Social Work (Graduate Program)

For information regarding the UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM, click here.   

Program Overview

The LSU School of Social Work was founded in 1937 in the era of the “New Deal” programs, reflecting a growing need for professional social workers. The school has a reputation for excellence in professional education and a long tradition of service to the professional community. The focus of the school is to educate competent, professional social workers and family scientists, and to use research to enhance the effectiveness of practice in these field. The school has a commitment to cultural humility, an equally strong commitment to the social work profession’s core values of social and economic justice, respect for the dignity and worth of each individual, and the centrality of human relationships to well-being. The research infrastructure of the school includes active research programs in the areas of addictions, behavioral health, and Black families. child welfare, economic access, gerontology, health risk behaviors and disparities, homelessness, immigration, international social work, internet technology and inequality, mental health, school mental health, sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, and trauma. The school is a charter member of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), and its social work master’s program has maintained continuous accreditation with this body since its inception. The School also offers a CSWE-accredited Bachelor of Social Work degree and a CFLE-approved Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development and Family Science (HDFS), a program that has been part of the School since 2012. The HDFS master’s program offers a Child Life Specialist concentration that adheres to the guidelines set forth by the Association of Child Life Professionals. 

Administration

Admission

Applications and supporting materials for all graduate study must be submitted through the online application portal for the LSU Office of Graduate Admissions. Applicants must submit official transcripts from all colleges or universities attended. Electronic official transcripts can be sent to gradtranscripts@lsu.edu or uploaded to the application portal. If electronic submission is not available, official transcripts can be mailed directly from the university to: Graduate Student Services, 114 West David Boyd Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. These paper documents are stored electronically, and departments have access to all materials submitted by and/or on behalf of a student applying to graduate study.

Applications for admission are received and evaluated by the department. Applicants must adhere to the application deadlines established by the Graduate School and the programs within the School of Social Work. Students seeking admission must submit satisfactory credentials from previous study, and three letters of recommendation. International students whose native language is not English must also submit an acceptable TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE score.

Child and Family Studies MS

• The Baton Rouge campus CFS master’s program has a priority deadline of April 1. The following are requirements that must be completed prior to, but do not guarantee, admission to the CFS master’s program: A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university;
• A grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.00 on all undergraduate work or in the final 60 credit hours;
• Evidence that the applicant possesses the personal qualities and aptitudes essential for the CFS profession. Information concerning these qualities will be obtained from the student’s application materials and from present or former employers, college instructors, and other people acquainted with the applicant.
• Other materials as required in the application process:
  • A completed LSU Graduate School online application (found on the Graduate School website).
  • The CFS letter of intent (found on the application portal).
  • Three recommendation forms (found on the application portal).
  • One official copy of all transcripts from all universities attended. Transcripts may be mailed in sealed envelopes to Graduate School, 114 David Boyd Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 or sent electronically from a university to gradtranscripts@lsu.edu.  All transcripts are required, whether or not credit was earned or is desired. Official transcripts of work taken at LSU are not required.
  • Professional resumé.

Social Work MSW

The Baton Rouge on-campus MSW program has a priority application deadline date of February 1 for the Advanced Standing, Full-time and Part-time programs. Applications received after February 1 and/or incomplete by February 1 will be considered on a space-available basis. The MSW Online Program accepts applications on a rolling basis throughout the year. Please visit our website for more information. Full-time and part-time on-campus students are admitted for the fall semester of each year. MSW Online students are admitted at six different points during the year. Admission decisions are based on the applicant’s academic record, academic and professional letters of recommendation, letter of intent, work and volunteer experience, and resumé. A genuine interest in people as well as personal emotional stability are also important qualifications for admission to the school. No academic credit is granted for work or life experiences.

The following are requirements that must be completed prior to, but do not guarantee, admission to the MSW program:

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.
• Demonstration of a liberal arts undergraduate preparation through completion of at least 12 credit hours in the social and behavioral sciences (psychology, sociology, anthropology, human geography, economics, political science, curriculum & instruction, etc.), and at least nine hours in the humanities (literature, languages, history, women’s studies, art or music history, philosophy, cultural and comparative studies, communication studies, etc.).
• “C” or better in an introductory statistics course in any undergraduate department.
• A 3.00 cumulative GPA on undergraduate coursework.
• Evidence that the applicant possesses the personal qualities and aptitudes essential for the social work profession.
• Information concerning these qualities will be obtained from the student’s application materials and from present or former employers, college instructors, and other persons acquainted with the applicant.
• Other materials as required in the application process:
  • A completed LSU Graduate School online application (found on the Graduate School website).
  • The MSW letter of intent (found on the application portal).
  • Three recommendation forms (found on the application portal).
  • Official transcripts from all schools attended (all transcripts required, whether or not credit was earned or is desired) sent to the LSU Graduate School.
  • Professional resumé.

Social Work PhD

The Graduate School provides fellowships to social work doctoral students who meet specific eligibility requirements: Huel D. Perkins Doctoral Diversity Fellowships, Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Fellowships, and some external fellowships. If you would like to be considered for a Graduate School Fellowship, please review the eligibility requirements to ensure you have included all required application materials in your packet. The Graduate School fellowship application deadline is November 1. For all other (non-fellowship) applications, the deadline is February 1. Applications received by February 1 will receive priority in admissions decisions. Applications received after February 1 will be considered on a space-available basis

Admission decisions are based on the applicant’s academic record, personal qualifications, and proposed departmental-level academic course plan.

The following are requirements that must be completed prior to admission to the PhD program:

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with typical liberal arts, social sciences, introductory statistics, and human biology courses;
• An acceptable grade point average in undergraduate coursework (as evaluated by the School of Social Work and the Graduate School);
• A master’s degree in social work from a CSWE accredited program or a closely related discipline. Preference will be given to applicants with the MSW. Students without the MSW will be required to enroll in SW 7004 Human Diversity and Oppression (3). Please contact the PhD Director for further information;
• A GPA in graduate studies of at least 3.00;
• Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores are not a requirement for admission to the PhD in Social Work Program;
• Completion of a graduate research course with a grade of “B” or better;
  • The completed LSU Graduate School online application (found on the Graduate School website);

Admission to graduate study is a two-step evaluation process: The Office of Graduate Admissions determines eligibility for admission to LSU, and the academic department or college determines admissibility to the degree program. Final admission to the University is subject to approval by the Office of Graduate Admissions. Prospective applicants to the PhD in Social Work program must submit the following documents:

• One official copy of all transcripts from all universities attended. Transcripts may be mailed in sealed envelopes to Graduate School, 114 David Boyd Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 or sent electronically from a university to gradtranscripts@lsu.edu.  All transcripts are required, whether or not credit was earned or is desired. Official transcripts of work taken at LSU are not required;
• a completed Individualized Statement of Purpose: Plan of Doctoral Study;
• a resume/CV;
• three (3) letters of reference;
• two (2) scholarly professional writing samples that best illustrate your capacity for analytic and critical thinking;
• A completed plan of doctoral study, a 4-6 page, double-spaced typed statement that addresses the following:
  • Describe your career goals in social work and how a PhD in social work will further those goals. Please state whether you plan to enroll on a part-time or full-time basis. If you plan to enroll full-time, please clarify whether you hope to receive funding from the School and whether you plan to work part- or full-time while enrolled. Describe any relevant financial supports in place to assist you.
  • What are your areas of interest and your ideas for research? If you have plans for dissertation research, please describe them. Identify any faculty members who share your area of interest(s). Faculty information can be obtained  on the school’s website
  • What are your professional/scholarly areas for improvement, as you perceive them? Please describe your professional/scholarly strengths and abilities that you think will serve you well as a doctoral student.
  • Please supply the admissions committee with two samples of your professional/scholarly writing that best illustrate your capacity for analytic and critical thinking. Briefly describe in your Individualized Statement of Purpose: Plan of Doctoral Study why your writing selection is representative of these latter abilities.
• Official transcripts from all schools attended (all transcripts are required, whether or not credit was earned or is desired, sent to the LSU Graduate School and the School of Social Work).

For more information on admission to the MSW or PhD program, please visit our website at www.socialwork.lsu.edu.

Financial Assistance

Financial assistance is available to some students. Support may be available through the student’s home department or other units in the form of research or teaching assistantships. A student should contact his or her home department for more information on available assistantship positions. To ensure consideration for financial aid, all application materials should be submitted in accordance with admission deadlines for the appropriate program.

Graduate Faculty

(check current faculty listings by department here) 

Laura Ainsworth •  School mental health, dementia care partners and dementia care, grant writing, community assessment and intervention, program evaluation
Priscilla D. Allen (M) • Gerontology, nursing homes, long-term ombudsman programs, policy issues
Jahanna Bailey (PA ) • Children and youth mental health; childhood trauma; school social work
Ashleigh Borgmeyer (PA) cumulative trauma over the lifespan; trauma-informed community interventions; violence prevention and intervention
Heidi Breaux (PA) Mental Health, Sexual Health, LGBTQIA+ cultural competency
Canfield, James (6A) Children and youth homelessness; policy issues and implications related to homelessness; homeless children in school setting.
Cassandra Chaney (M) • African-American Family Dynamics; Narratives among Dating, Cohabiting, and Married African-American Couples; Religiosity/Spirituality and African-American Families; Black male-female relationship dynamics in popular forms of media (television, movies, song lyrics); Qualitative Methods.
Brandi Conrad (PA) • School social work, children’s mental health, childhood trauma..
Cecile C. Guin (EM) • Death penalty mitigation, truancy issues, grant writing, juvenile justice
Youn Kyoung (Lily) Kim (7M) • Resilience and behavioral health problems, HIV/AIDS and risky sexual behaviors among youth, international social work.
Catherine Lemieux (M) • empirically-based assessment of and intervention with persons affected by addictive disorders and co-occurring disorders, role of social support in recovery, development and testing of innovative teaching strategies that emulate core social work competencies, service-learning
Michelle Livermore (M) • Poverty and related policies, social development, community social capital, civic engagement, technology and community practice, employment of women living in poverty
Sandy Long (PA) Mental health, medical social work, administration, grant writing and management.
Elaine M. Maccio (M) • Gay and lesbian issues, gender and women’s issues, diversity and multiculturalism, substance use/abuse and addictions
Logan McIlwain (PA) • Mental health counseling, children and adolescent mental health, child custody mediation, intervention strategies in parenting/co-parenting.
Katherine Mitchell (PA) Family experiences over the life course; family instability; complex family structures; parental involvement; relationship quality within couples and between parents and children; educational attainment; and various measures of child and adolescent well-being.
Brij Mohan (EM) • Mental health, social theory, philosophy of science, human diversity, oppression, international and comparative social welfare
Pamela Monroe (EM) • Family policy, poverty, welfare reform, women’s labor force participation, economic revitalization/work force development
Catherine Moon (6A) • Parenting interventions and childhood maltreatment, children and families at risk for child maltreatment, and child abuse and neglect.
Rhonda Norwood (PA) • Infant mental health, effective interventions with child welfare services, mental health counseling and parental representation of their children in the child welfare system.
Timothy F. Page (EM) • Child and family treatment, attachment theory, vulnerable children, narrative methodologies with young children, clinical practice
Hannah Plauche (PA) •Families and finance, divorce and reconciliation, family stress and crisis management, and disaster recovery and relief.
Greg Purser (6A) • Substance abuse, mental health issues across the lifespan, older age substance abuse, and effects of substance abuse on housing.
Jennifer Scott (7M) • Poverty, immigration, sociopolitical determinants of poverty, inequality and migration, international social work.
Scott Wilks (M) • Coping and resilience among dementia caregivers, custodial grandparent issues, gerontological social work
Anne Williams (PA) Behavioral health, integrated primary care, medical social work
Ebony Williams (PA) African American families, social support, social role theory; work-life balance

Programs

• Child and Family Studies, M.S.

• Social Work, M.S.W.

• Dual Degree: MSW/MPH

• Social Work, Ph.D

• Dual Degree: JD/MSW