From the Dean

Dear Prospective Student:

Your interest in social work is a clear indication that you have a passion for intellectual exploration, discovery, theories, ideas, experiments and observations. Graduate social work education is one of the most important investments you will ever make. We hope you will take the time to discover why the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) offers you exceptional preparation for this rewarding career.

You may already have a clear vision of your professional goals – whether that means working with at-risk adolescents, becoming a policy analyst or an advocate for underprivileged citizens, treating individuals with mental illness or implementing sustainable interventions in poverty-stricken communities. On the other hand, you may be like many of our entering students who bring with them a primary motivation to make a positive impact on the world, but are still deciding how to make that impact.

In either case, you will find that GSSW offers you academic and field internship options that you will not find anywhere else. A Master of Social Work (MSW) is one of the most dynamic graduate degrees you can earn, preparing you to practice effectively in a wide variety of clinical, community or policy settings. The flexibility of our program, including more than 600 field placement options and the opportunity to customize your education with one of our unique certificates or interdisciplinary dual degree programs, allows you to create an almost unlimited number of rewarding career paths. And labor market career trends indicate that employment in the social work profession will continue to increase at a steady rate over the next several years.

From my own extensive practice experience, I can assure you that being a social work practitioner will bring you a deep-seated feeling of personal satisfaction, with many opportunities to make a positive difference in the world.

Welcome, from our faculty, staff and students, to the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work — the center for social work in the west!

All the best,

James Herbert Williams, PhD., MSW
Dean and Professor