MSW Academics Overview
Mission statement
West Chester University’s Graduate Social Work Department is deeply committed to dismantling oppressive and dehumanizing systems with the goal of a more equitable and just world. Using a justice orientation, we work towards liberation for all.
Program goals
- Prepare graduates to address oppressive and dehumanizing systems from a trauma-informed perspective.
- Prepare graduates to engage in rights-based, anti-oppressive and anti-racist practice.
- Prepare graduates to use harm-reduction strategies to promote safety and healing.
Specialization
Students specializing in Advanced Practice with Individuals, Families, and Communities (APwIFC) at West Chester University learn to approach justice from a nuanced understanding of the ways that systemic oppression causes harm. Graduates engage in rights-based, anti-oppressive and anti-racist practice that privileges lived experiences and is informed by an understanding of individual and collective trauma. Using harm-reduction strategies as a key component in the pursuit of justice, graduates of the MSW Program are poised to participate in the dismantling of oppressive and dehumanizing systems to promote safety and healing.