The mission of the Master of Social Work Program is to prepare competent, compassionate and research-informed social work professionals to advocate for social and economic justice and human well-being, while honoring diversity and within the context of the social environment. An emphasis on caring human relationships, and freedom from all forms of oppression, while supporting strengths, empowerment, and enhancing quality of life, will be the focus of practice. As advanced generalist practitioners, students will become effective leaders through planning and problem solving, multi-system and interdisciplinary collaboration, and excellence in service to individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations, all from a global perspective. In line with the greater mission of Ramapo College, the MSW Program will emphasize individual attention to students and promote diversity, inclusiveness, sustainability, student engagement, and community involvement through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding.

The goals and outcomes of the MSW program are derived from the program’s mission as follows:

• To educate social workers effectively with the knowledge, values and skills of the profession at the advanced practice level.
• To prepare social workers who are life-long learners and who will advocate, personally and professionally, for the alleviation and eradication of social problems and the promotion of global, social, economic, and environmental sustainability.
• To advance social justice by preparing leaders to effectively advocate for the development of social policies and social service delivery systems that improve the wellbeing of client systems.
• To prepare competent social work professionals for advanced generalist practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities in an ever-changing and diverse context, locally and internationally.

Preparation of students for advanced generalist practice is based on a person-in-environment perspective that is global and dynamic, respect for human diversity, advocacy for human rights, a strengths perspective, and scientific inquiry. The program’s aim is to equip students for practice in an ever-changing world fraught with infinite variation and persistent obstacles to justice. Excellent advanced generalist practice results from understanding and acknowledging the transitory nature of human interaction and the incremental development of services necessary to respond with a client-centered approach, whether that client is an individual, family, group, community, or organization.

The central means to accomplish the MSW program’s mission and goals is through an integrated learning process that values classroom and practicum learning equally. The classroom integrates on-site learning in agency practicum internships with knowledge, values, and skills. Practicum experiences are arranged through the Social Work Office of Practicum Education. Each student completes 500 hours of practicum internship per year in qualified agencies under qualified practicum instructors to graduate.

The Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS 2022) of CSWE measure learning outcomes according to competencies defined by practice behaviors appearing at foundation and concentration levels of learning. The MSW program at Ramapo College has adopted CSWE’s competencies, practice behaviors, and advanced generalist practice behaviors.

• Competency 1: Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior
• Competency 2: Advance Human Rights and Social, Racial, Economic, and Environmental Justice
• Competency 3: Engage Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI) in Practice
• Competency 4: Engage in Practice-informed Research and Research-informed Practice
• Competency 5: Engage in Policy Practice
• Competency 6: Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations and Communities
• Competency 7: Assess Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
• Competency 8: Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations and Communities

Competency 1: Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior

• Make ethical decisions by applying the standards of the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, relevant laws and regulations, models for ethical decision making, ethical conduct of research, and additional codes of ethics within the profession as appropriate to the context.
• Demonstrate professional behavior; appearance; and oral, written, and electronic communication
• Use technology ethically and appropriately to facilitate practice outcomes
• Use supervision and consultation to guide professional judgment and behavior
• Demonstrate leadership in applying ethical reasoning across complex or interdisciplinary settings, drawing from professional codes, relevant laws, and decision-making models.
• Independently integrate critical self-reflection and self-regulation into practice by identifying personal values, managing boundaries, and adapting professional behavior to diverse contexts.
• Critically evaluate and apply ethical use of digital platforms, data systems, and emerging technologies to support effective and accountable practice.

Competency 2: Advance Human Rights and Social, Racial, Economic, and Environmental Justice

• Advocate for human rights at the individual, family, group, organizational, and community system levels
• Engage in practices that advance human rights to promote social, racial, economic, and environmental justice
• Critically analyze systems of injustice and advocate for change in ways that are ethical, respectful, and appropriate to the professional context.
• Integrate human rights frameworks into all levels of practice, using an intersectional lens to address multiple forms of oppression.

Competency 3: Engage Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI) in Practice

• Demonstrate anti-racist and anti-oppressive social work practice at the individual, family,
  group, organizational, community, research, and policy levels
• Demonstrate cultural humility by applying critical reflection, self-awareness, and self regulation to manage the influence of bias, power, privilege, and values in working with
  clients and constituencies, acknowledging them as experts of their own lived experiences
• Consistently apply anti-racist and anti-oppressive frameworks by critically assessing practice settings and addressing systemic inequities.
• Use intersectional analysis and cultural humility to adjust approaches to client engagement, program delivery, and interprofessional collaboration.
• Actively elevate client and community voice in decision-making by deferring to lived experience as a central source of expertise.

Competency 4: Engage in Practice-informed Research and Research-informed Practice

• Apply research findings to inform and improve practice, policy, and programs
• Identify ethical, culturally informed, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive strategies that address inherent biases for use in quantitative and qualitative research methods to advance the purposes of social work
• Select and integrate research that is culturally responsive and critically informed to support interventions, organizational change, and program development.
• Collaborate in the design or implementation of practice-based evaluations or inquiries that reflect anti-oppressive and ethical research methods.
• Critically assess the relevance and limitations of existing evidence in the context of client needs and practice settings.

Competency 5: Engage in Policy Practice

• Use social justice, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive lenses to assess how social welfare policies affect the delivery of and access to social services
• Apply critical thinking to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice
• Engage in critical policy analysis by evaluating the real-world effects of policy on historically marginalized groups and proposing responsive alternatives.
• Use policy frameworks to inform practice decisions and contribute to agency or system-level change efforts.

Competency 6: Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations and Communities

• Apply knowledge of human behavior and person-in-environment, as well as interprofessional conceptual frameworks, to engage with clients and constituencies
• Use empathy, reflection, and interpersonal skills to engage in culturally responsive practice with clients and constituencies
• Integrate and apply advanced knowledge of person-in-environment and systems theories to build effective engagement strategies across diverse practice settings.
• Demonstrate initiative in building collaborative relationships with individuals, groups, or communities by using intentional interpersonal and professional communication skills.
• Use reflection and critical thinking to tailor engagement approaches that consider cultural, environmental, and contextual factors influencing participation.

Competency 7: Assess Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities

• Apply theories of human behavior and person-in-environment, as well as other culturally responsive and interprofessional conceptual frameworks, when assessing clients and constituencies
• Demonstrate respect for client self-determination during the assessment process by collaborating with clients and constituencies in developing a mutually agreed-upon plan
• Conduct comprehensive assessments that integrate systems-level analysis, contextual factors, and strengths-based frameworks across individual, group, and organizational levels.
• Collaborate with clients, groups, or constituencies to co-construct assessment processes that reflect their goals, perspectives, and expertise.
• Select and adapt assessment methods appropriate for the population, setting, and practice focus, using critical analysis and feedback from supervision.

Competency 8: Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations and Communities

• Engage with clients and constituencies to critically choose and implement culturally responsive, evidence-informed interventions to achieve client and constituency goals
• Incorporate culturally responsive methods to negotiate, mediate, and advocate with and on behalf of clients and constituencies.
• Independently select and implement interventions that are evidence-informed, contextually appropriate, and aligned with client or community-defined goals.
• Apply negotiation, facilitation, and advocacy skills across systems to support effective culturally responsive interventions with diverse populations.
• Evaluate and revise intervention strategies through self-reflection, collaboration, and feedback from clients, supervisors, or team members.

Competency 9: Evaluate Practice with Individuals,
Families, Groups, Organizations and Communities”

• Select and use culturally responsive methods for evaluation of outcomes
• Critically analyze outcomes and apply evaluation findings to improve practice effectiveness with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
• Design or contribute to culturally responsive evaluation strategies that assess both process and outcomes across micro, mezzo, or macro systems.
• Use evaluation findings to make informed decisions about improving services, programs, or interventions in collaboration with clients or stakeholders.
• Critically reflect on outcome data, incorporating equity considerations, client voice, and organizational context into continuous quality improvement.

All programs accredited by the Council on Social Work Education’s Commission on Accreditation (COA) are required to measure and report student learning outcomes. All students are assessed using a minimum of two measures on their mastery of the nine competencies that comprise the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) and any additional competencies programs may choose to add. These holistic competencies reflect the dimensions (knowledge, values, skills, and cognitive & affective processes) of social work practice that all social workers are expected to master during their professional
training.

• Assessment of MSW Student Learning Outcomes 2024-2025