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School of Social Work Facts

The School is the only educational institution in Alabama offering all three degrees in social work--bachelor's, master's and doctoral.

The School enrolls approximately 150 B.S.W., 200 M.S.W., and 25 Ph.D. students annually.
  • The School is the only educational institution in Alabama offering bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in social work.  The School is a charter member of the St. Louis Group, a group of 55 schools of social work in research universities.

  • The School's M.S.W. program was established by an act of the Alabama Legislature in 1965.  The B.S.W. program was added in 1970 and the doctoral program was established in 1975 as a D.S.W. program.  (It became a Ph.D. program in 1992.)

  • The B.S.W. and M.S.W. programs of the School were last accredited by the Council on Social Work Education in February 2003 until 2011.  The Ph.D. program is a member of the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education and consistently receives high marks from internal and external reviewers following each program review.

  • The School’s 26 full-time faculty members are supplemented by highly experienced part-time faculty members from the state's practice community.

  • The School’s first endowed chair holder, Dr. Jordan I. Kosberg, joined the faculty in August 1999.

  • The Hill Crest Foundation of Birmingham established an endowed faculty chair in social work and mental health.  Dr.David Pollio was appointed to the chair in 2007.

  • The School's Office of Research provides support to faculty activities in conducting research, including supporting developmental activities, submitting research proposals, and grant management.

  • Faculty have earned support for their work from such respected benefactors as the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Fulbright Scholars Program, the Hartford Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute on Aging, the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Soros Foundation, the Lilly Endowment, the National Association of Social Workers, the Silberman Fund, and the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars.

  • In academic year 2006-2007, the School had 157 B.S.W. students, 251 M.S.W. students and 28 Ph.D. students.

  • Through a unique scholarship program, the Daniel Foundation of Birmingham provides a substantial scholarship for students entering our Advanced Standing M.S.W. program.  This scholarship is awarded to the top graduate of each of the 13 B.S.W. programs in Alabama.

  • The School's 18 station student computer lab provides students access to state of the art equipment and software.  In addition to using word processing, spreadsheet and statistical software for class projects, students can directly access the Gorgas Library card catalogue, a variety of online and CD-ROM data bases and the worldwide resources of the Internet from the student lab.

  • Each of the School’s six classrooms is equipped to support advanced multimedia presentations.

  • The School maintains ongoing relationships with over 200 social service agencies in Alabama for the education of social work students.

  • School of Social Work students provide, through their field internships, in excess of 160,000 hours of volunteer service to the community each academic year.  Calculated at the beginning pay scale for State of Alabama social workers, these hours represent service worth in excess of $2,000,000.

  • The School of Social Work, in partnership with the Alabama Department of Human Resources, offers its M.S.W. program through distance education, with interactive classrooms in Gadsden, Mobile, and Montgomery.  The first year of the M.S.W. program is also offered in a weekend format on Saturdays in Tuscaloosa.

  • Since 1979, over 300 M.S.W. students have completed social work internships in Washington, D.C.  These have included placements in the offices of members of Congress and the Vice-President, at theWalter Reed Army Medical Center, the Bethesda Naval Hospital, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Service, the National Disability Rights Network, and Georgetown University Medical Center.

  • The School’s first year M.S.W. program in Hong Kong started over 20 years ago.

  • In 1999, the School inaugurated a joint MSW/MPH degree with the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

  • The School's strong partnerships with Alabama's public agencies involve technical support and training grants from the Alabama Department of Human Resources, the Alabama Department of Youth Services, the Alabama Department of Public Health, and the Alabama Department of Mental Health/Mental Retardation.

  • Graduates of the School’s Ph.D. program hold or have held faculty positions at Fordham University, California State University-Sacramento, the University of Georgia, the University of Illinois, Howard University, the University of South Carolina, the University of Memphis, the University of Mississippi, Mississippi College, Mississippi State University, the University of North Alabama, the University of North Dakota, the University of Southern Mississippi, Southern University, Troy University, Valdosta State University, the University of West Florida, and Western Kentucky University.