Students wishing to pursue the JD and Master of Social Work (MSW) degrees jointly must do so by beginning the joint program at the School of Social Work. The School of Social Work, which normally requires 60 credit hours, grants 6 hours for work completed at the Law School, thereby reducing its own requirements to 54 credit hours. The Law School reduces its requirements from 88 to 79 hours. Completion of both degrees takes four years.
The social work curriculum has foundation and advanced components in nine areas: social work values and ethics; diversity; promotion of social and economic justice; populations at risk; human behavior and the social environment; social work practice; social policy practice; research; and field practicum.
During the first year of the MSW program, students enroll in the following courses:
- Professional Foundations of Social Work
- Tools for Learning and Practice: Evidence-Based Social Work Practice
- Theories of Human Behavior in the Social Environment
- Relationship-Centered Methods for Social Work Practice
Students take advanced courses in crisis intervention and brief treatment; spirituality and social work; cultural competence; clinical work with children and adolescents; psychotherapy practice with couples and family; violence in the family; human sexuality; death and dying; gerontology; and a variety of other treatment-oriented subjects.
