Social Work, Master of (M.S.W.)/Public Health, Master of (M.P.H.) [dual degree]

Advanced study in social work and public health is available through a dual degree program co-sponsored by the School of Social Work and the Department of Family Medicine and Population Health/Division of Epidemiology in the School of Medicine.

The dual degree M.S.W. and M.P.H. program allows students to earn two degrees with a minimum of 84 credits rather than the 105 credits necessary if the two degrees were pursued separately. This efficiency lowers the overall cost of tuition while also reducing time to earning both degrees.

Program goals

The objectives of this dual degree program are to:

• Prepare graduates to work with individuals, families, groups, communities and/or organizations
• Advocate for social, health care and economic justice in a diverse and multicultural society
• Promote physical and mental health across the life course

Potential benefits offered by participation in the dual degree program include student competency in:

• Advocating for policy change to promote social justice and improve the health of vulnerable populations
• Applying a systems-thinking approach to enhance the delivery of health and social services in a community
• Applying theoretical principles to develop community-based interventions targeting health behavior change and designed to reduce risk factors contributing to poor health outcomes
• Assessing the effectiveness of programs to improve societal conditions and health issues
• Applying research methods to advance the science of health equity

The diplomas for this dual degree program are awarded simultaneously, after completion of the requirements for each degree program. Students receive both degrees upon graduation from VCU.

Student learning outcomes

See each degree program page for student learning outcomes. 

Other information

Advising

The student is assigned an adviser from each program to develop a plan of study. Advisers coordinate regarding program curriculum as appropriate. Primarily, the coordination occurs to ensure that M.S.W. students complete a social work field placement that aligns with requirements of the M.P.H. program. In addition, advisers coordinate guidance to ensure that the M.P.H. integrated learning experience (capstone project), which frequently is based on work of the social work field placement, meets the requirements of the M.P.H. program. Advisers share curriculum sequencing documents for advising students in registration for course work to ensure consistency and uniformity in their guidance.

Admission requirements

See the individual program pages for admission deadlines and other requirements.

In addition to the general admission requirements of the VCU Graduate School, the School of Social Work has established the following minimum criteria for admission to the 60-credit hour full-time or part-time format:

1. A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university
2. A cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for all undergraduate course work
3. Completion of the following prerequisites: two three-credit courses in the social and behavioral sciences (e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, economics), or health sciences, biological sciences or humanities. 

Applicants who have not completed all the liberal arts prerequisites may be considered for admission but must have completed the prerequisite courses prior to enrollment and must provide official transcripts to document their completion. Courses may be completed at a community college or four-year institution. In addition to the academic requirements, the applicant must demonstrate commitment to social welfare and social justice. This should be reflected in (1) the professional statement and (2) the applicant’s  background, social work employment, internships and volunteer work in community agencies serving vulnerable and/or oppressed populations.

Application procedure

Students may apply to both programs simultaneously and must apply to each program separately. Since admitted students begin the program’s first year exclusively in the M.S.W. curriculum, a student in the social work master’s may also choose to apply to the M.P.H. program while in the first months of the M.S.W. curriculum. Applications to the M.P.H. program are through SOPHAS, which requires a fee; in addition, a supplemental application is required to VCU and also requires a fee. Applications to the M.S.W. program are through VCU’s graduate programs portal and require a fee.

Degree requirements

Students are required to complete a minimum of 48 M.S.W. credit hours and a minimum of 36 M.P.H. credit hours for the dual degree program, so that a student can complete both programs with 84 credits rather than 105 credits to complete the programs separately.

In the standalone M.P.H. program, the curriculum includes 25 credit hours of required core courses, nine credit hours of concentration courses (for either the applied public health concentration or the epidemiology concentration),and eleven credits of electives. Six of the 25 required core courses are applied practice and integrative learning courses, including a three-credit hour capstone project that examines a relevant public health topic.

In the dual degree, these courses within the M.S.W. curriculum count toward the M.P.H. degree:

The standalone M.S.W. program includes 30 credits of generalist course work, 24 credits of concentration courses and six credits of electives.

These courses within the M.P.H. count toward the M.S.W. degree:

Degrees are awarded simultaneously, upon completion of degree requirements for both programs.

Curriculum requirements for the dual degree

The minimum number of graduate credit hours required for this dual degree is 84.

Sample plan of study

Students in the dual M.S.W./M.P.H. program spend the first year immersed in the M.S.W curriculum. Beginning in the fall of the second year, student registration is primarily in the M.P.H. curriculum, with a small proportion of courses in the M.S.W. program. During the third year, students focus on their two-semester M.S.W. final field placement while completing any remaining M.P.H. course work and developing the integrative learning experience requirement for the M.P.H. program known as the capstone project. This project frequently stems from the student’s work in the final year field placement, which is selected with coordination between the two programs to ensure that it aligns with both M.S.W. and M.P.H program expectations.

General sequence of dual degree program

The minimum number of graduate credit hours required for this dual degree is 84.

Contacts
Lisa S. Anderson, M.P.H.
Director of Educational Programs, Division of Epidemiology, Department of Family Medicine and Population Health
lisa.s.anderson@vcuhealth.org
(804) 628-2512

Sarah K. Price, Ph.D.
M.S.W./M.P.H. combined program coordinator, School of Social Work
skprice@vcu.edu
(804) 828-0579

Additional contact
Juan Lu, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.D.
Associate professor graduate program director, M.P.H. Program
juan.lu@vcuhealth.org
(804) 828-9786

Program websites: familymedicine.vcu.edu/epidemiology/epidemiology-graduate-programs/mph-program/dual-degrees/ and socialwork.vcu.edu