BRYN MAWR

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research

GSSWSR Course Guide Online

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MASTER OF SOCIAL SERVICE

Foundation Courses

Concentrations

• Clinical Social Work
• Social Service Management
• Policy Practice and Advocacy

Field Instruction

MASTER OF SOCIAL SERVICE

The program for the M.S.S. degree provides concentrated study in three alternative areas of social work practice: Clinical Social Work, Social Service Management, and Policy Practice and Advocacy.  Students select one area of concentration that is supported by a set of required courses that are common to the field as a whole.  Candidates must complete a minimum of eighteen semester course units, including four course units of field instruction.

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FOUNDATION COURSES

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The foundation courses are designed to introduce all students to the range of social and behavioral science theories, social policies, analytical methods, and values that form the context of social work practice.  Students generally complete these common requirements during the first year of full‑time study.  It is recommended that part-time students complete these requirements, with the exception of practice (103 and 104 or 114) and field instruction (161 and 162) during the first year or prior to enrolling in field instruction.  In addition, all students must take the course in Issues of Cultural Diversity (254).  This course is offered in both summer sessions and the fall semesters.

*      132, 131, 146, 151, 254 and some 300 level electives are offered in the summer sessions.

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CONCENTRATIONS

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After completing the one semester Foundation Practice course, students select a semester of either Direct Practice OR Community Practice.  Students who have taken Foundation Practice and Direct Practice may choose a concentration in Clinical Social Work OR Social Service Management; students who have taken Foundation Practice and Community Practice move into the concentration in Policy Practice and Advocacy.  Practice classes and field instruction are taken concurrently in four consecutive semesters. 

In addition, all students must take three elective courses.  The elective courses provide an opportunity for specialization and depth as students prepare for professional careers at the Master’s level.  They also offer students the opportunity to explore a variety of roles taken by social workers, and thus encourage flexibility for further growth during the student’s entire career. 

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Clinical Social Work

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Clinical social workers provide direct help to families, individuals, and groups.  The services offered include intervening in crisis situations, finding available community resources, short- and long-term counseling, and coordinating the efforts of other professions providing medical, psychiatric, legal, rehabilitative, child welfare and other services.

The individuals, families and groups served in this way come from all social and economic classes, from historically under-served minority groups, and from groups with special needs, such as the elderly, people with physical disabilities, and abused and neglected children.  Clinical social workers may be employed in public or non‑profit agencies, in private industry, in large voluntary or public institutions such as hospitals or nursing homes, and in individual or group practice.

*      132, 131, 146, 151, 254 and some 300 level electives are offered in the summer sessions.

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Social Service Management

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Social Service Management prepares graduates for a career combining direct work with clients and the responsibilities of managing a social service organization.  Building on the first‑year practice focus on individuals, families, and groups, the management sequence puts special emphasis on the skills of supervision, agency management, and systematic treatment of cases handled by an organization.

Social Service organizations  may  be  public  or  private,  corporate  or  voluntary,  specialized  or  broad‑based in terms of clients served.  They may have several internal levels of management or only a single level.

*      132, 131, 146, 151, 254 and some 300 level electives are offered in the summer sessions.

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Policy Practice and Advocacy

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Policy Practice and Advocacy explores the ways social programs and institutions have a direct impact on people. Social workers in this field represent the needs of individuals, groups, and communities within the social policy arena.  They also seek to empower these same constituencies to articulate their own needs and to find resources to meet those needs.  The foundation skills in this concentration are provided in the first‑year sequence, Community Practice.

The second year practice course focuses on theories and skill development in community needs assessment, program evaluation, budgeting, marketing, policy/program analysis, grants writing and personnel administration.

Students learn the distinct functions of the community organizer, the group advocate, the program planner, and the policy researcher.  Although they may specialize in skills needed to practice in one or more of these areas, all students will gain an understanding of how the social system works, and how it can be changed.

*  132, 131, 146, 151, 254 and some 300 level electives are offered in the summer sessions.

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FIELD INSTRUCTION

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Field Instruction is an integral part of the curriculum for the Master of Social Service degree.  The purpose of such instruction is to provide the opportunity for the student to apply theory to practice in order to deepen knowledge and develop skills in its use.  Students' assignments are based on their concentration and are planned to give content, sequence, and progression in learning.  Following an interview with the Director of Field Instruction, each student is assigned a placement designed to reflect the student’s interests, broaden the student's experience and further develop some of the areas in which the student is relatively inexperienced. 

Field Instruction and the Practice classes must be taken concurrently in order to enhance the blend of practice and theory.  Students enrolled in first year practice courses are in the field two days per week.  Students enrolled in concentration practice courses are in the field three days per week.

Most of the field settings are in the five-county Philadelphia metropolitan region.  Federal, state and private agencies in Washington, DC, Harrisburg, and Wilmington are also used.  The range of field placements includes programs dealing with aging, child day care, child welfare, community mental health, consumer protection, juvenile and adult corrections, addictions, education, family services, health care, housing, legal services, the legislative process, maternal and child health, mental retardation, neighborhood organization, physical rehabilitation, psychiatric services, public welfare, school social work, social planning, social welfare research, vocational rehabilitation, women’s issues, and youth services.

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Last modified November 2007 — Bryn Mawr College GSSWSR