Wayne State University

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Social Work School of Social Work

Detroit's Social Work School

The Wayne State University School of Social Work works to develop social work practitioners, conduct research, and foster community engagement focused on urban communities. This commitment results in quality teaching and research that benefits the community, cultural humility, and pays special attention to social, economic and environmental justice. 

For 86 years, through a combination of education, research and community engagement the WSU School of Social Work has been a social force that can't be duplicated anywhere else. Detroit and southeast Michigan have a distinct history and set of challenges and opportunities that offer lessons and insights for social work practice in agencies and organizations in diverse urban environments. There's no place on earth like Detroit and we take our responsibility to our community and neighbors seriously. Welcome to our neighborhood. 

The Detroit advantage

Wayne State University has been a part of the city of Detroit for more than 150 years. And the university has been a major contributor to the growth and resurgence of what is being called the greatest comeback cities in the U.S. In the video below, we let our students and faculty, the people who know us best, tell their stories about what it's like living, learning, working and playing in the D. Their experiences here are inspiring, and just like the university they represent, they are Warrior Strong.

Detroit impact

Explore Detroit

From catching a game or concert in The District to grabbing a bite in Corktown, the neighborhoods surrounding Wayne State offer the best of city life for Warriors who want to venture beyond campus.

Enjoy Detroit's attractions

Just minutes from Wayne State's campus are numerous opportunities to take in some culture, see a show or expand your horizons.

Research

The School has a responsibility and opportunity to engage, build trust, and partner with the community on the creation of new knowledge that benefits the community. As social workers, we move beyond seeing the community only as a potential pool of subjects to be studied, but rather, as an integral partnership that includes capacity building. This may mean partnering with a community-based agency where the agency shares intellectual and financial leadership on a research project. It may mean collaborating with a variety of stakeholders, including other universities and the residents themselves. It means we have a responsibility to disseminate our research and the research of others to the broader public. The co-production of knowledge embraces the role of community and strengthens the capacity of communities to address current and future challenges. In support of this mission, we have committed faculty, staff, funding and additional resources to two specialized centers of excellence, which impact our profession and the quality of life in our home, Detroit, across the state of Michigan and around the globe.  

Center for Behavioral Health and Justice: The Center for Behavioral Health and Justice provides local communities, organizations, and behavioral health and law enforcement agencies across Michigan with expertise, evaluation, support, training, and technical assistance to optimize diversion of individuals from jail and prison through the implementation of best and innovative practices at every intercept of the criminal justice continuum.

Center for Social Work Research: The Center for Social Work Research works to generate and disseminate knowledge that improves the lives of disadvantaged individuals, families, and communities through a comprehensive approach to research, consultation, and information. The Center assists faculty in the management of nearly $19.8 million in active grant research in six primary core research areas: aging, child welfare, community, policy and program development, criminal justice, health and behavioral health, and interpersonal violence.

Faculty

We currently have 38 full-time faculty and lecturers who work to empower social change in Detroit and beyond. Learn more about our individual faculty, their research focus and expert specializations via our faculty profiles. Our faculty and staff are committed to our urban mission through:

  • Eliminating social inequities and modeling social and environmental justice
  • Preparing enthusiastic and compassionate social work students
  • Creating the next generation of leaders
  • Facilitate a culture of data-driven decision-making to promote research engagement and reduce social and structural inequities.
  • Fostering an openness to all facets of SW practice; integrating micro/macro perspectives
  • Collaborate with university colleagues, community members, and those with valuable and diverse lived experience
  • Support personal and professional growth of faculty, staff and students

Students

Wayne State is Michigan's most diverse public university and Social Work's diverse student community comprises 45% of our overall school student population. In the classroom and in field, we encourage the development of self-awareness, respect, and unconditional positive regard for clients to enable effective helping relationships based on mutual trust. We prepare our nearly 1,000 students to be theoretically grounded and to appreciate and understand the need to adapt classroom instruction to community contexts. We help students understand the need for cultural and intellectual humility and to value and appreciate the strengths and expertise of the clients they serve. Through support services and assertive advising, we strive to prepare a diverse student body for social work practice that promotes social justice, with a particular focus on urban communities. 

Programs

Bachelor of Social Work: Our BSW degree program prepares undergraduate students for ethical, competent, entry-level, generalist professional social work practice with diverse, poor, vulnerable and oppressed individuals, families, groups and communities. Specializations include:

Master of Social Work: Our MSW degree program prepares world-class practitioners committed to achieving social and economic justice, assisting vulnerable or oppressed individuals, and to improving the lives of individuals, families, groups and communities. Specializations include:

Doctoral Program: Our PhD program prepares successful scholars, educators and leaders to engage in research on contemporary urban issues for the advancement of social work practice and social welfare policy. Specializations include:

Certificates: Our multidisciplinary certificate programs are designed to provide graduate students, individual practitioners and professionals with an integrated learning experience to enhance their career opportunities and options. Our certificate offerings include:

Social Work in Schools: Temporary approval by the State Department of Education is required for employment as a school social worker. The School of Social Work can recommend temporary approval to the State Department of Education on behalf of MSW graduates with the submission of the SSW-310 paperwork.

Interprofessional education

Social workers are vital front-line workers of the interprofessional healthcare ecosystem of Detroit, partnering with allied health professionals to address the social determinants of health and improve patient outcomes in our urban community. For nearly a decade the Wayne State University School of Social Work has partnered with community organizations, allied health professionals, alumni, faculty and students to provide valuable urban interprofessional student training experiences as a participant in the Community Homeless Interprofessional Program and Vision Clinic, the Interprofessional Home Visit Program and the Diabetes and Wellness Clinic. We encourage students, faculty and alumni to "Meet us in the Neighborhood" and participate in these programs that provide opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience with allied health professionals that positively impact Detroiters. 

Contact us

For additional information contact us at 313-577-4409 or wsusocialwork@wayne.edu.