Social Work Learning Opportunities
Your education will extend far beyond the classroom when studying Social Work at MSUM. Whether you decide to study social welfare halfway around the world or immerse yourself with organizations in the Fargo-Moorhead community, the opportunities to expand your knowledge and get involved are almost limitless.
Phi Alpha Honor Society is a national honorary social work society that will support and encourage your academic achievement. The group also promotes humanitarian social work goals and ideals. You’ll partner with the Dragon Society of Social Work to coordinate community service learning opportunities, promote connections between classmates and engage in social work activities throughout the year.
Phi Alpha Requirements:
- Accepted into the Social Work Program
- Cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher
- Membership fee of $27
The Dragon Society of Social Work student organization develops leadership skills and promotes social connections between students. As a part of Dragon SOS, you’ll partner with Phi Alpha Honor Society to sponsor workshops and organize service learning opportunities in the Fargo-Moorhead community. All Social Work students are invited to attend meetings and group-sponsored events.
If you want to live in an educational environment surrounded by others with the same passion for human services the Human Services learning community is for you. Learning communities provide outstanding opportunity to increase academic success and make connections with those in your major like criminal justice, psychology, social work or sociology.
The MSUM School of Social Work acknowledges people live and interact in an increasingly globalized world, and intentionally weaves cross-cultural educational opportunities into your curriculum. Globalized education empowers you to learn about the world, develop values around a positive sense of self, appreciate cultural diversity, enhance a passion for social justice and human rights, and build a sustainable future.
Past Social Work study tours include:
- 2017: Ireland
- 2016: Peru and Taiwan
- 2015: Ireland and Costa Rica
- 2014: Argentina and Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam)
- 2013: Spain
- 2012: Ireland
- 2011: Ireland
- 2009: Denmark and Norway
Completing an internship is a required capstone experience to receive your B.S.W. degree from MSU Moorhead. During your internship, you’ll apply the social work knowledge and skills you’ve gained to real practice in the field. Our field instructors represent nearly 200 agencies in a 250-mile radius around Fargo-Moorhead. This internship provides the experience necessary to help you successfully pass your social work licensing exam. Over the past several years, MSUM students have had a more than 95 percent pass rate. The national average is 79 percent.
MSUM Social Work students and future social work professionals who have chosen child welfare careers are provided the opportunity to better prepare themselves for practice with children and families through the BSW Title IV-E Child Welfare Consortium Stipend program. Research has proven well trained social work professionals make a difference in the lives of children and families they serve, in the agencies where they are employed, and in the communities in which they live. This difference contributes to a better quality of life for all citizens.