Offered in collaboration with the Iliff School of Theology, a Master of Social Work (MSW) and Master of Arts in Pastoral and Spiritual Care (MAPSC) integrates religious knowledge and spiritual care with social work training in direct practice work with individuals, families and groups. You’ll be prepared for professional social work licensure and to provide counseling services in religious institutions and faith-based organizations as well as traditional mental health settings.
Want to learn more about the MSW and MAPSC dual-degree program?
Your Career Options
With an MSW and MAPSC dual degree, you’ll graduate with a competitive, cross-disciplinary skillset that will give you an advantage in the job market. Career options include:
- Providing therapy in a religiously affiliated mental health agency
- Working as a private-practice therapist with a spiritual focus
- Working as a spiritual director in private practice, congregational settings, schools or retreats
- Providing pastoral counseling in churches, religious organizations, or in other faith-based settings
- Serving as a chaplain in hospitals, schools, elder-care settings or hospices
Featured Social Work Courses
SOWK 4721
Existential Social Work
About this Course
The problems facing people can be understood in the context of situations and meanings they give to them. This course seeks to identify useful ways to clarify and validate the client's unique "world view", bypassing the many dangers and misuses of diagnostic categorization and empowering clients in relation to themselves and problem definition.
SOWK 4555
Spirituality and Social Work Practice
About this Course
The purpose of this course is to provide students with a nondiscriminatory framework of knowledge to respond competently and ethically to populations with diverse spiritual perspectives and religious cultures in social work practice. This social justice-informed course underlines and respects the diversity of all spiritualities with special attention to spiritual populations historically marginalized and neglected by Eurocentric assumptions common to social work. This course builds on the generalist approach of our foundation curriculum and integrates theories of multiculturalism, human development, and identity development while exploring how individuals view spirituality and religion as they move through the life cycle. Drawing on the work of Edward Canda, Ken Pargament and Froma Walsh, the course will explore definitions of spirituality and religion, survey methods of approaching spiritually sensitive bio-psycho-social assessments, and examine culturally and spiritually sensitive social work interventions. Class activities will emphasize dialogue, reflection, exploration and experiential learning in order to develop a balanced framework for navigating spiritually and religion in practice settings with individuals, groups, families, communities and organizations. In this course, students will gain self-awareness and learn how their own cultural and spiritual perspectives have shaped their worldview and professional sense of self. It is assumed that students enrolling in this course will bring an interest in learning about the many facets of spirituality. As such, students will be asked to explore their own ideology of spirituality as it relates to their professional identity and practice effectiveness.
SOWK 4741
Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan
About this Course
This course is designed to prepare students to understand social work roles and practice (engagement, assessment, intervention and evaluation) in working with those experiencing loss across the life span. Whether the loss is related to health or functioning, family system, developmental stage or an actual death, this course prepares students to be culturally responsive to diverse perspectives and bereavement needs. Students will learn theoretical models of grief and loss and how to effectively evaluate the needs of grieving individuals, families, communities and their support systems.
