Thank you for your interest in the School of Social Work at San Diego State University, where our mission is to ensure health and well-being for all through social work education. We ofer students multiple programs to earn a Bachelor of Science, and our Master's programs ofer advanced knowledge and skills to transform programs, policies, and services to meet the health needs of families, individuals, and communities.
Students and faculty have excelled in these environments, and with encouragement from donors like you, have propelled the school toward a No. 1 ranking among those in the California State University (CSU) system and No. 4 throughout the State of California. We genuinely appreciate the role donors play in supporting our continued growth and success.
Gratefully,
Jong-Won Min, Ph.D., MSW Director and Professor School of Social Work
Changing Lives through Program Support
Prebys Foundation Grant to support the SDSU School of Social Work
The SDSU School of Social Work was awarded a $1.24 million grant to make its Master of Social Work (MSW) program more fnancially accessible to students from diverse backgrounds. The funding will help to address the critical shortage of behavioral health workers and support program graduates on their path to becoming licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) in California. Over two years, 10 MSW students will receive stipends. These graduates have a specifc interest in youth behavioral health services, and their cultural and linguistic backgrounds make them well-suited to address the needs of underserved communities.
Distinguished Professor in the School of Public Health and Vice President for Research and Innovation Hala Madanat shared, “The partnership with the Prebys Foundation will have a ripple efect on the larger community by increasing the overall pool of well-qualifed social workers in the region.”
Price Philanthropies Foundation Grant to support the SDSU School of Social Work
The School of Social Work received continued, vital support for the Lead and Learn from the Heart program, which provides resources that encourage City Heights families to learn and engage in social emotional learning, bridge the achievement gap, maximize parent-child relationships, and ultimately, maximize life outcomes. With the assistance of the Price Philanthropies Foundation Grant, the School of Social Work is empowered to provide SDSU students with feld education opportunities that prepare them for future careers in the community. Additionally, Principal Investigator Silvia A. Barragán is supported in her eforts to supervise the project and act as a liaison between community partners and the university.
Living the Aztec Experience
Hang Vo, Class of 2024
Class Level: Undergraduate Student
College: College of Health and Human Services
Major: Social Work
Hang Vo graduated in May 2024 with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work (BASW). She was previously an intern on the social work team at Rosa Parks Elementary and was instrumental in supporting the Vietnamese community at the school, including students and their parents.
Hang collaborated with another BASW student on a project called Wellness Wednesday at the school. The goal was for parents and their children to engage in an activity that would enhance their communication and connection. She took the lead on launching a social skills group for girls this past semester. Hang took this opportunity to share knowledge about her Vietnamese heritage to provide cultural and linguistic matching services.
She shared the following regarding her graduation:
"As I prepared to graduate this May, the anticipation of acquiring an ofcial title associated with my name flled me with excitement, as I am ready to step into the feld and really experience diferent challenges and environments. I hope that with my degree, I can have more opportunities to contribute my knowledge and skills to promoting social justice, advocating for vulnerable populations, and fostering positive change in society."
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I am ready to step into the feld and really experience diferent challenges and environments.
Elia Weise, Class of 2025
Class Level: Undergraduate Student
College: College of Health and Human Services
Major: Social Work
While attending San Diego State University, Elia Wiese has appreciated the opportunity to work toward social justice in education. Elia was a representative of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee for their department; in this position, they worked to enshrine these values in the Department’s policies and curriculum.
At the start of their second year, Elia became a tutor for the Educational Opportunity Program on campus, providing academic support for students of marginalized identities. Building on this experience, Elia worked as a college mentor at Wahupa Educational Services, a community-based nonproft organization that serves low-income and frstgeneration high school students.
Through Mending Matters, a non-proft organization that provides mental health services in middle and high school settings, Elia had the opportunity to work at Horace Mann Middle School, where they cofacilitate GPS Solutions, a restorative program as an alternative to suspension for students who engaged in school violence.
Elia also works at Mira Mesa High School, cofacilitating the LIFE advisory, a student leadership group focused on mental health issues on their campus.
After graduating from SDSU, Elia plans to pursue a Master of Social Welfare and become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). They aim to become a therapist and work with children as they continue to advocate for the welfare of children. Elia is enthusiastic about working with students, in part, because of the unique challenges that students face.
Caden Cohen, Class of 2024
Class Level: Undergraduate Student
College: College of Health and Human Services
Major: Social Work
At Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS), I actively work with the older adult community. While doing so, I am rewarded by seeing the impact I have on their lives by supporting them and creating opportunities for them to age with dignity.
During my internship, I am able to apply the tools and knowledge that I have developed through my learning and my time at JFS. By doing this, I am able to make a diference in the community. My greatest honor has been to work and support others while actively learning.
Since I became an Eagle Scout and frst learned the slogan “Do a Good Turn Daily,” I have been motivated to become a social worker to help those in need without expecting anything in return.
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My greatest honor has been to work and support others while actively learning.
Celebrating Shared Success
Recent Rankings
Ranked #51 out of over 250 programs in the U.S. — the highest rank among the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system.
Statistics of Interest
Jong Won Min, Director of the School of Social Work, recently shared that one of the school’s goals is to help students to thrive in their careers. Many of the school’s students have been infuenced by the encouragement of a social worker at some point during their lives, he said, and want to give back to the community in similar ways.
“The students that we have here in School of Social Work — none of them are here for selfsh reasons, but for the altruistic motivation that they have,” Min said. “They are there spending their resources and time to learn how to professionally help others.”
Founded in 1963 as the frst School of Social Work in the CSU system
Close to 600 students in the program; over 9,200 social workers have graduated In Fall 2023, there were 274 BASW students, 21 BA in Gerontology students, and 229 Master of Social Work (MSW) students, along with 28 MSW students at SDSU Imperial Valley. Additionally, there were 19 Joint Doctoral Program (JDP) students. In Fall 2023, there were a total of 48 faculty, of which 15 are tenured/tenure-track.
Undergraduate social work students tallied a total of 51,840 service hours in San Diego County.
Recent Highlights
BASW students contribute an equivalent of $829,440 to our local economy through their feld practicums (based on an average starting wage of $16 per hour)
MSW students contribute a total of 103,200 service hours in San Diego County, equivalent to $2,476,800 in services to our local economy (based on an average starting wage of $24 per hour).
California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC) has launched the statewide Public Behavioral Health (PBH) MSW Training Program to include SDSU.
Ranked #51 out of over 250 programs in the U.S. — the highest rank among the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system
Helping to Build a Brighter Future
Megan
T. Ebor, Ph.D.
Title: Assistant Professor of Social Work College: College of Health and Human Services
Achievement: Dr. Megan Ebor's new flm, "Even Me: 2.0: Unfnished Business," will be released late Summer 2024.
This flm marks the 10+ year anniversary of her debut, awardwinning, short documentary flm, "Even Me."
The long-anticipated follow-up flm focuses on Dr. Ebor's research in HIV at the intersections of aging, gender, and race. It highlights the previous cast members, while providing updates on where they are now, while also delving into the state of HIV in the broader U.S. today.
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I merge science and the arts to amplify the voices of marginalized communities.
Lianne A. Urada, Ph.D.
Title: Associate Professor & Graduate Social Work Program Director, School of Social Work College: College of Health and Human Services
Achievement: Dr. Urada's most recent research project focuses on tackling homelessness and the opioid crisis in San Diego, with policy and practice implications in reaching the most vulnerable unhoused populations in public spaces.
Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, she is the Principal Investigator of the project, "Bupe by the Book": Developing and Testing a Tele-buprenorphine Intervention in Public Libraries with Unstably Housed Persons with Opioid Use Disorder.
The project innovatively tests the use of telehealth in public libraries to help those with opioid use disorder access treatment. She partners with the San Diego Public Libraries and Father Joe's Villages Village Health Center.
KPBS recently covered her work, followed by the NBC7 Nightly News
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Just knowing somebody cares can make a world of diference. ”
Faculty Achievements
Lauren Willner, Ph.D., MSW
Title: Assistant Professor College: College of Health and Human Services
Achievement: Dr. Willner is an organizational scholar whose research focuses on human service nonproft organizations. She is currently conducting a national study examining how the adoption of for-proft business models by human service nonprofts afects service delivery, and ultimately, the clients and communities served by the organization.
She is particularly interested in building research collaborations with agencies serving older adults, community mental health centers, and general poverty relief organizations.
Dr. Willner has been awarded funding from the SDSU Division of Research and Innovation to support this research. She is particularly excited to have been accepted to present on this project at the International Society for Third Sector Research in Antwerp, Belgium, in July 2024.
Additionally, she is a co-investigator for the Faculty United towards Excellence in Research and Transformational Engagement (FUERTE) grant, an NIH funded project aimed at increasing diversity among faculty in the bio-medical sciences at SDSU. As part of the evaluation core, she leads data collection and analysis to evaluate the impact of the FUERTE project on faculty experience.
Lastly, she teaches courses on management and leadership, as well as classes on organizational change, to MSW students. She is committed to teaching the next generation of social workers how to efectively lead impact-driven human service organizations using compassion, innovation, and creativity.
