATION

Graduate

The Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) degree is offered through a program consisting of in-person classes, online classes, and internships.

Applicants:

  • need an overall GPA of 2.75 from undergraduate classes
  • should have completed basic liberal arts coursework as an undergraduate, which is usually fulfilled by meeting general education requirements
  • are required to submit an essay and three letters of recommendation along with the application and the signed contract

Applications are due by Jan. 31.

Practicum education is an essential element of the graduate-level social work program. Master's candidates gain intensive experience from a 400-hour foundation placement (for those who enter the program without advanced standing) and a 500-hour concentration placement (for all M.S.W. students).

Students can be considered for advanced standing if they have an undergraduate degree in Social Work from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education and an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Both the M.S.W. and B.S.W. programs are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education and qualify the graduates for state licensure as a social worker.

Undergraduate

The Department of Social Work also offers the undergraduate Bachelor of Social Work degree. An undergraduate minor is available in Social Welfare, and the department participates in an interdisciplinary minor in Health Care Services.

Professional Licensure Disclosure

The Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) program at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and qualifies graduates to seek state licensure as social workers. Students should be aware that licensure requirements vary from state to state and are subject to change. MTSU has not made a determination whether this program will meet all of the requirements of another US state or territory. Students in the MTSU MSW program who plan to practice outside the state of Tennessee should consult the Association of Social Work Boards’ list of state regulations at http://aswbsocialworkregulations.org/licensingWebsitesReportBuilder.jsp for the most current information about licensure procedures in the US state or territory in which they plan to practice and discuss their plans with their advisor.

Accreditation

The Middle Tennessee State University Master of Social Work program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education's Board of Accreditation.

Accreditation of a baccalaureate or master's social work program by the Council on Social Work Education's Commission on Accreditation indicates that it meets or exceeds criteria for the assessment of program quality evaluated through a peer review process. An accredited program has sufficient resources to meet its mission and goals and the Commission on Accreditation has verified that it demonstrates compliance with all sections of the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards.

Accreditation applies to all program sites and program delivery methods of an accredited program.  Accreditation provides reasonable assurance about the quality of the program and the competence of students graduating from the program.

For more information about social work accreditation, you may contact Accreditation.

Core Competencies

Assessment

  1. Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior (Goal 1)
  2. Engage diversity and difference in practice (Goal 2)
  3. Advance human rights and social, economic and environmental justice (Goal 3)
  4. Engage in practice-informed research and research-informed practice (Goal 4)
  5. Engage in Policy Practice (Goal 5)
  6. Engage with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities (Goal 6)
  7. Assess individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities (Goal 6)
  8. Intervene with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities (Goal6)
  9. Evaluate practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities(Goal 6)

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