Professional social work is challenging, rewarding and filled with exciting opportunities. The faculty and staff of the School are committed to preparing students to meet the significant challenges addressed by social workers with advanced degrees in an ever-changing world and to acquainting them with the many rewards of professional social work. Students in the MSW program explore social work from many vantage points. They are asked to examine their values and beliefs in the contexts of those of the profession and of the populations served by social workers. MSW students explore a wide range of theories about human behavior and the environments in which humans live. They learn a range of practice skills used by social workers in efforts to serve and advocate for the individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities with whom we work The graduate program educates students to analyze and advocate for social policies to improve the conditions of vulnerable populations. They grapple with the complexities of human diversity and social and economic justice. The graduate student examines existing research methodologies and learns a range of research skills to help advance evidence based social work practice. The program will acquaint students with the use of new technologies available to social workers. And, perhaps most important, through the field internship experiences, students will have the opportunity to apply what they learn in real life social work practice contexts. The Extended (3-Year) program (63 credit hours) is an extended version of the Regular (2-year) program that allows students to take a reduced number of credit hours per semester (6-9) while completing the foundation curriculum and then move to full-time in their 3rd year for the advanced concentration.