Programs of Study Description

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Master of Arts Program in Social Work, Social Policy, and Social Administration

Programs of Study

An opportunity to focus your professional goals in social work

The University of Chicago Crown Family School Logo is on the bottom of the page.

 

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The Crown Family School’s Social Work, Social Policy, and Social Administration curriculum integrates coursework with immersive experiential learning opportunities.

A degree from the Crown Family School will provide you with an unparalleled preparation for positions throughout the spectrum of social work and social welfare.

In addition to the Social Work, Social Policy, and Social Administration core curriculum and required courses in the clinical social work and social administration concentrations, students can take a variety of electives leading to the completion of a Program of Study (POS).

These Programs are faculty-designed, elective sequences that combine carefully selected courses and field placements geared toward a particular area of social work. You must be first accepted to the Crown Family School and then by the individual POS. Forty percent of our students apply to and complete a POS and receive certificates of completion upon graduation.

Addressing Educational Inequalities

This POS prepares students to engage in work to understand educational inequality in the U.S. context. Students will develop an understanding of the way social systems (e.g., racism, poverty, sexism, ableism, and other forms of discrimination) have historically shaped our educational institutions and inhibited The Crown Family School’s Social Work, Social Policy, and Social Administration curriculum integrates coursework with immersive experiential learning opportunities. equity; and, in many cases, have turned such institutions into entities that reinforce injustice rather than erode it. Students will learn how to think critically about the most pressing contemporary questions in education, and to consider potential points of intervention that they might make in their own careers to catalyze educational transformation.

Addressing Social Inequality: Innovations in Policy Practice

Students will learn to confront social inequality as it takes shape at the front lines of key societal institutions, such as social service agencies, workplaces, courts, city halls, and community organizations. The program builds on a unique strength of the Crown Family School faculty: applying a street-level approach that moves beyond public policy as written on paper to examine policy as implemented in practice. Students learn to identify and disrupt the sources of inequality structured throughout the day-to-day practices of organizational actors responsible for implementing policy on-the-ground, be they government officials, employers, judges, police, or social workers. The ultimate goal of the program is to equip students with the skills they need to design and implement policies and programs, both public and private, that mitigate inequality in the major institutions that shape the lives and life chances of the most marginalized in society.

Advanced Alcohol or Other Drug Counselor Training Program (AOD)

Millions suffer from addiction to alcohol or other drugs, and addiction is often the cause of, or an exacerbating factor, in other forms of social dysfunction, including unemployment, homelessness, and domestic violence. This program will provide the skills needed to develop and deliver effective treatment initiatives. The AOD program is accredited by the Illinois Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Professional Certification Association (IAODAPCA) and will fully prepare students to take the Illinois Certified Alcohol and Other Drug Counselor (CDAC) exam after graduation.

For complete descriptions of each program and potential career opportunities, visit: crownschool.uchicago.edu/electives-sw

 

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Global Social Development Practice Program (GSDP)

This POS is designed for students interested in understanding social welfare challenges in a globalizing world. It provides students with the opportunity to think about social problems, social policy, and social work practice in a comparative cross-national perspective that is grounded in scholarship and practice around a set of concrete issues. Students are required to complete an approved study abroad or international internship experience—preferably between the first and second year, though graduation can be postponed so as to complete the study abroad after the second year.

Contextual Behavioral Practices

This POS aims to educate students in the values, principles, and skills that organize the behavior of practitioners using contextual behavioral approaches (CBA). For the past 40 years, the mental health field has approached understanding and treating mental health struggles through a pathologizing lens similar to the biomedical model. This program offers an alternative model for understanding and addressing human suffering.

This POS offers students this alternative in the form of Relational Frame Theory—a theory grounded in a rigorous research program that has identified a set of basic psychological (language) processes that account for mental distress. It, in turn, provides the foundation for a set of empirically supported practices considered the latest in innovation, disseminated globally, and found effective across many cultures.

School Social Work Program

This POS provides an educational experience that will equip students to positively influence schools and to become agents of social and professional change in the public education system. Students will build knowledge, skills, values, and experience applicable to work in a variety of school settings Designed for students in the Clinical Practice concentration, this program offers a specialized curriculum leading to Professional Educator Licensure with a School Social Work Endorsement (the PEL, formerly known as Type 73 Certification), which is issued through the Illinois State Board of Education.

Transforming Justice Policies and Practices

This POS offers a rich exploration and examination of the policies, practices, histories, and philosophies of the U.S. criminal justice system, with an emphasis on developing more just approaches. It offers a historical and current overview of the way that the fields of social work and criminal justice overlap, preparing students to recognize and address inequities at these intersections. Students will develop the skills to intervene on multiple levels; explore varied and alternative systems of justice; and build better policies, programs, services, and practices for people and communities affected by the criminal justice system.

Trauma Responsive Social Work

This program seeks to create a community of trauma-responsive learners and practitioners across policy and clinical settings. The central goal is to become practiced with trauma-responsive work, meaning students feel more competent, confident, and responsive to traumabased needs in clients, wherever they may encounter them. This POS aims to educate students in the values, principles, and skills that organize the behavior of practitioners using trauma-responsive approaches.

 

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Programs of Study At-a-Glance

There is a chart descripting different programs:

Program: Addressing Educational Inequalities:

• Who Can Apply: Social Administration
• Available Programs: Full-time; Part-time; EEP; Advanced Standing
• Field Placement: Standard field placement in relevant organization
• Contact: Eve L. Ewing, EdD; Assistant Professor; evee@uchicago.edu

Program: Addressing Social Inequality: Innovations in Policy Practice

• Who Can Apply: Social Administration; Clinical students may have challenges scheduling courses
• Available Programs: Full-time; Part-time; EEP; Advanced Standing
• Field Placement: Standard field placement in relevant organization
• Contact: Susan Lambert, PhD; Professor; slambert@uchicago.edu

Program: Advanced Alcohol or Other Drug Counselor Training (AOD)

• Who Can Apply: Clinical
• Available Programs: Full-time; Part-time; EEP; Advanced Standing
• Field Placement: Standard field placement in a state-approved addiction program
• Contact: Gabriela Zapata-Alma; Lecturer; gabrielazapata@uchicago.edu

Program: Global Social Development Practice (GSDP)

• Who Can Apply: Clinical or Social Administration
• Available Programs: Full-time; Part-time; EEP
• Field Placement: Standard field placement in Chicago, plus additional overseas experience
• Contact: Jessica Darrow, PhD; Associate Instructional Professor; jdarrow@uchicago.edu

Program: Contextual Behavior Practice

• Who Can Apply: Clinical
• Available Programs: Full-time; Part-time; EEP; Advanced Standing
• Field Placement: Standard field placement in relevant organization that is open to contextual behavioral practices
• Contact: Paul Holmes, PsyD; Senior Lecturer; eholmes@uchicago.edu

Program: School Social Work

• Who Can Apply: Clinical
• Available Programs: Full-time only
• Field Placement: Standard field placement in area school
• Contact: Jennifer Meade; Director, School Social Work Program; jemeade@uchicago.edu

Program: Transforming Justice Policies and Practices

• Who Can Apply: Clinical or Social Administration
• Available Programs: Full-time; Part-time; EEP; Advanced Standing
• Field Placement: Standard field placement in relevant organization
• Contact: Matthew Epperson, PhD; Associate Professor; mepperson@uchicago.edu

Program: Trauma Responsive Social Work

• Who Can Apply: Clinical
• Available Programs: Full-time; Part-time; EEP; Advanced Standing
• Field Placement: Standard field placement in relevant organization
• Contact: Shipra S. Parikh, PhD, LCSW; Associate Instructional Professor; sparikh1@uchicago.edu

 

You must be first accepted to the Master of Arts Program in Social Work, Social Policy, and Social Administration and then by the Program of Study. Crown Family School students apply to Programs of Study during their first year.

While some of the required courses may be offered in the evening, no Program of Study can be completed entirely through evening courses and fieldwork.

Apply Now: crownschool.uchicago.edu/apply

Contact: admissions@crownschool.uchicago.edu