Mission Statement:

The Department of Social Work at the University of North Dakota prepares entry-level and advanced generalist Social Workers within the region to advance practice knowledge , values and skills consistent with the highest ideals of the profession by:

• empowering vulnerable, oppressed, disadvantaged, and rural populations;
• maximizing opportunities for every individual to realize his or her highest potential; and
• promoting respect, awareness, and appreciation for culture and social justice at every level of society.

Goals:

Teaching:

• To provide high quality accessible educational experiences by utilizing flexible and effective curriculum delivery methods responsive to the needs of students in the region.
• To prepare students to integrate the values, ethics, knowledge, and skill base of the social work profession with systems of all sizes and with respect for all people.
• To inspire students to advance practice knowledge and skills by incorporating research and evaluation skills, influencing social policy, and developing a commitment to lifelong learning.

Scholarship:

• To encourage innovative scholarship sensitive to regional needs.
• To contribute to the knowledge base of the profession through research and dissemination to professionals and practitioners in Social Work and related fields.
• To serve as catalysts of research and evaluation in response to the unique human service needs of the region.

Service:

• To build and maintain strong relationships with the professional community and helping organizations by providing service through consultation and collaboration.
• To act on social justice issues through community, regional, national and international change initiatives.
• To provide leadership to the university, the community, and the profession.

Social Work courses at UND were first offered in 1905 with the Social Work Program formally established in 1939. The undergraduate program in Social Work, offering a Bachelors of Science in Social Work (BSSW) degree, has been accredited since 1974, when undergraduate accreditation first began. The MSW program was established in 1989 and was fully accredited early in 1993. The Department has a strong distance learning program, which was established in 1989, for place-bound students. The MSW program is delivered flexibly on-campus. It is also delivered part-time through a distance learning format. Core MSW courses in the full time program are offered on Thursdays and Fridays. Graduate electives are offered on weekends in block time periods and over the Internet. The balance between instruction over the Internet and on-campus instruction varies and is dependent upon the content of the class. Other electives are cross-listed with upper division undergraduate electives. The Department also offers a "fast track" program (one year long) on-campus for students who want to secure their BSSW and have a degree in another field. Upon completion of their BSSW, "fast track" students often apply to the MSW concentration program, which can be completed in one year, allowing them to secure a BSSW and MSW in two years.

Additionally, the Department offers the MSW program over the Internet to students in Minnesota , North Dakota , and South Dakota . This continues a long tradition of offering courses through the use of technology.

The first distance program offered by the Department of Social Work to undergraduate students was offered in 1989 at four rural locations, using interactive television. We have since offered the MSW program, at a distance, to three cohorts of students using interactive technology and summer on-campus offerings. In January 2006 we began offering the MSW foundation courses over the Internet to a fourth cohort of students.

While a social work curriculum did not appear as such in the UND catalog until 1911, social work was a part of sociology at UND that dates back to 1895. In 1905 the first social work course was taught. In 1911 the University catalog specified a "Course of Study for Social Workers." This was the first undergraduate social work curriculum.

Social work, then, remained a part of the sociology program for 40 years. Dr. John Gillette of UND, known as the father of rural sociology, was active in social welfare research and social reform in North Dakota . Gillette Hall, the building where the Department of Social Work is located, is named in his memory. In the 1920's, sociology began to follow a national trend toward scientific methodology, as did Professor Gillette (Dawes, 1983). However, the first time faculty identified themselves as social work faculty was in 1934. In 1938, the social work faculty advocated a separate program in social service administration.

As a result, the undergraduate Social Work Program was formally established in 1939. In the early 1950's, social work became an autonomous unit within sociology. However, the Department of Social Work did not become a free standing Department until 1967. During that time, the liberal arts base was strengthened, specialized courses were eliminated, and the base curriculum became more generalist in nature. A site visit by the Council on Social Work Education was conducted in 1972, and accreditation was achieved in 1974.

While graduate social work education was on UND's agenda from the 1930's on, it was not easily actualized. UND offered a one year master's degree in social work from 1939 to 1952. As part of a conflict with the accreditation authorities, a separate organization called the National Association of Schools of Social Service Administration was formed in 1942 with UND as a charter member. This accreditation conflict, resulted in the adoption of the two-year requirement for accreditation, and led to the gradual elimination of UND's graduate program. Later a proposed graduate program was taken to the North Dakota Board of Higher Education for its approval. Approval was granted at its meeting on June 22, 1989 . The Department of Social Work accepted its first class of eight graduate students in the fall of 1990. The program has grown since that time. The MSW program has shifted from a program with a concentration in services to families and children to a concentration in advanced generalist practice. It continues its concentration in advanced generalist to date.

Along with the undergraduate and graduate programs, the Department hosts two interdisciplinary minors in Chemical Use and Abuse Awareness and Gerontology. The minor in Chemical Use and Abuse Awareness fulfills partial requirement to secure a license as an Addiction Counselor in North Dakota and Minnesota . Additionally, the Department hosts three service units that include the Children and Family Services Training Center (CFSTC), the Child Welfare Research Bureau (CWRB) and the Guardian ad Litem (GAL) program. These Units function under the direction of the Chair of the Department of Social Work and are housed in the basement of Gillette Hall.

The CFSTC was established by the Department of Social Work in 1984 through a partnership with the Division of Children and Family Services within the North Dakota Department of Human Services. CFSTC serves as the primary training agency for child welfare services in North Dakota and offers child welfare certification training required of all social workers who practice in the public arena. The primary goal of the center is to deliver training opportunities for child welfare practitioners and foster parents. The Center also serves as a resource for child welfare training activities by maintaining a lending library of books, videos, and curriculum resources.

Since 2000, the Department has hosted the North Dakota Guardian ad Litem Project. The project plays a distinct role in advocating for children in cases of child deprivation in Juvenile Court. The Director recruits, trains, and supervises lay guardians who are assigned to work with children in the courts throughout North Dakota.

Finally, the Child Welfare Research Bureau regularly collaborates on research projects, evaluation of human service programs and grant proposal development. The mission of the Bureau is to conduct child welfare research that serves North Dakota through local, state, regional, and national research endeavors. It was legislatively established in 1987.