BUSSW Launches MSW Pathway Program to Increase Diversity in the Social Work Field
As part of its mission to advance equity and accessibility in social work education, BU School of Social Work has designed a free Master of Social Work (MSW) pre-admission support program for individuals from historically underrepresented communities — with a goal to improve the cultural competency of the social services workforce.
The MSW Pathway Program was created to diversify the social work graduate student and practitioner population – increasing the number of individuals who want to pursue a career in social work and commit to working with Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) communities, with a preference towards those working with youth and families experiencing mental health problems or who are committed to creating programs and improving policies to help these families.
With support from Accelerate the Future, a private family foundation supporting organizations that improve the livelihoods of children through STEM, adolescent mental health, and pediatric cancer research initiatives, this program expands the reach of BUSSW’s successful Building Refugee and Immigrant Degrees for Graduate Education (BRIDGE) Program. BRIDGE has helped bring individuals who are immigrants and refugees into the social work profession since the 1990s. The new MSW Pathway Program broadens the pre-admission support to include historically underrepresented individuals without international ties, opening doors to a wider population of aspiring social workers.
The Pathway program will be led by Dean Jorge Delva and Claudio Martinez, co-director of the School’s BRIDGE program. Their goal is to increase the number of professionally trained social workers from culturally and linguistically diverse populations through a unique support structure that provides a transitional pathway to graduate academic education.
MSW Pathway will begin in Fall 2022 with nine weeks of in-person and virtual instruction led by School of Social Work faculty members. Faculty will introduce participants to the culture and expectations of graduate social work education, and will provide individualized assistance in applying to MSW programs anywhere in the United States. Participants who enroll in an MSW program will also receive ongoing support and mentorship from program coordinators, faculty and student groups. This support network will remain available to Pathway graduates as they tackle career planning and job searches in and after their MSW program.
The MSW Pathway application is open now. Eligible individuals may apply until September 15, 2022. For more information about the program and application process, visit the Applying & Deadlines webpage.
Program Co-Directors
Jorge Delva, dean of the School of Social Work and director of its Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health (CISWH), is a nationally recognized expert on ethnic health inequalities and substance use disorders. As the Paul Farmer Professor for CISWH, he works to expand social work’s impact in healthcare and public health to improve the lives of vulnerable populations.
Claudio Martinez, a community organizer and advocacy leader, is co-director of the BRIDGE Program, executive director of Zero Debt Massachusetts and La Vida Scholars, and former executive director of the Hyde Square Task Force. He has served as a fellow at the Barr Foundation and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).