MSW Program Goals:
Each unit of the School derives its goals from those of the School. The goals of the MSW program flow from those of the School and are listed below.

1. Prepare graduates for advanced independent professional social work practice grounded in a solid liberal arts and professional foundation of knowledge, skills, and values.
2. Prepare graduates for advanced empirically based professional social work practice from a multi-system, life course perspective.
3. Prepare graduates for advanced social work practice with a firm grounding in strategies and tactics for poverty reduction, including interdisciplinary collaborative learning, across system levels in Arkansas, nationally, and globally.
4. Prepare graduates for advanced professional social work practice who are skilled in the use of a variety of technologies for direct practice including research, intervention, and advocacy across the range of social systems with sensitivity to the differing needs of persons across the life course;
5. Prepare graduates for advanced practice emphasizing collaborative and assets-based practice approaches to prepare non-profit, public, and private sector leader/ practitioners committed to social and economic justice who are skilled in the use of a variety of technologies for practice in community and organizational development, management, and finance.
6. Prepare advanced professional social work practitioners for life-long learning including but not limited to doctoral studies.

MSW Foundation Objectives:
Upon completion of the foundations curriculum students will have:

1. The ability to apply the knowledge and skills of culturally competent generalist social work practice with systems of all sizes focusing on assets, resiliency, and consumer directed interventions;
2. The ability to practice without discrimination and with respect, knowledge, and skills related to clients' age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, family structure, gender, marital status, national origin, race religion, sex, and sexual orientation;
3. An understanding of the ability to apply the value base of the profession and its ethical standards and principles;
4. The ability to apply critical thinking skills within the context of professional social work practice
5. The ability to use communication skills differentially across client populations, colleagues, professional disciplines, and communities;
6. Knowledge of traditional and alternative theoretical frameworks supported by empirical evidence to understand individual development and behavior across the life course and the interactions among individuals and between individuals and families, groups, organizations, communities, and global systems;
7. The ability to analyze, formulate, and influence social policies;
8. The ability to evaluate research studies, apply research findings to practice, and evaluate their own practice interventions, and communicate findings;
9. An understanding of the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination including their influence on poverty, and apply strategies of advocacy and social change that advance social and economic justice locally, nationally, and globally.
10. The ability to understand and interpret the history of the social work profession and its contemporary structures and issues;
11. The ability to plan for and implement appropriate life-long professional development activities to incorporate new knowledge and skills in practice. 
12. The ability to use supervision and consultation appropriate to social work practice;
13. The capacity to function within the structure of organizations and service delivery systems and seek necessary organizational change
14. The ability to use technology effectively and appropriately to achieve the purposes of social work.

MSW Concentration Objectives:

1. Multi-system, Life-course Objective: Demonstrate knowledge and skills of advanced social work practice using a multi-system, life-course perspective including skills in prevention of social problems, leadership, building appropriate client system relationships, applying technology, use of supervision and consultation, collaboration across disciplines, collecting and assessing information, planning, identifying, analyzing, implementing, and evaluating empirically based interventions. Special expectations include demonstration of advanced practice skills to advance social and economic justice across systems and the life course, locally, nationally, and globally that are grounded in assets and resiliency.

2. Area of Emphasis Objective: Demonstrate the acquisition of advanced knowledge and skills relevant to one area of emphasis consistent within the multi-system life course concentration. Areas of emphasis in children, youth and families; health; mental health; aging; and management, administration, and supervision.

3. Life-long Learning Objective: Integrate a life-long learning approach to advanced practice, in addition to a current knowledge acquisition approach. Special expectations include preparation for delivery of continuing education to the profession at large, preparation for doctoral study, use of technology in knowledge creation, acquisition, and dissemination, and use of knowledge created by other disciplines.

4. Policy Objective: Demonstrate advanced skills in social work policy practice including research, analysis, formulation, influence, and advocacy for policies consistent with social work values. Special expectations include knowledge of policy practice grounded in historical and emerging strategies and tactics for poverty reduction including assets development across system levels (organizational, local, state, national, and international) with attention to financial, organizational, administrative, technological, and planning processes required to deliver services across the life course.

5. Research Objective: Demonstrate the ability to develop, use, and effectively communicate qualitative and quantitative empirically based knowledge at an advanced level to ethically build knowledge for practice. Special expectations include the use of technology in conducting research to evaluate program outcomes, practice effectiveness, initiate change, and improve practice, policy, and social service delivery especially related to the impact of poverty on human well-being.

6. Theory Objective: Demonstrate advanced knowledge of empirically based traditional and alternative theories about the behavior, development, and functioning of the range of social systems (individuals, families, groups, institutions, organizations, communities, and cultures) across the life course.

7. Values And Ethics Objective: Demonstrate integration of the values and principles of ethical social work practice consistent with the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics and School's Ethical Principles/Guidelines for Students at an advanced level of practice. Special expectations include understanding of the ethical implications of use of technology.

8. Populations-At-Risk And Social And Economic Justice Objective: Demonstrate the ability to understand, synthesize and address the complex influences of human, geographical, and cultural diversity on personal, social, and economic prosperity and justice with special attention to populations-at-risk locally, nationally, and globally with special attention to social, health, economic, and educational indicators of risk.

9. Diversity Objective: Demonstrate at an advanced level understanding, affirmation, and respect for people from diverse backgrounds including: age, class, color, disability, ethnicity, family structure, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation. Special expectations of students include understanding, affirmation, and respect for persons who are poor and persons across the life course.

10. Field Objective: Demonstrate the accomplishment of advanced practice skills, knowledge, and values consistent with the mission, goals, and objectives of social work and the MSW program through effective performance in field internship. Special expectations include demonstration of leadership skills and ability for independent practice, preparation for intervention with global issues, use of current technology for practice, and successful interdisciplinary collaboration.

MSW Degree Handbook

The latest version of the MSW Handbook is available for  download here.  MSW Handbook