University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice

The University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice Master of Arts program prepares you to be a leader in the fields of social work, social policy, and social administration practice. The AM degree, (master of arts), from Crown Family School is equivalent to an MSW, but with a broader educational and experiential foundation that combines direct social work practice with policy development, interdisciplinary research and social science theory. The comprehensive and interdisciplinary nature of the AM degree translates into greater flexibility and choice in your future career.

The goal of our coursework and fieldwork is to frame individual distress in a larger social context. To be an effective social worker—a real force of positive change in people's lives—you must be able to recognize and understand the diverse and intersecting causes of distress: psychological, biological, familial, political, economic and social. This broader understanding will inform the clinical methods you use to connect populations to resources and help individuals, families, and communities overcome their own unique challenges.

The Social Work Master's Program offers the flexibility to customize your education to your specific career goals. Choose from elective courses within Crown Family School and throughout the University in a wide variety of social work and related fields.

The curriculum is central to the educational program at the master's level. It brings together all students, whatever their career interests, for a solid introduction to the fundamentals of social policy formulation and program implementation, social research, and direct practice. The core curriculum prepares students for generalist practice through mastery of the core competencies of the profession as articulated by the Council on Social Work Education. It places particular emphasis on understanding and working with culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged populations.