The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education has approved a new master’s degree program at Westfield State College. Beginning in the fall of 2010, the college will offer a master of social work degree with a concentration in clinical practice with children and families.
The program will prepare students to work in clinical settings with adults, children and families, for advanced positions in child protective services, for clinical case management positions in health care and residential settings, and as a school social worker. It provides specific course work and field placements to prepare graduates to become licensed clinical social workers.
“This master’s program will fill an important niche in public, affordable advanced studies in social work, and our graduates will go on to provide a much needed community service,” said Evan S. Dobelle, president of Westfield State College.
“I think what is most exciting about the program is that it fills a local educational need and it is consistent with the mission of Westfield State to improve social and economic conditions in the community,” said Kimberly Tobin, dean of the college’s Division of Graduate and Continuing Education (DGCE). “Both Westfield State and the profession of social work focus on social responsibility and social justice.”
“With its concentration in children and families, the Westfield State program creates a complement to the other programs offered in this region,” Tobin said.
Tobin said that, over the next year, the college will be hiring faculty and recruiting students. The division plans to add three full-time faculty members and the goal is to have 24 full-time students and 12 part-time students in the first year. The degree program is designed to be completed in two years full time or four years part time.
“The program will help address a shortage of child welfare workers both regionally and nationally,” said Robert Kersting, chair of the college’s recently formed Department of Social Work. “It has been a long time in the thinking and planning stage.”
“The program will offer some classes on-line, some classes as hybrid classes — part on-line and part face-to-face — and some classes totally in the classroom,” Kersting said. “It is open to anyone who possesses an undergraduate degree though some social science and biology prerequisites do exist.”
DGCE offers several quality, flexible programs for continuing and advanced studies. For more information on the master of social work degree or other programs, contact the Division of Graduate and Continuing Education at (413) 572-8020.
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