Accredited social work degree programs in Indiana will prepare you for working with those who need help anywhere in the state. Though you may want to work in Indianapolis or another major city, you’ll also find a high need for qualified social workers in both urban areas like Gary and the northwest as well as in rural areas near the southern border of the state with Kentucky. Master of Social Work programs go into greater detail about the best ways to work with clients and may include some type of fieldwork that lets you work with real clients before you graduate.
Indiana State University
Graduate and Professional Studies
Indiana State University is one of several campuses in the state that started life as a teaching school. Founded in 1865, it operated as a state normal school with funding and support from the state government. Once it earned the right to offer programs that awarded students full degrees, it made the transition to a teaching college. A shift in emphasis from teaching programs to programs that allowed students to study other topics led to it becoming Indiana State College and later ISU. Princeton Review included ISU on its list of the best places to study in the Midwest for 13 straight years.
Master of Social Work
The Department of Social Work, which is a division of the ISU Graduate and Professional Studies school, provides financial aid for incoming students and can help those students find and apply for alternative student loans. As one of the more affordable accredited social work degree programs in Indiana, this program also has a payment plan available that allows students to make smaller payments during the school year. This program features 60 credits of classes that include six credits of electives and 54 credits of required courses. Those courses include the history and philosophy of social work, rural social work practice, human behavior and the environment and social welfare policy. ISU requires that social work students also do a practicum and some fieldwork. You have the choice between working in a rural or urban setting. Social work students will also need to do a final project that is similar to a thesis.
Accreditation
- Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
Contact
200 N. Seventh St.
Terre Haute, IN 47809
(800) 468-6478
Related Resource: Top 10 Best Online Social Work Degree Programs
Indiana University
School of Social Work
Indiana University is the only institution in the state called a Public Ivy League school, which is a university that offers all the opportunities of an Ivy League school, but at a more affordable price. Founded in 1820, it also ranks as one of the oldest colleges in the Midwest. ARWU and U.S. News & World Report are just two of the organizations that ranked the university as having one of the world’s best graduate programs. It’s School of Social Work has its main campus in Indianapolis, but IU also offers classes online and on many of the campuses it operates across the state.
Master of Social Work
Indiana University is home to a Master of Social Work program that ranks as the best of all the accredited social work degree programs in Indiana. This program also ranks within the top 11 percent of all Master of Social Work programs in the country today. It is available from the university’s campuses in South Bend, Gary, Bloomington, Fort Wayne, New Albany and Richmond as well as through its online system and its shared campus in Indianapolis with Purdue University. Some campuses offer a part-time program that takes three years to finish and includes evening classes, but other campuses offer more traditional programs that you can finish in two years or less. You will need to take six foundation courses such as introduction to the social work profession, social policy analysis, and research and generalist theory and practice. The university has an advanced standing program that awards students credit for the social work degrees they already have.
Accreditation
- Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
Contact
901 West New York Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202
(317) 274-4811
University of Southern Indiana
Social Work Department
The University of Southern Indiana, usually referred to as ISU, is a public university in southwestern Indiana with a main campus located near Evansville. When founded in 1965, it was a branch of Indiana State University. Though it started as a small regional campus, it quickly became a top choice for students from across the country as well as in-state students. This led to the university splitting off from ISU and becoming its own separate institution. Some of the programs available through USI that rank on a national level include its online programs in nursing and business.
Master of Social Work
University of Southern Indiana offers one of the best accredited social work degree programs in Indiana for students who want to get their licenses. The Master of Social Work program requires that students demonstrate proficiency and knowledge in several key areas of social work. You’ll need to show that you can handle working with diverse populations, that you will fight for the rights of others and that you can evaluate the clients you work with in the field. Those enrolling who do not have a Bachelor of Social Work will need to take 25 credits of prerequisites before beginning the program, but those with Bachelor of Social Work degrees will take just 36 credits total. The university offers classes on human diversity in the social work practice, clinical planning and treatment in the social work practice, family and couples therapy and clinical practice with groups. USI encourages students to do work with its Center for Social Justice Education too.
Accreditation
- Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
Contact
8600 University Blvd.
Evansville, IN 47712
(812) 464-8600
https://www.usi.edu/liberal-arts/social-work
Located in the Midwest, Indiana is a state filled with some major cities and some smaller towns that all need licensed social workers. To get your license, find a job and start helping clients, you will need to graduate from one of the best accredited social work degree programs in Indiana.
Related Resource: Top 10 Best Online Social Work Degree Programs
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