MSW Program Mission and Statement of Purpose

The MSW Program at the University of Washington School of Social Work is dedicated to preparing professional social workers through rigorous, community-engaged, critically reflexive research, teaching, and learning. The program is grounded in our commitment to racial, economic, gender, and social justice informed by and for those at the social margins of our local, national, and global communities.

UW Tacoma MSW Program Goals

We prepare social workers who:

1. Are prepared to take on social service roles requiring specialized skills and leadership responsibility with cultural humility and cultural responsiveness. 
2. Actively engage in personal and institutional social justice and antiracism work. 
3. Contribute to the development of knowledge in the field by participating in community-engaged and community-informed evaluation and research inclusive of Indigenous, collaborative, and culturally respectful approaches. 
4. Actively engage in personal and institutional social justice and antiracism work. 
5. Take on leadership roles and critically engage in the design and implementation of programs that effect change on all levels with anti-oppressive and anti-racist frameworks. 
6. Work to foster holistic well-being among individuals, families, communities, and colleagues. 
7. Engage in critical self-reflection, and practice according to our profession’s ethical code and values. 
8. Adapt, shift, and lead amidst constantly evolving local and global change. 
9. Are committed to serving our communities and profession as evidenced by ongoing participation with SSWCJ, student mentorship, NASW membership, or other South Puget Sound communities through global commitments to social work and social justice.