About the School of Social Work and Family Sciences

 

Mission & Goals

The Bachelor of Arts in Social Work (BA/BASW) Program

Mission

The BA/BASW mission is to prepare competent, ethical entry-level social work professionals committed to the dignity and worth of the person, scientific inquiry, the promotion of human and community well-being, human rights, and social, economic, and environmental justice. 

We strive to instill respect for human diversity, and to enhance the quality of life for all persons, locally and globally. We embrace the values of the social work profession, including service, integrity, and competency. 

Building upon a liberal arts education and grounded in generalist practice, our graduates will aspire to address the most pressing social problems, utilizing a range of skills, resources, and the person-in-environment framework. We advance the social work profession through collaboration with the community.

Goals

  • Prepare students to integrate the knowledge, values, and skills of the social work profession for competent and effective generalist practice with diverse client systems in various practice settings by utilizing best practices and a range of prevention and intervention methods.
  • Promote the person-in-environment and strengths perspective that advances the values, ethics, and purposes of the profession while building upon a liberal arts-based education.
  • Prepare students to identify the strengths, resiliency, and dignity and worth of diverse client systems to foster empowerment toward social, economic, and environmental justice, human rights, the elimination of poverty, and human and community well-being, from a local to global perspective. 
  • Prepare students to utilize scientific inquiry, best practices, research informed practice and critical thinking skills for effective and ethical social work practice.
  • Partner with health and human service organizations to provide meaningful field experiences and supervision to engage, assess, intervene, and evaluate with individuals, families, groups, and communities to enhance the quality of life for all persons.

 
 

The Master of Social Work (MSW) Program

Mission

The Master of Social Work (MSW) mission is to prepare competent, ethical advanced social work professionals committed to the dignity and worth of the person, scientific inquiry, the promotion of human and community well-being, human rights, and social, economic, and environmental justice.

We strive to instill respect for human diversity, and to enhance the quality of life for all persons, locally and globally. We embrace the values of the social work profession, including service, integrity, and competency.  

Building upon a liberal arts education and grounded in generalist practice, our graduates specializing in micro and macro practice will aspire to address the most pressing social problems, utilizing a range of skills, resources, and the person-in-environment framework. We advance the social work profession through collaboration with the community.

Goals

  • Prepare students to integrate the knowledge, values, and skills of the social work profession for competent and effective micro and macro specialized practice with diverse client systems in various practice settings by utilizing best practices and a range of prevention and intervention methods.
  • Promote the person-in-environment and strengths perspective that advances the values, ethics, and purposes of the profession while building upon a liberal arts-based education.
  • Prepare students to identify the strengths, resiliency, and dignity and worth of diverse client systems to foster empowerment toward social, economic, and environmental justice, human rights, the elimination of poverty, and human and community well-being, from a local to global perspective. 
  • Prepare students to utilize scientific inquiry, best practices, research informed practice and critical thinking skills for effective and ethical social work practice.
  • Partner with health and human service organizations to provide meaningful field experiences and supervision for micro and macro specializations to engage, assess, intervene, and evaluate with individuals, families, groups, and communities to enhance the quality of life for all persons.


Generalist Practice

Generalist practice is grounded in the liberal arts and the person and environment construct. To promote human and social well-being, generalist practitioners use a range of prevention and intervention methods in their practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

  • The generalist practitioner identifies with the social work profession and applies ethical principles and critical thinking in practice.
  • Generalist practitioners incorporate diversity in their practice and advocate for human rights and social and economic justice.
  • Generalist practitioners recognize, support, and build on the strengths and resiliency of all human beings.
  • Generalist practitioners engage in research-informed practice and are proactive in responding to the impact of context on professional practice. (see CSWE Educational Policy B2.2)

 

Commitment to Diversity

The School of Social Work is committed to diversity—including age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, immigration status, political ideology, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.  (see CSWE Educational Policy B3.1)

This commitment builds upon The University of Akron's Vision 2020, which identifies key Strategic Pathways to Success, including The Akron Experience:  Academic & Inclusive Excellence, which states:  "We will achieve academic and inclusive excellence through a commitment to enhance diversity in all academic programs and create targeted learning pathways that result in a remarkable university experience for each student.  So-called traditional and non-traditional students, included working adults and veterans, will have a comprehensive and transformative learning experience through focused and deliberate programming..."

The School of Social Work and Family Science's undergraduate program reflects this commitment in our learning environment including:

  • our curriculum;
  • the selection of field education settings and their clientele;
  • the composition of our field advisory committee;
  • educational and social resources;
  • resource allocation;
  • program leadership;
  • special programs;
  • research and other initiatives; and
  • the demographic make-up of our faculty, staff, and student.