What is social work?
Social work is a profession that helps people solve and cope with problems in their everyday lives and in their environment. To help individuals overcome obstacles in their lives, social workers must identify resources individuals and communities need; and remove barriers to accessing resources.
Established at the University of Minnesota in 1917, the School of Social Work offers one of the oldest graduate social work programs among the land-grant universities in the United States. More than 100 years later, we remain committed to educating ethical, competent social work practitioners and scholars who excel at direct practice, community practice, teaching, theory development, policy development, and evaluation.
Undergraduate minors
We offer three undergraduate minors to all current University of Minnesota undergraduates, including social justice and family violence prevention.
Master of social work (MSW)
Advance your career in social work by earning an MSW, gaining real-world experience, and logging hours for licensure.
PhD in social work
Established in 1946, our program is one of the oldest in the United States, and develops a mentoring partnership between nationally prominent faculty and students to promote knowledge and skills in theory development and community-based research.
Careers in social work
Child, Family, and School Social Worker
- Maintain case history records and prepare reports.
- Interview clients individually, in families, or in groups, assessing their situations, capabilities, and problems to determine what services are required to meet their needs.
- Serve as liaisons between students, homes, schools, family services, child guidance clinics, courts, protective services, doctors, and other contacts to help children who face problems, such as disabilities, abuse, or poverty.
- Develop and review service plans in consultation with clients and perform follow-ups assessing the quantity and quality of services provided.
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Address legal issues, such as child abuse and discipline, assisting with hearings and providing testimony to inform custody arrangements.
Healthcare social workers
- Advocate for clients or patients to resolve crises.
- Educate clients about end-of-life symptoms and options to assist them in making informed decisions.
- Collaborate with other professionals to evaluate patients' medical or physical condition and to assess client needs.
- Refer patient, client, or family to community resources to assist in recovery from mental or physical illness and to provide access to services such as financial assistance, legal aid, housing, job placement or education.
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Utilize consultation data and social work experience to plan and coordinate client or patient care and rehabilitation, following through to ensure service efficacy.
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker
- Counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unemployment, or physical abuse.
- Collaborate with counselors, physicians, or nurses to plan or coordinate treatment, drawing on social work experience and patient needs.
- Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress with respect to treatment goals.
- Interview clients, review records, conduct assessments, or confer with other professionals to evaluate the mental or physical condition of clients or patients.
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Supervise or direct other workers who provide services to clients or patients.
Quote from Shelby Wren, PhD candidate
I came to the School of Social Work because I wanted to study health equity and barriers to health care access through a lens that was focused on social justice and systemic solutions. My research focus has changed over the course of my program, mainly in that the depth of my knowledge has increased. Specifically, I have learned a lot about the intersection of social welfare policy and health policy, and have become really fascinated with studying the impacts of changes to those policies. My research focuses on barriers to health care access for queer and trans adults with disabilities, and one of my papers is about how state-level health care policy impacts the mental and physical health of people in that population.
MSW faculty
Saida Abdi
Assistant Professor
Joan Blakey
Professor and Gamble Skogmo Endowed Chair
Mimi Choy-Brown
Associate Professor
Marti DeLiema
Assistant Professor
Yuanyuan Hu
Assistant Professor
Katie Johnston-Goodstar
Associate Professor
Amy Krentzman
Associate Professor
Hannah MacDougall
Assistant Professor
Joseph Merighi
Associate Professor
Ginny Ramseyer Winter
Associate Professor
Lynette M. Renner
Professor
Ceema Samimi
Assistant Professor
Patricia Shannon
Associate Professor
Jessica Toft
Associate Professor
Jeff Waid
Associate Professor
Jihee Woo
Assistant Professor