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Dean's Welcome

Welcome from Dean Vecchiolla

Thank you for your consideration. Springfield College is an independent, comprehensive, coeducational institution, founded in 1885, whose mission is to educate students in spirit, mind, and body, for leadership in service to humanity by building upon a foundation of Humanics and academic excellence.

The School of Social Work is proud to be part of Springfield College and its rich tradition of preparing leaders for service to others and traces its earliest history at the college to 1890. Since 1989, the Master of Social Work program has been continuously accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. Today, the School of Social Work enrolls approximately 300 graduate social work students in full-time and part-time programs.

Your decision to pursue a Master of Social Work degree (M.S.W.) is timely as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that employment of social workers is expected to increase much faster than the average for all occupations through 2016.

Springfield College School of Social Work will prepare you for practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities in a variety of areas such as adult mental health, child welfare/child mental health, school social work, and gerontology and for direct practice, supervision, administration and public policy-making activities. Five unique characteristics distinguish Springfield College School of Social Work:

1. Focus on Advanced Generalist Practice;
2. Options for completing the M.S.W. degree part-time in three years with weekend classes or full-time on weekdays in two years;
3. Options for graduates of accredited B.S.W. programs to choose a four semester weekend advanced standing program or a three semester weekday advanced standing program;
4. Combined M.S.W./J.D program in partnership with Western New England University School of Law completed in four years, full-time; and
5. First year M.S.W. weekend classes offered in Worcester.

The school offers many choices for your field internship assignments at agencies throughout New England and New York. The field education program is structured around four areas of learning to ensure that you gain experience in developing a full range of advanced generalist social work skills including direct service with individuals, group work, community development and organization, and administration and organizational development. Under certain circumstances, employment-based field internships can be arranged.

Faculty members are passionate about teaching and are actively engaged in social work practice, community services, and scholarly work that they bring to the classroom. Faculty members are recognized locally, nationally, and internationally for their expertise. Springfield College School of Social Work is student-centered, community-focused, committed to diversity, and committed to promoting continuous learning.

We look forward to helping you become a leader in social work by providing you with an exceptional graduate experience. You are invited to meet us at an Open House between the hours of 4 and 6 p.m. on either November 17, 2011 or February 2, 2012 at our location at the Brennan Center. We are looking forward to meeting you.