School of Social Work
New Graduate Programs in Critical Leadership
Who is invited to apply?
Why these programs, why now?
New MSW in Critical Leadership in Social Services and Communities
The program offers:
Courses:
Applying to the program:
Timeline, schedule and cost of program:
Graduate Diploma: Critical Leadership in Social Services and Communities
The diploma offers:
Courses:
Applying to the program:
Timeline, schedule and cost of program:
Starting in 2016 the McMaster School of Social Work will offer two new graduate programs focused on justice-oriented leadership in social services and communities: a new MSW stream and a Graduate Diploma. The programs are grounded in recognition of the contemporary conditions of social service and community work and in expansive and critical definitions of leadership.
Who is invited to apply?
Applications will be welcomed from people at multiple career and life stages: people already in or aspiring to formally recognized leadership roles in social and community services; people in direct/front-line services positions who are sustaining justice-oriented approaches in their agencies; people who are active in community organizing, leaders in social movements, etc. Respected local leaders will be actively involved in teaching in both programs.
Why these programs, why now?
Major changes in funding and governance have significantly affected social and community services. Requirements for efficiency, competition, and narrow accountability are changing how social agencies operate, and reshaping conditions for workers and for service users. With these factors in mind, and in response to requests and recommendations from colleagues in the field, these new programs are designed to deepen students’ understandings of the pressures currently facing communities and social services, support justice-focused leadership in the contemporary context, and enhance students’ capacities to initiate and contribute to progressive change.
- The new Master of Social Work (MSW) in Critical Leadership in Social Services and Communities is for people who have BSWs, and who have at least three years of work experience in social or community services.Applications will be accepted in the fall of 2015 for admission in September 2016.
- The Graduate Diploma in Critical Leadership in Social Services and Communities is for people who have an MSW or an MA and who are currently providing leadership in social services or communities.Applicationswill be accepted in the late fall of 2015 for admission in September 2016, pending final approvals.
New MSW in Critical Leadership in Social Services and Communities
This new stream in the School’s MSW program responds to the desire expressed by many BSW graduates for an MSW with a focus on critical practice, and the interest on the part of senior managers in social services for employees prepared for the complexities of leadership in contemporary social service settings. This MSW is designed for people who have BSWs, and who have at least three years of work experience in social or community services. It is comprised of a 450-hour practicum and seven courses (one of which is a seminar accompanying the practicum). Applications will be accepted in the fall of 2015 for admission in September 2016.
The program offers:
- Foundational courses focused on the critical analysis of social work practice, and the critical analysis of policy
- Analyses and conceptual frameworks about changing conditions in social services and communities and about the complexities and possibilities of ethical leading in the contemporary context
- A leadership-focused practicum -- a practical experience of leadership with personalized feedback and mentorship that prepares students for leadership roles in social and community services
Courses:
- 700 / Social Work Practice: Critical Frameworks
- 701 / Social Policy: Critical Frameworks
- 741 / Changing Social Services, Changing Communities: Focus on Leadership
- 742/ Organizational and Social Change: Theories, Practices and Possibilities for Leadership
- 743/ Critical Approaches to Evidence and Evaluation in Social Services and Communities
And one of:
- 740 / Changing Social Service Organizations: Implications for Workers andService Users
- 721 / Changing Communities: Tensions and Possibilities for Citizenship and Social Justice
Practicum (SW 751) and Seminar (SW 750)
Each student will have a leadership practicum in a social service agency or community organization. Students will take on a leadership project - for example, lead the development of a new policy, move a service initiative forward, or explore and provide recommendations about how a community need might be addressed. An MSW-prepared social worker will provide field instruction. Students’ experiences, observations and actions in the practicum setting will become topics for reflection in the accompanying seminar, with theory and concepts from coursework will be brought to bear on specific aspects of their leadership practice. The practicum will be 450 hours long (required for accreditation by the Canadian Association for Social Work Education). Students may have a practicum in their regular work setting, however it must be in a different section, program or department.
Applying to the program:
Applicants are required to submit transcripts; a personal statement that 1) articulates their community or social service work in the context of leadership experience or aspirations 2) describes a leadership issue important to them; and three letters of reference. See socialwork.mcmaster.cafor complete details.
Timeline, schedule and cost of program:
The program is designed to be completed in one year. At least some of the courses will be flexibly scheduled.The cost of the MSW: Leadership will be the same as the cost of Masters level graduate programs in the social sciences, approximately $7000.00/year. Please see the Student Accounts’ website (click on “Graduate Research Programs” link) for information on tuition fees:
Graduate Diploma: Critical Leadership in Social Services andCommunities
This Graduate Diploma responds to the desire expressed by many MSW and MA graduates for an opportunity to engage ideas and debates directly relevant to their daily practice, and the interest on the part of managers in social and community services for employees well prepared for the complexities of contemporary public sector leadership.
This Graduate Diploma is designed for people who have an MSW or an MA and who are currently providing formal or informal leadership in social services or communities. Applications will be accepted in the late fall of 2015 for admission in September 2016, pending approvals.
The diploma offers:
- Critical analyses and conceptual frameworks about changing conditions in social services and communities (with particular attention to evidence-based practice, audit and accountability)
- A range of models for progressive and transformative leadership, and opportunities to reflect on leadership practice with respected local leaders
- Opportunities to share knowledge, stories and strategies, and to build community, with people who are engaged in the daily work of leading and sustaining progressive public services
Courses:
One of:
- 740 / Changing Social Service Organizations: Implications for Workers andService Users
- 721 / Changing Communities: Tensions and Possibilities for Citizenship and Social Justice
And these three courses:
- 741 / Changing Social Services, Changing Communities: Focus on Leadership
- 742/ Organizational and Social Change: Theories, Practices and Possibilities for Leadership
- 743/ Critical Approaches to Evidence and Evaluation in Social Services and Communities
Applying to the program:
Applicants are required to submit transcripts; a personal statement that describes their leadership experience, analyzes a leadership issue important in the field, and explains how this graduate diploma will support their leadership practice; and three letters of reference. See socialwork.mcmaster.cafor complete details.
Timeline, schedule and cost of program:
The Graduate Diploma is offered as a one-year program that features a 4-course series (not as individual courses). At least some of the courses will be flexibly scheduled (e.g. in intensive blocks, late afternoons/ evenings, weekends). We anticipate that the cost of the Graduate Diploma will be approximately $4,670.00. Please see the Student Accounts’ website (click on “Special Program Fees” link) for information on tuition fees:
Conventional leadership theories assume that leadership is something individuals possess (or don’t). Critical theories, in contrast, understand leadership as relational, tied to cultural norms, and dependent on social networks of influence. Understood in this way, leadership is centrally concerned with meaning making, and, in keeping with the School of Social Work’s approach generally, the analysis of power is vital to both scholarship and practice in the field.
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