Jane Addams College of Social Work

The Jane Addams College of Social Work is a division of the University of Illinois at Chicago and is located at 1040 West Harrison Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607-7134.

Mission statement

The mission statement of the Jane Addams College of Social Work carries the mission of Jane Addams and the Hull-House movement forward, adapting it to the realities of today’s inner city settings. The college’s mission is to educate professional social workers, develop knowledge, and provide leadership in the development and implementation of policies and services on behalf of the poor, the oppressed, racial and ethnic minorities, and other at-risk urban populations. In doing this, the college values and respects the full range of human diversity.

History

The School of Social Work was founded in 1946 on the Urbana Campus of the University of Illinois. A branch of the school was located at the UIC Medical Center. In 1961, the name of the school was changed to the Jane Addams Graduate School of Social Work. The school was moved to the Chicago Circle Campus in 1965 and renamed the Jane Addams College of Social Work due to the inclusion of an undergraduate degree program.

Academic programs

BSW

The Bachelor of Social Work degree program is open to qualified students who have a liberal arts background and who are committed to developing professional social work knowledge, values, and skills. The program is full-time in the junior and senior years and it prepares students for entry-level, generalist practice with an emphasis on direct services and public sector programs. The BSW program builds on a broad liberal arts base and includes professional social work courses and a supervised field experience. Curriculum areas include: social work practice, human behavior and the social environment, social work research, social welfare policy and services, and field instruction.

MSW

The Master of Social Work degree program develops the knowledge, values, and skills necessary for advanced social work practice in an area of concentration. The foundation portion of the MSW curriculum provides a generalist perspective on social work practice. Curriculum areas include: social work practice, human behavior and the social environment, social work research, social welfare policy and services, and field instruction. The concentration portion of the MSW curriculum builds upon the foundation. Advanced curriculum content, tailored to the concentration, is provided in the areas of social work practice, human behavior in the social environment, social work research, social welfare policy and services, and field instruction. Plans of study

Ph.D.

Consistent with the Jane Addams Hull-House tradition, the PhD Program in Social Work is designed to support the development of scholars of social, racial, and economic justice. Students and faculty work collaboratively to advance knowledge in social work practice, policy, and research—knowledge that responds to critical social needs, challenges oppression, and contributes to the development of a more just society. The college has particular strength in the areas of criminal justice, child welfare, minority health, HIV/AIDS, violence and violence prevention, school social work, mental health, and substance abuse, among others.

The doctoral program at the Jane Addams College of Social Work is primarily oriented toward scholarship and knowledge building; the college does not offer a doctorate in clinical practice. Students take a core set of courses within the college in conjunction with interdisciplinary course work that supports their dissertation work. The core social work courses in the PhD program focus on policy, planning, practice theories, social welfare history, and research methods. Students choose either social policy or practice theory as an area of specialization. Common areas of interdisciplinary focus include anthropology, economics, education, sociology, psychology, public health, urban planning, gender and women’s studies, criminal justice, industrial and labor relations, political science, and business. A dissertation is required; the topic of the dissertation should have significance for social work theory, policy, or practice and should have the potential to contribute to advancing social, racial, or economic justice.

References

• University Archives Database, University of Illinois at Chicago (2007).
• http://www.uic.edu/jaddams/college/