Welcome to the Department of
Social Work and Family Studies

The Department of Social Work and Family Studies offers a major in Social Work, a major in Family Studies (through 2011), and a concentration in Family Studies (beginning with the class of 2012).

Social Work and Family Studies are fields of study that build upon the liberal arts to prepare students to identify the needs and strengths of individuals, families, groups and communities, develop the knowledge and skills to satisfy those needs, and explore policies and programs that prevent and address social problems. Our courses integrate cross cultural, global, and experiential learning.

For International Opportunities in Austria, Costa Rica, and England click here

What's happening with SOS

November is Homelessness Awareness Month! SO join us for:

  • Dinner Discussion in Valhalla 5:30-7:00 tomorrow night! Bring your Caf Tray and thoughts/questions about homelessness; come when and as you can!
  • CAC Sleep Out at Bridge Square this Thursday night (Nov. 19)! Here's the night's agenda:
    • Meet Crossroads of Buntrock (lobby) at 6:45 pm for rides
    • Guest Speaker Leonard at Community Resource Center at 7:00pm
      • Annual bonfire and sleep out at Bridge Square immediately following
      • Sleeping out is optional--will have rides back to campus between 9:30-10:00 pm
      • For Rides please contact
        Kristen Brown brownk@stolaf.edu or Sarah Bosch(bosch@stolaf.edu)

Discovering Families Lecture Series


Sharon Powell presented a lecture, The Perfect Family: Myth and Reality, on October 16th.


For a helpful handout from the Senior Social Work Majors
Click here

Live, Learn and Volunteer in Guatemala
May 28-July 17, 2010.

7-week program combining homestays with Mayan families, 1:1 language lessons, and service learning placements.

Undergraduate and graduate course credit (SW 440/540), a 6-credit-hour course.

Students live in communities around Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, and work in a variety of service learning settings.  Opportunities include: medical assistance to low-income families, pre-school program for malnourished children, educate families and children about domestic violence, teach in a public or private school (including opportunities to teach English), assess water quality in the lake with program for school-age children, develop fundraising campaign materials, work with weaving or jewelry making cooperatives, organic farming program, micro-credit organization, re-forestation project, animal health and welfare.

Field trips to Antigua (2-night stay), Chichicastenango for market day, Patzun for Corpus Christi, Godinez to visit an orphanage, Panabaj to see the community that was buried under the mudslide during Hurricane Stan in 2005, Concepcion to visit a church built during the 1500s.

Cost for the 7-week program is $3150 and includes all in-country program expenses.  Airfare is not included.

Application deadline is February 12.  Apply online at studyabroad.ncsu.edu.  Cost is the same for in-state and out-of-state students.

This will be the 7th year that I have done the program, so I can provide an organized, challenging program for students.  
For more information, email me (Linda_Williams@ncsu.edu).

Linda R. Williams, ACSW
BSW Program Director and
Associate Department Head
Department of Social Work
Box 7639
NC State University
Raleigh, NC   27695-7639
(919) 513-1989 Phone
(919) 515-4403 Fax


Article by Jennifer Page Kramm

Editor’s Note: This article is written by Jennifer Page Kramm, 2008-10 Phillips scholar, reporting on her summer project experience. Phillips scholars design and implement an project to address unmet needs in Minnesota.
Working with at-risk youth provides lessons about social change


Social Work and Family Studies T-Shirts for Sale
Available for purchase in the Social Work and Family Studies office for $7. Click here to view the shirts

Phi Beta Kappa Winners:
Marissa Takazawa
Christina Geng
Trinara Sonstegard
Holly Sairsingh

Also congratulations to distinction winners:
Jenny Kallas, for her paper on the play therapy in a hospital setting Laura Glazebrook, for her paper on American Indian multicultural identity and tribal enrollment. Papers are available to be read in the Social Work and Family Studies Office.

Hard Times Steer Some Toward Social Work
Syracuse Post-Standard (NY) (02/09/09) Mulder, James T.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects that employment in social work will grow 22% by 2016, as the baby boom generation has already created a huge need for more social workers. This trend could influence some people to pursue social work in the current economic downturn, says Carrie J. Smith, director of Syracuse University's School of Social Work.  Further, Smith says that many companies are looking to provide support to people who will be losing their jobs. Smith says more people are entering the field with different skill sets, having combined social work degrees with law, public administration, or public health degrees. "This current situation has reminded us to get back to our core values," she says. Read the full article.


Lack of Social Workers Reaches Critical Level
VietNamNet Bridge (02/12/09) Ha, Manh
Vietnam has a critical shortage of social workers, and the current workforce needs better training, says the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs' Social Protection Department. According to a department report in 2007, training an additional 8,500 social workers over the next 5 years would enable Vietnam to have one professional per 10,000 people. Although 30 universities currently offer social work courses, only two have teachers with PhDs. The programs need more staff and resources. Vu Thi Lan, deputy director of the social protection department, says Vietnam needs a national plan to improve social work and legislation to back the effort to improve training. "The network of social workers and the organization of services are deficient and unprofessional," he says. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs plans to submit a proposal to the government this year, and expects to establish guidelines for improving the social work profession by 2015. Read the full article.