GSSW Academic Programs

Skills for Social Change

Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) faculty, staff and students may represent a broad range of backgrounds, research interests and practice areas, but we share a common identity as champions of justice with a bias toward action.

Our focus on social and racial justice shows up in everything we do, including our curriculum. A GSSW education provides much more than a strong foundation in social work practice, critical thinking and research methods. Whether you are planning to work in policy, community-based settings or private practice, you’ll be grounded in our action-oriented approach to justice and trained to see individuals and systems through the lens of power, privilege and oppression. You’ll be prepared to be a force for social justice in your profession and in your life.

“How do we use the power of narrative — informed by cultural histories of contribution, resistance and justice — to activate change?"

Professor Debora Ortega

Social Work Degree Options

In Denver, you can enroll full time or part time in the Denver Campus MSW Program or the Denver Campus Advanced-Standing MSW Program. We also offer several MSW dual degrees and certificates in Global Social Work, Human–Animal–Environment Interactions, Latinx Social Work and School Social Work. Our social work doctoral program is located on the Denver campus as well.

In Glenwood Springs, Colorado, you can select the Western Colorado MSW Program or the Western Colorado Advanced-Standing MSW Program, both of which are full time. Located in Durango, Colorado, the Four Corners MSW Program and Four Corners Advanced-Standing MSW Program are full time as well.

The full time or part time Online MSW Program:MSW@Denver and Online Advanced-Standing MSW Program:MSW@Denver are available to students nationwide.

two female msw students on graduation day

MSW Degree Programs

Our top-ranked Master of Social Work (MSW) degree programs — online or on campus in three locations — will prepare you for a career pursuing social justice and positive change for individuals and communities.

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gssw phd graduate

PhD Program

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.

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associate professor karen bensen with graduate

MSW Dual-Degree Programs

With an MSW dual degree, you’ll save time and money and graduate with an advantage in the job market. Social work dual-degree options include public health, business, human rights, law, social justice and more.

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22 Average class size

500+ GSSW students

750+ field internship sites

university of denver campus

Want to learn more about our MSW programs?

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Social Work in Action

Classroom and field experience. Faculty-student research collaborations. Student organizations, career planning and student support. They all work together to prepare you to create social change through a career in social work. And career options are plentiful, with the number of U.S. social work careers projected to grow by 16 percent through 2026 — much faster than the average for all occupations. Whether you see yourself as a clinical social worker, a policy advocate, a community organizer, a researcher or an educator, we have a path that will meet your purpose.

"We want to invest in your passion and potential to make a difference in the world"

Dean Amanda Moore McBride

The focus of social justice within the curriculum, paired with the professors’ approaches, helped hone my interventions with family systems, allowing me to be a change agent with families.

Adam Tannenbaum, MSW ’15, Clinical Supervisor and Program Manager, Adolescent Substance Abuse Program, Denver Family Therapy Center Read More
Adam Tannenbaum

Recent Stories

abolition
Prison-Industrial Complex Abolition

In a new course, Assistant Professor Sophia Sarantakos introduces MSW students to prison-industrial complex abolition.

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mutual aid
Mutual Aid Collective

Through the Mutual Aid Collective, GSSW faculty, staff, students, alumni and community partners are exploring the intersections of social work and collective care.

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Jason Lester
Improving Child Welfare

As a clinical assistant professor, GSSW alumnus Jason Lester, MSW ’16, shares experience from his career improving child permanency with future child welfare caseworkers.

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