Welcome! The Social Work Program was established in 1972, when the University began offering academic programs. The School offers undergraduate and graduate programs leading to the Bachelors (BSSW) and Masters (MSW) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Social Work. The BSSW program was one of the first degree program offerings in the University and has been accredited since July, 1974, by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The MSW degree program has been offered since August, 1981 and and received full accreditation status from CSWE in April, 1986. The School is located on the University Park Campus.

 

The School of Social Work offers programs of professional study which prepares graduates to work effectively in complex human service organizations. These organizations may be located in governmental or voluntary settings, in community, regional, state, and national systems. Emphasis is placed on achieving a comprehensive, developmental, and community oriented understanding of problems, issues, alternatives, and needs of an urban society faced with rapidly changing social, political, economic, and cultural conditions.

Faculty members are recruited from prominent universities both nationally and internationally and bring excellence and diversity to teaching and research in the School. Faculty members are involved in a wide range of community projects. These include but are not limited to projects involving the FIU-Department of Children and Families Professional Development Center, the Community Based Intervention Research Group (C-BIRG), the Latino Drug Abuse Research Center (LDARC), the Latino HIV Behavioral Science Center (LHIVBSC), and the South East Florida Center on Aging, as well as many other research centers and groups throughout the South Florida region.  The graduate faculty was ranked fourth in the nation in faculty scholarly productivity by Academic Analytics, as reported in the November 16, 2007, issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education

 

The social work profession is concerned with preventing and ameliorating social problems and enhancing the quality of human life. Professional practice focuses on the transactions between people and their environments that affect their ability to accomplish life tasks, alleviate distress, and realize individual and collective aspirations. Central to the profession is the belief in the dignity and worth of each person. It requires a high degree of knowledge, skill, dedication, and scientific understanding of society and human behavior, social work practice skills, and identification with the values of the profession. FIU's School of Social Work prepares students for a career in this rewarding profession.