VCU School of Social Work

Goals and objectives

The purpose of the M.S.W. program is to prepare graduate-level social workers with the knowledge, values and skills essential for advanced social work practice in a multicultural society. The school accomplishes this purpose through its full- and part-time programs of study for the M.S.W. degree at the Richmond and Northern Virginia campus locations.

The goals of the program are to:

• Provide a foundation curriculum of the knowledge, skills, ethics and values essential for work with individuals, families, groups, communities and organizations.
• Provide a concentration curriculum preparing students for advanced practice in clinical social work or social work administration, planning and policy practice in a range of settings.
• Promote student adherence to and application of the profession’s values and ethical principles.
• Promote student understanding of the implications of diversity by educating them to identify cultural strengths and to counteract individual and institutional prejudice, oppression and discrimination.
• Enable students to use research methods to analyze and critically evaluate professional practice, programs and service delivery systems.
• Promote student understanding of advocacy and involvement in advocacy to affect social and economic justice.
• Provide a learning environment that facilitates student commitment to continued learning and self-critical practice.