ACADEMIC PLAN OF STUDY

My academic discipline is a Masters degree in Social Work at George Mason University.

The MSW programme is a very interesting programme with diverse courses and students have the
opportunity to choose between two specializations - Clinical Practice and Social Change.

Social Work Department is part of the College for Health and Human Services located in Fairfax
Campus, close to the Washington DC area with all of its business advantages.

There are various courses available within my graduate programme, courses selection is depended
on your chosen specialization however, there are certain compulsory Generalist Courses a student
must take prior to choosing a specialization. Courses includes Social Work and the Law,
Influencing Social Policy, Organizational Leadership for Social Workers, to mention a few.
Courses of special interest to me are courses relating to policies including immigration Policy and
Global Human Right Policy. Knowledge gained from this degree can be applied in diverse works
of life as long as it relates to helping humankind.

According to the school website, students are taught by seasoned faculty to prepare them to being
in a position to address different communities and population. Also, students have the opportunity
to gain practice experiences through field works (https://socialwork.gmu.edu/academics).

Conclusively, knowing that I can achieve competency to express my passion for social change in
combination with my law background is what attracted me to the programme. My future career is
to run my own organization that provide advisory to the government of my country, Nigeria in
relation to social welfare but in the immediate, I will like to work with the United Nations in the
area of Global social change.

ACADEMIC GOALS

1. Make the highest grades attainable in each course to maximize my school fees investment
2. Graduate at the earliest time attainable
3. Have a complete understanding of all courses relating to my area of emphasis
4. Take one course from another major (if approved) for the fun of it and for diversity –
perhaps a course in Psychology.

S/N COURSE TITLE

COMPULSORY –GENERALIST COURSES
1 Foundations of Social Work and Social Welfare
2 Human Behavior and Social Systems
3 Human Behavior and Social Systems II
4 Social Policies, Programs, and Services
5 Influencing Social Policy
6 Influencing Social Policy
7 Direct Social Work Practice I
8 Direct Social Work Practice II
9 Research Methods for Social Workers
10 Generalist Field Practicum and Seminar I
11 Generalist Field Practicum and Seminar II

SPECIALIZATION IN SOCIAL CHANGE – COMPULSORY COURSE

1 Social Work and the Law
2 Empowering Communities for Change
3 Organizational Leadership for Social Workers
4 Empowering Communities for Change
5 Program Evaluation for Social Change
6 Specialist Social Change Field Practicum and Seminar I
7 Specialist Social Change Field Practicum and Seminar II

ADVANCE POLICY COURSES- SELECTED ONLY TWO

1 Immigration policy
2 Global Human Rights Policy

ELECTIVE
1 Selected Topics in Social Work and Social Change
2 Social Policy for Children and Youth