Concentrations

Students are required to select a concentration in the Advanced Curriculum. Concentrations available are Clinical and Macro. Each concentration has specific course requirements in addition to those required in the specialization. 

Secondary Concentration Option

It is also possible to elect a secondary concentration in conjunction with a primary one. A secondary concentration will expose the student to some of the content from the other concentration through study in two courses.

A student interested in this educational plan would satisfy all of the requirements for either the clinical or Macro concentration, including the diversity requirement. The student would also complete two courses from the other concentration. Thirty-six advanced credits are required at a minimum. Students choosing a secondary concentration must develop their plan of study carefully.

Clinical

Samantha Fuld Co-Chairs:  
Samantha Fuld, DSW, MSW,LCSW-C
Whitfield, Darren Darren Whitfield, PhD, MSW 

The Clinical Concentration provides a comprehensive gateway into the world of clinical social work. More direct clinical services are provided by social workers than any other profession in the United States. Our goal is to provide an education and field practicum that prepares graduates for the rapidly changing world of practice. Clinical social workers are licensed to provide a range of therapeutic services to children, adolescents, adults, older adults and their families across multiple settings using a wealth of treatment modalities.

Course Information

Students in the clinical concentration take two required courses, Advanced Clinical Interventions and Psychopathology. Advanced Clinical Interventions teaches students how to apply theoretical models in client assessment and treatment. Psychopathology is a comprehensive immersion into assessment, the use of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Version 5-TR, and evidence-supported practices. All Clinical concentration students must take one of the following 6 courses that have been identified as Core Methods Courses (see list below).

Clinical concentration students have a wide range of advanced methods courses that they can take to fulfill other course requirements. These include in-depth direct practice courses that focus on  variety of populations utilizing cutting-edge treatment approaches. In keeping with social work’s history of providing services in multiple contexts and settings, the program offers courses on working in schools, hospitals, behavioral health settings, and child welfare agencies.

Clinical Core Methods Courses

SWCL 703: Family Therapy
SWCL 711: Clinical Social Work with Children and Adolescents
SWCL 715: Mindfulness, Stress Reduction, and Self Care
SWCL 722: Cognitive Behavioral Therapies
SWCL 756: Motivational Interviewing
SWCL 773: Adult Trauma and Clinical Social Work Practice

Clinical Field Placements in the Advanced Year

In the advanced year, clinical field placements provide an intensive learning experience across over 400 settings throughout the region and abroad. Examples of these settings include: in-patient and out-patient behavioral health facilities and community-based clinics; health care settings that serve people across the lifespan; departments of social service; child welfare settings; the Veterans Administration; social service; non-profits, court systems, employee assistance programs; and school settings.

Leadership, Policy, & Social Change (formerly known as Macro)

Nalini Negi Co-Chairs:
Nalini Negi, MSW, PhD

Lane Victorson Headshot

 Lane Victorson, MSW

The Leadership, Policy, & Social Change concentration prepares social workers to build power and reinvent the world. News headlines and alerts constantly remind us of the incredible suffering around us, including growing inequality, deprivation amidst plenty, rising nationalism, attacks on people and communities because of who they are, and threats to democracy.  

Graduates will remake the world by: 

  • fostering anti-oppressive organizations through leadership,  
  • creating equitable policy through advocacy, and  
  • building strong communities through organizing. 

 

Leadership, Policy, & Social Change Courses

Leadership, Policy, & Social Change concentrators take SWOA 701 Advocacy and SOWK 710 Public Policy for Social Justice. Additionally, students can select from the following courses in the concentration: 

SWOA 703: Program Development
SWOA 704: Community Organizing
SWOA 707: Social Policy & Social Change
SWOA 708 Supervision, Leadership, & Management
SWOA 709: Advanced Community Action

Leadership, Policy, and Social Change Field Practicum in the Advanced Year

Field placements are a critical part of social work education. Students in the Leadership, Policy, & Social Change concentration select their advanced year field practicum from over 70 available sites in the Baltimore-DC region. These placement options explore program development, community organizing, legislative advocacy, policy formulation, employee assistance, and grassroots leadership development. Because of our school’s unique location, placements offer students opportunities to interact with local, national, and international experts. Many of these field placements include stipends. 

If an agency you are interested in is not listed among the field sites, please reach out to fieldeducation@ssw.umaryland.edu to explore whether this agency might present a new field partnership. 

Searching for Leadership, Policy, and Social Change (Macro) Jobs

Download Guide to Macro Job Search

Can I Still Get Licensed?

Social Work licensing is an option for all concentrations here at the SSW! Below is some information to dispel some common myths:

  1. EACH state has their own Board of Social Work Examiners (BSWE) that issues social work licenses. To search for the specific requirements for your state go to the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) website: http://aswbsocialworkregulations.org/licensingWebsitesReportBuilder.jspe
  1. In Maryland, the LMSW category of licensure is open to any individual who has earned a MSW from a program that is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), is at least 18 years old; and has successfully passed an examination prescribed by the BSWE. ( Full listing of criteria at Md. Health Occupations Code Ann. § 19-302.)
  1. The examination prescribed by the MD BSWE is the Masters Exam for LMSW applicants. The Masters exam is a generalist social work test administered by the ASWB and includes questions for all areas of social work practice at the foundation level including policy, program management, community organization, and clinical casework.
  1. There are no specific MSW courses required to take or pass the LMSW exam
  1. Looking further into the future: All individuals who have earned an MSW are eligible to apply for the LCSW-C. Criteria includes: required clinical coursework*, clinical job experience with LMSW license, and passing the Clinical Licensing test administered by ASWB.

* The requirement for 12 academic credits of clinical course work includes the required foundation year courses in the MSW program: SOWK 630 Social Work Practice with Individuals, SOWK 632 Social Work Practice with Groups and Families, and SOWK 645 Human Behavior and the Social Environment. (10.42.01.04 G (2)) Those wishing to obtain the LCSW-C would need an additional 3 credit clinical course.

Ready to be a Changemaker?