The District of Columbia, or Washington D.C., serves as our nation's capital. The seat of the federal government, Congress, The Office of the President and the Supreme Court, the District of Columbia works as the political power hub of our nation.
Washington D.C. is part of what is known as the Washington Metropolitan area. The Washington Metropolitan area also consists of land from Maryland and Virginia. With a population of over 632,000, the District of Columbia's population climbs to over one million people during the Monday-Friday work week. The District of Columbia is the seventh largest metropolitan area in the United States.
A total of four schools in the District of Columbia provide social work degree programs that are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. They are listed below.
Online Social Work Programs For You
Catholic University of America
National Catholic School of Social Service
What sets the National Catholic School of Social Service at the Catholic University of America apart from other social work programs is the focus on providing an education based on traditional values in a high quality institution of higher education. The National Catholic School of Social Service also keeps its classes small, which allows faculty and staff to give students more of the excellent education for which the Catholic University of America is known. Its curriculum is based on the most current work practices in social work today.
Bachelor of Social Work
A bachelor's degree from the National Catholic School of Social Service at Catholic University prepares you for direct-service social work positions such as case worker and mental health assistant. This degree program also prepares you for advanced studies in social work. Students can also learn to effect positive change in our society by taking on leadership roles in their communities.
Master of Social Work
The Master of Social Work degree program prepares advanced practitioners to effect change in the world using traditional values that are highlighted by current practices in the field. Despite the program's emphasis on traditional values, this degree program readily prepares students for social work using contemporary professional standards. Once students choose a concentration such as clinical health or social change, they attend a combination of classes and field practicums so that they they can use their education to act as positive role models in their respective communities.
Accreditation
Both the bachelor's and master's degrees in social work at Catholic University of America's National Catholic School of Social Services are accredited by by the Council on Social Work Education.
Contact (BSW):
Dr. Lynn Mayer
Catholic University of America
National Catholic School of Social Service
620 Michigan Ave, N.E.
Washington D.C. 20064
(202)319-5479
[email protected]
http://ncsss.cua.edu/
http://ncsss.cua.edu/degree-programs/BSW/bsw-index.cfm
Contact (MSW):
Ms. Aileen Worrell, MSW, MBA
Catholic University of America
National Catholic School of Social Service
620 Michigan Ave, N.E.
Washington D.C. 20064
(202)319-5496
[email protected]
http://ncsss.cua.edu/degree-programs/MSW/msw-index.cfm
Gallaudet University
Department of Social Work
The Department of Social Work at Gallaudet University aims to train students for generalist social work practice that serves deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing children in blended environments. The department's focus on social and economic justice ensures that its graduates go into the work force as more compassionate and empathetic social workers. Its unique curriculum arms its students to tend to the needs of the deaf, hearing and hard of hearing communities by means of coursework and field practicums.
B.A. in Social Work
This degree program prepares students to pursue graduate study in social work at a later date. Students take 47 credits in the major, as well as prerequisite courses in the following subjects:
- American Government
- American History
- Biology
- Economics
- Psychology
- Sociology
In addition to coursework, students must undergo a field practicum that introduces them to work experiences with the deaf and hard of hearing populations at agencies in the Washington Metropolitan area.
MSW in Social Work
Gallaudet's MSW in Social Work program educates future social workers who are specially trained to work with deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing populations. The program does this in a way that emphasizes the values of social and economic justice, empathy and integrity. Graduates of Gallaudet University's master's in social work program are uniquely qualified to work in the field of social services because they gain an understanding of their profession after learning to work with a population that is sometimes ignored in our society by the larger, hearing populace.
Accreditation
Gallaudet University's baccalaureate and master's programs in social work have been accredited by the Council on Social Work Education since 1976.
Contact:
Tommy Farr
800 Florida Avenue,NE
Hall Memorial Building (HMB)
S335
Washington D.C. 20002-3695
TTY:(202)651-5160
Voice: (202)651-5817
[email protected]
http://www.gallaudet.edu/social_work.html
Howard University
School of Social Work
Howard University's School of Social Work is dedicated to promoting social change to diverse populations, no matter the race, creed, sexual orientation, gender, national origin or nature of disability. A historically black university, Howard University aims to equip a diverse cadre of social workers that serves all types of populations according to the following principles:
- Affirmations: Teaching students to affirm the Black perspective in their practice
- Strengths: Using the strengths of Howard's curriculum to fight the oppression of minorities
- Diversity: Teaching its students to show the commonalities of all people
- Vivification: Vivifying the Black perspective while highlighting the strengths of other populations
- Social Justice: Howard University's curriculum is based on teaching the tenets of social justice so that its graduates can go out and start both small and large changes in our society
- Internationalization: With an emphasis on Africa and the Caribbean, Howard teaches its students to weave this into their view of the Black perspective.
MSW in Social Work
This degree program in Howard University's School of Social Work prepares its graduates to do direct practice–macro and micro work. Students in the program are required to pick a concentration from among the following fields:
- Criminal Justice
- Displaced Populations
- Family and Child Welfare
- Mental Health
- Social Gerontology
- Social Work in Health Care Settings
Once a student in the master's program completes their required coursework, they will need to undergo supervised field education. Students perform their supervised field education in a wide variety of health clinics, social service agencies, correctional facilities and other types of federal and private institutions. Students must do two semesters of supervised field education in an agency that they select with the help of their advisors. Students perform their off-campus fieldwork in both their first year (16 hours a week) and second year (20 hours a week).
Accreditation
Howard University's School of Social Work is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
Contact:
Howard University
School of Social Work
601 Howard Place, NW
Washington D.C. 20059
(202)806-7300
[email protected]
http://www.howard.edu/schoolsocialwork/default.htm
University of the District of Columbia
The social work program at the University of the District of Columbia aims to educate social work generalists who possess the special knowledge needed to work with ignored and maligned populations in urban centers. The program not only aims to produce graduates who appreciate the field of social work, it also produces a curriculum that makes students more aware of some of the brute societal forces that causes social work to be such an inimitable force in inner city communities throughout the United States. After students graduate from the program, they will be prepared to work in social service agencies while armed with an education that lets them relate to the populations their workplaces serve.
Bachelor of Social Work
Students at the District of Columbia must take 120 credit hours in order to graduate with a bachelor's degree in social work, including 77 credits required for the major. Social work students will take courses in many of the following subjects before earning a degree:
- Writing
- Foreign Languages
- Philosophy
- Public Speaking
- Political Science
- Anthropology
- Biology
- Urban Geography
- Statistics
- Research Lab
Accreditation
The University of the District of Columbia's social work program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
Contact:
University of the District of Columbia
College of Arts and Sciences
Building 41, Suite 405
4200 Connecticut Avenue
Washington D.C. 20008
(202)274-5194
[email protected]