芝加哥洛约拉大学

The Graduate Programs in Women’s Studies and Gender Studies draw from a variety of departments and programs on campus to analyze how knowledge is shaped by power (especially around the intersecting axes of gender, sexuality, and race) and to create new pathways for promoting social justice. The WSGS community at Loyola is broadly interdisciplinary; culturally and intellectually diverse; tight-knit and supportive; politically and socially engaged; and committed to open-ended critique, inquiry, and invention.

Loyola University Chicago is one of a very few institutions offering a dual degree in Social Work and Women's Studies and Gender Studies. Earning both an MA in Women's Studies and Gender Studies and an MSW in Social Work together allows students to complete these degrees more quickly by taking courses that carry credit in both fields. This dual degree program enables women's studies students to utilize their course work in an applied setting and allows social work students to enhance their capacity to work with women in social work settings after graduation.

As with all dual degree programs, students interested in the dual degree in Social Work and Women's Studies and Gender Studies must apply to each school simultaneously and be admitted based on the criteria for admission to each school. There are no separate admissions criteria for completing a dual degree program; however, there are course substitutions and logistics to be worked out with the liaisons. Students are encouraged to contact the liaisons from both schools at the time of admission. Although it is possible for a student to obtain both degrees in two years, the program can be extended as needed to three or four years, depending on a student's personal situation and special interests.

Specializations:

Dual degree students must take all the required foundation social work courses. Students in this program could specialize in either the health and mental health or the children and families clusters. Students interested in the school of social work concentration could also participate in the dual degree program with some modifications to the plan outlined above related to required social work courses.

Second year electives for dual degree students include (not limited to) the following courses: Family Therapy (SOWK 612), Treatment of Women (SOWK 619), and Family Violence (SOWK 631). The two additional electives would enable students in the dual degree program to meet the requirements for the child and family cluster if they wish to pursue this area. Students interested in health can meet the requirements for this specialization by taking Health Policy and Systems (SOWK 602) instead of Social Policy and Practice (SOWK 610); in addition, one of their social work electives would need to be Clinical Social Work Practice in Health Care (SOWK 614).