From the Field: Social Work in Action
“Dispatches from the Field” showcases the relationships BCSSW students foster and the impact they have through fieldwork—in Greater Boston and around the world.
Students in our top-ranked MSW program aren’t just scholars—they’re also researchers who collaborate with faculty on compelling projects and practitioners who spend 2-3 days per week working in schools, nonprofits, and hospitals through our robust field placement program.
We challenge and prepare our clinical program students to integrate evidence-based interventions and culturally sensitive practice with individuals, couples, families, and groups. Students become proficient in assessment and diagnostic classification and learn to develop professional therapeutic alliance and relationship skills.
Through coursework and field practice, students are exposed to a broad overview of therapeutic interventions and have an opportunity to develop advanced practice skills and therapeutic techniques.
Two-Year Program Curriculum Three-Year Program Curriculum
Macro social work aims to affect change within large systems at the community, organizational, and policy levels. BCSSW’s macro specialization focuses on social innovation and leadership, emphasizing the development of ideas, mechanisms, and new social arrangements to enhance community capacity to address complex social challenges. Students train in the foundations of participatory community-based social work practice and research and learn recent advances in human-centered design, systems thinking, and other analytical tools to drive innovation, address complex social problems, and enable sustained social impact.
In their coursework and field internships, students gain practice skills that focus on advocacy, leadership and administration, financial management and resource development, and novel approaches to drive social change and advance the common good.
Within either specialized practice (clinical or macro), you will develop expertise by selecting a field of practice. The six fields of practice offered at BCSSW are:
Students in the School of Social Work receive professional training from organizations throughout the Greater Boston area, providing them with critical on-the-ground experience that enhances their classroom learning and prepares them for a successful career. We've cultivated strong relationships with our agency partners, enabling you to choose from more than 1,000 opportunities. You'll receive mentoring and support every step of the way.
Advanced Research
Aging Populations & Gerontology
Black Leadership
Child Welfare
Early Childhood Policy and Leadership
Latinx Leadership
Leaders for Equity and Justice in the Workplace
Neuroscience & Social Work
Refugees & Immigrants
School Social Work
Trauma
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Our MSW program offers six concentrated fields of practice pathways that include
specialized coursework and advanced field education placements.
Our innovative Children, Youth, & Families curriculum will prepare you to assess individuals and families and to develop and implement evidence-based intervention strategies that improve the health and resilience of families and their communities.
Children, Youth, & Families students intern in settings such as schools, private non-profits, community health centers, and organizations working on issues related to trauma, poverty, family homelessness, health and behavioral health, immigrant integration, and a host of growing family issues confronting society. In the advanced practice course, students delve deeply into learning how to create engaging, activity-based therapy groups for youth, as well as learning several parenting and family therapy models. Additionally, specialized courses in school-based social work will prepare you for meeting the academic requirements for the Department of Education School Social Work license in Massachusetts and some other states.
Required course:
SCWK 8872 Advanced Clinical Interventions with Children, Youth, & Families
Required course:
SCWK 8885 Management of Organizations Serving Children, Youth, & Families
Global Practice will prepare you to work effectively in the fields of global social work, humanitarian aid, and international development. You will learn different approaches to addressing complex social issues that often transcend national boundaries and affect much of the world’s population. Your work will be guided by the principles of human rights, human security, human development, and the promotion of sustainable solutions to social problems.
As a Global Practice student, you will have the opportunity to work domestically or internationally with one of our many intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizational partners. Examples of this work include providing training and support for case managers serving refugees and asylum seekers; drafting immigration policies; developing programs to promote peace or prevent gender-based violence; writing grant proposals; monitoring and evaluating child protection programs; or helping develop organizational policies for effective and sustainable practice.
Our Global Practice graduates work in the U.S. and overseas in a range of positions that involve direct practice, program development, management, evaluation, research, training, capacity building, and policy. From policy development in Washington, DC., to program development in Cambodia, our graduates contribute to policy, practice, and research that improve the lives and well-being of individuals, families, and communities around the world.
Required courses include:
SCWK 7797 Frameworks and Tools for Global Practice
SCWK 8806 Global Policy Issues and Implications
Our primary goal is to prepare you for advanced practice in clinical services, advocacy, or management roles in the field of health care.
You receive specialized knowledge, skills, and training in the areas of assessment, evidence-based interventions, policy, planning, and management techniques. Clinical students focus on developing strong assessment skills and learning evidence-based treatment interventions to work with individuals, couples, families, and groups in healthcare settings. Macro students specialize in developing the policy, planning, and management skills to become effective advocates and leaders at the local, state, or national level.
Our graduates work in a panoply of health and behavioral health settings ranging from hospital based to community based, acute care to rehabilitation facilities, forensic services and homeless services, outpatient clinics and substance abuse programs, state agencies, and grass roots organizations. With Massachusetts leading the way in national health care reform, you will be exposed to the rapidly changing organization and delivery of health care.
Required course:
SCWK 8873 Integration of Behavioral Health & Medical Care Practice
Required course:
SCWK 8897 Planning for Health and Mental Health Services
The Latinx Communities field of practice trains MSW students to work with Latinx communities in the U.S. and around the world. Our innovative program includes culturally-centered coursework and field placements, tailored mentoring, self-advocacy training, and career development guidance.
From an asset-based approach, you will develop a nuanced understanding of the barriers Latinx populations encounter in accessing equitable education, social services, and health care, as well as a deep understanding of how to implement evidence-based interventions that address systemic inequities.
Following a cohort model, you will take core classes taught in Spanish and intern at a field placement with one of our many partners in the Greater Boston area that serve the legal, medical, behavioral health, immigration, and educational needs of the Latinx community.
Please note, unlike the other fields of practice, you must apply to the Latinx Communities Field of Practice prior to starting your first year in the MSW program. Learn more about this field of practice and how to apply by reviewing our frequently asked questions.
Required course:
SCWK 8837 Social Services with Latinx Populations in the US
Our primary goal is to prepare you for advanced practice in clinical services, advocacy, or management roles in the dynamic field of trauma-informed behavioral health.
You receive specialized knowledge, skills, and training in the areas of assessment, evidence-based interventions, policy, planning, and management techniques. Clinical students focus on developing strong trauma-informed assessment skills and learning evidence-based treatment interventions to work with individuals, couples, families, and groups in behavioral health settings. Macro students specialize in developing the policy, planning, and management skills to become effective advocates and leaders at the local, state, or national level.
Our graduates work in a variety of settings that often require trauma-informed skills. Settings range from hospital based to community based, acute care to rehabilitation facilities, forensic services and homeless services, outpatient clinics and substance abuse programs, state agencies, and grass roots organizations. With Massachusetts leading the way in national health care reform, you will be exposed to the rapidly changing organization and delivery of behavioral health.
Required course:
SCWK 8874 Adult Psychological Trauma
Required course:
SCWK 8897 Planning for Health and Mental Health Services
Our certificates give students the opportunity to build knowledge in subject-specific areas of social work.
Certificates require the completion of three specified courses within a chosen area.
Offered: Fall semester
Offered: Fall semester
This is a doctoral course. Permission from the instructor is necessary.
Offered: Spring semester
This is a doctoral course. Permission from the instructor is necessary.
Offered: Fall semester
Offered: Fall semester
Offered: Spring semester
Offered: Fall semester
Offered: Falls semester
Offered: Spring semester
Offered: Spring semester
Offered: Fall semester
Offered: Summer, Fall and Spring semesters
Offered: Fall semester
Offered: Summer semester
Offered: Spring semester (limited enrollment based on seat availability; travel required)
Offered: Fall semester
Offered: Summer semester
Offered: Spring semester
Offered: Fall semester
Offered: Summer and Spring semester
Offered: Fall semester
Offered: Fall semester
Offered: Fall semester
Offered: Summer semester
Offered: Spring semester (limited enrollment based on seat availability; travel required)
This certificate is for clinical students only.
This certificate does not alone meet the requirements for MA. Dept. of Ed. School Social Worker license.
Offered: Spring semester
Offered: Fall semester
Offered: Spring semester
This certificate is for clinical students only.
Offered: Spring semester
Offered: Spring semester
Offered: Summer, Fall, and Spring semesters, and required for all clinical mental health field-of-practice students who want this certificate
Offered: Fall semester
Offered: Spring semester
Now accepting applications for the next cohort of students interested in the Certificate in Early Childhood Policy and Leadership.
Applications are due on May 15, 2023, for Fall 2023 start.
This is an interdisciplinary certificate between BC Lynch School of Education and Human Development and the School of Social Work.
There are four components of the ECPL certificate that must be completed to earn the certificate. Students must:
Check back soon for additional details.
Our current students and alumni serve communities locally and across the globe, sustaining positive social change through critical work.
99%
Were employed within one year of graduation
59%
Received starting salaries of $50,000+
93%
Passed licensure exam on first attempt
“Dispatches from the Field” showcases the relationships BCSSW students foster and the impact they have through fieldwork—in Greater Boston and around the world.