Master of Law and Social Policy (MLSP)
The Law and Social Policy program is a post-master's program designed for professionals in social work, in other human service professions, or in public administration and policy analysis related to social welfare. It provides a rigorous examination of legal processes, their relationship to the delivery of human services, and their role in shaping policy.
The 1970s witnessed what some describe as the “legalization” of social services, an expansion of the legal context within which social service professionals carry out their activities. Consequently, the law has come to play a significant role in not only shaping social policy but in the day-to-day decisions and conduct of social workers at virtually every level of social work practice. The Law and Social Policy program, the first of its kind and still unique among graduate social work programs, was established in 1976 in response to the enlarged role of law in all fields of social service and to prepare social welfare and related professionals to assume roles where social services, social policy and the law overlap. Through rigorous examination of legal processes and their relationship to social policy, the program supplies a solid foundation for the social worker confronting the myriad emerging socio-legal issues. Law and Social Policy program graduates move into career roles at the juncture of social services and the law. They represent all levels of practice, with graduates just as likely to work with individuals and groups as to be supervisors, program managers or policy analysts.
Many practical challenges confront social work professionals who deal with issues that are shaped by the law, and an understanding of the American legal system has become increasingly important. For example, social welfare funding is structured by legislation; social service clients possess an expanding array of legal rights that practitioners must recognize; relationships between professionals and client systems unfold within unambiguous legal boundaries; and social reform initiatives influence the nature and scope of social legislation. The 1980s and 1990s saw the introduction of several critical socio-legal dilemmas that will continue to pose challenges for social workers in the 21st century: the limits of client confidentiality; the nature of informed consent and its impact on worker-client relationships; the enlarged scope of legal liability for professional conduct; the prospects and problems of regulating personal and institutional conduct in fields such as health, mental health and gerontology; the emergence of technology within selected social service areas, such as home health care, and its implications for legal liability; the prerequisites for implementing legal mandates; and the ever-present concerns about fair treatment and fair procedures within the social service setting.
The program consists of seven required courses plus a noncredit field-based special project. The courses are designed to convey basic skills of legal analysis, legal research, and techniques of advocacy and mediation. The central purpose of the program is to apply these skills to substantive and administrative problems in such fields as mental health, income maintenance, family and child welfare, race relations and criminal justice. In addition, the program encourages students to identify and work critically with fundamental values underlying policy and practice in the human services—fair procedure, equal treatment and personal liberty. Students also take part in supervised fieldwork and other activities sponsored by the program.
The Law and Social Policy curriculum has several levels of course work. The introductory courses acquaint the student with fundamental competencies in legal reasoning and legal analysis, as well as introduce the processes by which courts, legislatures and administrative agencies receive and resolve problems. The second level of courses emphasizes skill development in three practical areas: legal research, advocacy and conflict resolution. The legal research course prepares students to find the law and cite it correctly, with special attention given to developing competency in coherently and clearly communicating legal research findings. The advocacy skills are built around an examination of the unique skills for those settings in which social work and law overlap. Special attention is also given to examining the relative strengths of using courts, legislatures and administrative agencies to promote social change. The focus on conflict resolution allows for an in-depth exploration of alternatives to the civil process and the implications for mechanisms such as mediation. The third level of course work focuses on interdisciplinary perspectives on law and society. The aim is to rigorously examine the law's competency to address issues such as equal treatment, the tension between individual rights and the wider public, inequality, and social reform. Finally, the field instruction component encourages students to discover the practical challenges associated with integrating law in social work practice.
Application to the MLSP program occurs: (1) after successful completion of a MSS, MSW, or related master's degree program; (2) in conjunction with the application to Bryn Mawr's MSS program; or (3) after successful completion of one year in Bryn Mawr's MSS program.
Courses are taught in the late afternoon during the academic year and in intensive five-week summer sessions. Students may work toward the degree on a part-time basis.
The introductory courses are offered during the summer. Candidates for the joint MSS/MLSP degree begin their course of study in the summer session following the first year of MSS coursework.
All joint-degree students typically complete 18 credits for the MSS and seven credits for the MLSP Because three MLSP courses and the MLSP field instruction requirement are applied toward satisfaction of the MSS requirements, joint-degree students complete a total of 22 courses.
Candidates interested in pursuing the MSS and the MLSP degrees concurrently should anticipate the additional tuition for MLSP courses and additional time commitment needed to complete both degrees. Candidates may consult with the director of the MLSP program regarding these factors.
Degree candidates in the MSS or PhD programs may enroll in Law and Social Policy courses, subject to the requirements of those programs and to the availability of space. Further information may be obtained from the Admissions Office.
