• Our Mission
• School Goals

School Goals

The School of Social Work's goals are derived from the School's mission to serve southern Maine through education, research & evaluation, service, and leadership. The goals of the School also reflect the University of Southern Maine's mission to provide "teaching, research, and public service for the benefit of the citizens of Maine and society in general." Acknowledging the unique geographic position of Maine directly adjacent to Canada and the presence of a large number of international immigrants and refugees as well as the rural and the urban poor, the School's mission is grounded in a commitment to social & economic justice, multiculturalism, and diversity. The faculty have developed program goals that integrate and are consistent with the purposes of the social work profession and the Council on Social Work Education Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards.

The goals reflect the School's commitment to prepare competent and effective professionals, to develop social work knowledge, and to provide leadership in the development of service delivery systems. Echoing the profession's history, purposes, and philosophy, the program goals are based on a shared commitment to: educate the next generation of social workers; contribute to the ongoing development of the profession's knowledge, values, and skills; and provide leadership & mentoring to the social services community.

School of Social Work Goals

1. The School of Social Work provides a generalist social work curriculum in a high quality learning environment that prepares BSW graduates for entry-level social work practice.
2. The School of Social Work provides an MSW foundation curriculum that prepares students, in a high quality learning environment, for the advanced generalist community social work concentration.
3. The School of Social Work provides an advanced generalist community social work curriculum that prepares MSW graduates for autonomous social work practice that promotes social and economic justice and endeavors to address poverty and other social problems, across all systems levels within organizational, individual, and community contexts.
4. Faculty engage in teaching, scholarship, research, and evaluation.
5. Faculty and students provide service to community social service agencies, to the School of Social Work, and to the University of Southern Maine.