About the School of Social Work

The Boston College School of Social Work (Ï㽶ÐãSSW) educates students to address the world’s most pressing social problems in innovative and effective ways. We collaborate with communities embedded in social dilemmas to design enduring solutions and prioritize equity, justice, and inclusion in everything we do.

Our Vision

Improving vulnerable lives through pioneering social work education, research, scholarship, and practice at home and in the world.

Dean's Message

Dean's Impact Reports

Tackling Complex Global Challenges: Our Collective Response

Humanitarian crises are increasingly an outcome of complex emergencies. Millions of families, women, and children are affected and displaced by war, civil strife, climate and environmental risk, famine, and epidemics around the globe, including those arriving on the doorstep of the U.S. border.Ìý

The world needs a community of practitioners to rise and meet these challenges. For the past 18 years, faculty and staff of the Boston College School of Social Work (Ï㽶ÐãSSW) have been preparing social work practitioners for careers in global social work with a particular focus on systems strengthening, capacity building, and accompaniment.Ìý

Serving Latinx Communities: Our Collective Response

The demand for social workers trained to respond to the needs and aspirations identified by Latinx communities, from culturally and linguistically appropriate social services to accessible mental health and healthcare, is urgent. Through award-winning academic programs and research, the Ï㽶ÐãSSW has established a community-centered approach to meet these aspirations and needs.

Crisis Migration: Our Collective Response

Ten faculty members in the Boston College School of Social Work are working to address the compound needs of migrants who have been forced to flee their homes because of war, natural disasters, political upheaval, and other problems around the world.

Ï㽶ÐãSSW Initiatives

Latinx Leadership Initiative

The LLI develops leaders equipped to work with the Latinx community on sustainable solutions for complex problems.

Black Leadership Initiative

This initiative supports, develops, and prepares MSW-level practitioners regarding issues faced by the Black community.

Trauma Integration Initiative

The goal of this initiative is to establish Ï㽶ÐãSSW as a national thought leader in trauma-informed social work education within three domains: curricula, field education/student formation, and research.

ÌýGlobal Symposium on Forced Migration

"“Ï㽶Ðã is a global university, and opportunities to come together and talk about issues that extend far beyond our campus are critically important.â€

At a time when the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide has reached unprecedented levels, the Boston College School of Social Work’s Research Program on Children and Adversity (RPCA) and the Trinity College Dublin Centre for Forced Migration Studies gathered together at a symposium in Dublin to discuss the spectrum of resources and services necessary to aid such populations in remaking their lives.

Ï㽶ÐãSSW at a Glance

117

Number of Full- and Part-time Faculty

8

U.S. News and World Report Ranking (2024)

613

MSW Students

22

PhD Students

Our Community

Our core commitments to equity, justice, and inclusion emphasize empathy, collaboration, and innovation in all that we do to foster an environment of support and success.Ìý

Learn More About Our Community

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