Master of Social Work
Transformative Social Work in the Beloved Community
Transformative social work is an innovative approach in which students learn to weave together the micro, mezzo, and macro levels and practice critical reflection on how decisions affect diverse populations. Wingate’s Master of Social Work (MSW) Program provides multifaceted contributions to the campus and surrounding areas, fulfilling an expressed need for more graduate-level opportunities in health and human services. Our groundbreaking MSW program will establish the footprint for behavioral health studies at Wingate University.
Master of Social Work (MSW) Program Overview
Our students learn from full-time faculty and social work professionals who understand the real-life issues and challenges in the areas of human rights and social, racial, economic and environmental justice. Our faculty bring their experiences to the classes, giving students the insight and skills needed to be difference-makers in the community.
Degree Requirements
Candidates for the Master of Social Work degree must complete a minimum of 48 credit hours of coursework (including 12 credit hours in one or more practicum settings) in accordance with standards set forth by the Council on Social Work Education.
Course Delivery
The MSW program is fully online and asynchronous. The program provides full-time students a path to graduation in as little as two years, (one year for the advanced standing option) with the flexibility to go part-time if needed. Students are able to advance their careers by continuing to work full-time while taking courses in the MSW program at Wingate.
Accreditation
Wingate's Master of Social Work has been approved by SACSCOC and is in the process of achieving candidacy status through the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). In accordance with the Accreditation Policy Handbook, “students admitted to the MSW Program during or after the academic year in which the program gains candidacy status will be recognized as graduates from a CSWE-BOA accredited program, once the program achieves initial accreditation as granted by the Board of Accreditation (BOA)” (CSWE, 2022, p.77). Wingate University plans to achieve candidacy status during the 2024-2025 academic year.
Our Mission Statement
To develop exemplary difference-makers who have the professional knowledge, values, skills, and cognitive processes needed to practice transformative social work in the beloved community.
At Wingate University, social work is defined as professional practice focused on addressing areas of human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice through critical inquiry and reason. Through transformative social work, students learn how to weave together the micro, mezzo, and macro levels and utilize the person-in-environment framework in promoting human and community well-being. Wingate’s transformative social work approach is grounded in the beloved community, defined as a place with no room for racism or other forms of marginalization based on any status, where all people are cared for, and where peace transcends international borders. Transformative social work in the beloved community thus prepares social workers who are committed to the professional values of service, social justice, dignity and worth of the human being, importance of human relationships, integrity, competence, human rights, and scientific inquiry locally and globally.
Questions?
Wendy Sellers, PhD, MSW, MA
Founding Director of Social Work Program
(704) 233-6140
w.sellers@wingate.edu