Upon completion of the Online Doctor of Social Work program, students will be able to:

  • Confront, evaluate and use large ideas grounded in the Grand Challenges for Social Work as defined by the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW).
  • Leverage evidence from secondary sources in addition to primary data collection strategies to assess the existing social and practice landscape as a basis for designing new responses to complex social problems.
  • Apply relevant social work and social science theories of problem causation to develop ideas for change, program or policy implementation, and evaluation.
  • Master creative, expansive and rigorous design principles that advance innovation and invention in social solutions.
  • Effectively lead others in future efforts to brainstorm, refine and implement forward-thinking solutions to complex social problems across organizational boundaries.
  • Accurately map the organizational and policy environment affecting options for social change.
  • Use logic models to carefully plan for and maximize impact with proposed interventions.
  • Organize financial and program data for decision-making, communication and evaluation to improve program and policy outcomes in human service organizations.
  • Confidently employ a variety of media and methods to influence and communicate with professional, political, academic and general public audiences.
  • Create positive social impact in complex systems and at scale.
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