Urban Mission
The Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW) is committed to education which furthers social and economic justice in the urban environment and strives to incorporate this commitment into its programs and activities. The School is especially concerned with empowerment of all oppressed groups. BUSSW recognizes the ever-changing demands on the profession and strives to meet them through the highest quality of teaching, scholarship, research, practice, and political action.
BUSSW's aim is to educate professional social workers who will become leaders in a complex, diverse, and multicultural society. They will possess the knowledge and the skills to address the needs and potentials of individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. The School offers an integrated program of study, including clinical and macro social work methods. It emphasizes the engagement of personal and community strengths as fundamental to the understanding, treatment, and prevention of individual and social problems.
BUSSW has five goals that are derived from this mission. Student learning objectives emanate from these five goals. Twelve learning objectives are incorporated into course and field instruction. Multiple outcome measures ensure program effectiveness. In accord with the School's mission, the major goals of BUSSW are to:
- Educate outstanding social work practitioners in an intellectually rigorous environment so they can integrate and apply clinical and macro practice methods in urban settings and diverse communities.
- Provide professional opportunities for MSW students in a variety of sectors and settings.
- Engage in faculty research, scholarship, and service which will advance theory, policy, and practice in the profession of social work and in the field of social welfare more generally.
- Provide faculty expertise and leadership toward strengthening urban communities, particularly in relation to the Greater Boston metropolitan area and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
- Provide lifelong learning opportunities for social workers and other helping professionals, particularly those in public and private nonprofit agencies.
