At the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, social justice is more than a buzzword. It is at the heart of everything we do — informing our education, focusing our research, propelling our community partnerships and fueling our commitment to equity.
Looking for a community that shares your passion and your purpose? It’s right here, at GSSW.
At GSSW, the faculty, staff and students take their commitment to social justice seriously. There is a palpable sense of agency among students to not merely be recipients of education but to take their roles as burgeoning changemakers in the social realm seriously.
Jessica King, Doctoral Candidate
A Collaborative Community
Our shared purpose to advance equity brings together some of social work’s brightest faculty, students and partners, who work collaboratively and across disciplines to respond to community needs such as homelessness and health care reform. We celebrate bold approaches to problem-solving and embrace the rich diversity of our extended community.
Catalyst Series for Social Justice: Truth & Reparations
GSSW will host Dr. David Ragland, co-founder and co-executive director of the Truth Telling Project and the director of the Grassroots Reparations Campaign. Dr. Ragland will explore issues regarding progressive politics, reparations, and the systemic changes needed to enact them in the United States and the world at large. His conversation will provide a deep dive into reparations as a spiritual and healing practice that responds to gross abuses against human rights. In this historical moment, the entire nation and world is grappling with what accountability looks like, the urgent need to support those to tell their truths and repair the harm the truth reveals. Dr. Ragland will discuss H.R. 40 and its path to restorative justice, and the work to create a culture of reparations.
With master’s degree programs online and on campus in Denver, in western Colorado and in the Four Corners region, the Graduate School of Social Work will prepare you for a career in social work and to create social change in your community — wherever you call home.
Programs
On-Campus MSW Programs
Our top-ranked Master of Social Work (MSW) degree is available on three Colorado campuses — Denver, Durango and Glenwood Springs — through our Denver Campus, Four Corners and Western Colorado programs.
No matter where you live in the U.S., you can access MSW@Denver — a top-ranked, 100-percent online Master of Social Work (MSW) degree program with a concentration in Mental Health and Trauma.
The demand for social work research, scholarship and education is greater than ever. With a PhD in social work, you’ll be prepared for an academic career as a social justice scholar, educator or policy expert.
At the Graduate School of Social Work, we know we’re stronger together. That’s why we’ve committed to being an engaged community partner, working with a broad range of individuals and organizations — locally, nationally and globally — to understand problems, explore possibilities, implement solutions and influence change at individual, organizational and systems levels.
Can social workers change the world? We believe they already are. At the Graduate School of Social Work, you’re not just learning from and working with some of the profession’s most respected teachers and scholars. You’re part of a community of social justice champions whose work is catalyzing social change —addressing racial, economic, environmental, health and other systems of inequity — throughout Colorado, the Rocky Mountain West and beyond.
An Epicenter for Impact
Our faculty members are courageous, creative thinkers who represent a broad range of backgrounds, research interests and practice areas. Their collaborative, cross-disciplinary scholarship is creating knowledge and establishing science-informed, high-impact practice in areas such as addictions and substance use, public policy, youth development, housing and homelessness, child welfare, human-animal connection, and civic and community engagement.
Sheltering in Community: Expressive Art Therapy and Visual Journaling as a Vehicle for Healing and Transformation
In these shifting and emotionally challenging times, how do we bring support to those who may feel isolated and without community? Living through a pandemic has stretched most people’s ability to remain resilient and centered. The art of visual journaling offers a place for feelings and emotions to be seen and released, moving beyond the written word and into visual storytelling.
Self-Mastery with the Enneagram: Communication and Feedback
This workshop will present an overview of the nine Enneagram types and their communication styles, including a discussion of the impact, type-based listening, body language and blind spots of each type. Utilizing methodology and training based on the teachings of Ginger Lapid-Bogda of the Enneagram in Business, as well as masters such as Russ Hudson and Helen Palmer, we will engage in practices to develop your communication strengths and address problem areas, learn how to be best understood, and how to recognize your impact with written and verbal communication.
Self-Mastery with the Enneagram: Conflict and Anger
This workshop will present an overview of the nine Enneagram types specifically with regard to the type’s relationship to conflict and anger. Participants will come away with practical strategies for managing their own reactivity and anger responses as well as concrete and applicable conflict-resolution techniques.