The School of Social Work

The School of Social Work

Interim Dean: Golam Mathbor, Ph.D.
Director of the B.S.W. Program: Christa Hogan, Ph.D.
Director of the M.S.W. Program: Elena Mazza, Ph.D.

Social workers are concerned with improving the health and quality of life of persons who are disconnected or excluded from larger society. Social workers engage in practice at all levels, from working with children to working with communities and governments. The profession and the program at Monmouth are particularly concerned with human rights and social and economic justice, the representation and support of vulnerable or oppressed segments of the population, and direct-action strategies to bring about positive change for the disenfranchised.

The central mission of the School of Social Work at Monmouth University is to prepare its graduates for professional social work practice that strives to secure social and economic justice,  advance human rights, and improve the quality of life of vulnerable families, individuals, organizations, communities, and nations on the local, national, and global levels.

The B.S.W. Program prepares students for generalist professional social work practice. Secondarily, the B.S.W. Program prepares social work students for graduate social work education. The B.S.W. Program also introduces individuals within the University community to relevant social work and social welfare issues.

On the foundation of a liberal arts tradition, students are engaged to broaden and challenge their understanding, analysis, and evaluation of human experiences and societies in the past and in the contemporary world, and of families and individuals of varied cultural and social contexts.

The curriculum supports this mission through three perspectives:

  • social and economic justice through the advancement of human rights,
  • strengths-based empowerment, and
  • practice with families within a global context.

Families within a global context define the initial focal social unit for all social work practice at Monmouth University.

Our three perspectives inform both our B.S.W. and M.S.W. programs as they contribute to the development of students’ knowledge, values, and skills:

  1. To conceptualize and contribute to social work theory, knowledge, values, and skills on a generalist level for B.S.W. students, and on an advanced, concentration-specific level for M.S.W. students through three interrelated perspectives: social and economic justice through the advancement of human rights, strengths-based empowerment, and practice with families within a global context;
  2. To develop the skills to understand, analyze, and evaluate the quality of life and well-being of vulnerable families, individuals, organizations, communities, and nations that is grounded in a strengths-based empowerment approach for social and economic justice and human rights;
  3. To prepare social work practitioners to develop and systematically apply knowledge, values, skills, and ethics in their work with families, individuals, organizations, communities, and nations of diverse cultural contexts in working collaboratively toward the prevention and solution of social problems;
  4. To think critically, analyze, produce, and disseminate research that informs theory, policy, practice, and evaluation in social work;
  5. To collaborate with and support vulnerable populations through advocacy, social action, volunteerism, service, education, and consultation, working from a strengths-based empowerment approach for social and economic justice and human rights.

School of Social Work Honor Society: Phi Alpha: Graduate and Undergraduate