Accreditation
Our Social Work Program has been accredited by the Council on Social Work Education since 1977. This gives our graduates access to state and federal civil service exams and provides the credentials needed for professional licensing in social work. The Manchester University Social Work Program also prepares students very well for graduate school. Our CSWE accreditation allows our graduates to apply for advanced standing in master of social work programs.
Academic Quality
The Social Work Program faculty take their commitment to academic quality seriously. Every year, we assess our effectiveness in preparing students for professional social work practice and make improvements to the Program accordingly. Here are our most recent Program Assessment Reports to show you how we are doing:
Study Abroad
Social work students can participate in any MU study abroad opportunity, but two are specifically designed for social work students. Every other January Session, social work faculty lead a travel course to Kingston, Jamaica, to study social welfare in the Caribbean. The university also offers a study abroad semester in Chennai, India, during which students take social work courses at the university and have a field placement with a local human service organization.
 
MU students studying international social work in Jamaica (left) and India (right)
Celebrating Diversity Workshop
These 1/2-day workshops, offered to students and the entire university community each semester, provide opportunities for participants to examine issues of identity, unfreeze prejudicial attitudes, and act on the basis of shared values. Workshops focus on gaining ideas, strategies and resources for taking an active role in promoting positive relations among diverse people. All social work students are required to participate in one workshop before they are admitted to the Senior Social Work Practice Block.
Anti-Racism Retreat
During the senior year, while enrolled in Social Work Practice II, students participate in an overnight retreat, which provides group experiential learning about racism, institutional racism, and oppression, designed to help students begin to experience the feelings generated in majority-minority encounters in a racist society and understand the dynamics of racism. Students analyze racism as a systematic problem of society and develop action plans for combatting racism individually and collectively.
Human Diversity Workshop on LGBTQ Issues
This six-hour workshop on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender awareness is offered as a part of the Field Instruction Seminar. Its focus is on confronting the myths and stereotypes related to sexual orientation and gender identity; recognizing the forms of oppression experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people; and developing culturally competent skills and strategies to achieve social justice.
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