Learning Outcomes

Master of Social Work (MSW) Learning Outcomes

Identify as a professional social worker and conduct oneself accordingly.
Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice.
Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments.
Engage diversity and difference in practice.
Advance human rights and social and economic justice.
Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research.
Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment.
Engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to deliver effective social work services.
Respond to contexts that shape practice.
Engage, assess, intervene, and evaluate with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

School of Social Work Outcomes

To develop social work practitioners who understand social work knowledge, values, and skills to enhance all levels of client systems.
To prepare professional social work practitioners to engage in culturally sensitive practice that encourages active community participation in advancing social and economic justice.
To prepare social work practitioners to integrate multidisciplinary bodies of knowledge and skills into their practice in order to empower clients.
To develop social work practitioners who incorporate reflective practices to enhance understanding of self and others within their diverse context.
Prepare social work practitioners who embrace core social work values and ethics in service of all people with particular attention to marginalized and disenfranchised persons and communities.
To prepare social workers that are lifelong learners committed to the growth of their own professional knowledge base, ongoing professional development, and self-growth.

Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes

Council on Social Work Education

Dominican University's Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) MSW program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and is one of the first graduate schools in the nation to offer a globally focused, family centered concentration.

Dominican University in compliance with CSWE 2008 Educational Policy Standards measures and reports student learning outcomes yearly. Students are assessed on their attainment of the ten core competencies. Each core competency is operationalized by measurable practice behaviors throughout the curriculum. Benchmarks were established for the attainment of each competency overall, as well as for the individual practice behaviors as measured from each data source. An assessment score at or above that benchmark is considered by the program to represent attainment of that particular competency.