PR OG R AMS
"I am proud to teach students every day that are the change they want to see in the world."
Zoe Johnson, PhD
UGA ONLINE
Director of Field Education and Online MSW Faculty Member
UGA MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK
INCREASES REACH AND ENGAGEMENT In its first year, the University of Georgia’s School of Social Work Online MSW program has nearly doubled its expected enrollment. by Laurie Anderson
T
he creators of the online program, launched in 2019, hoped to increase access to advanced degrees in social work practice and address service shortages in rural and medically underserved areas within the state of Georgia. “We have seen a tremendous level of interest from prospective students throughout Georgia, particularly from rural areas,” said Javier Boyas, director of the master’s degree program at the UGA School of Social Work. “People in rural areas often face significant challenges—not enough medical services, lack of broadband, the opioid epidemic, poverty and isolation—and rural social workers are needed,” said Anna Scheyett, dean and professor at the School of Social Work. Many urban areas also desperately need services, she said, which the online program will help supply.
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SPRING
2021
“The online MSW program can now reach people who are place-bound and can’t come to Athens or Gwinnett, but who have a deep commitment to helping their community,” said Boyas. According to Boyas, the school aimed for an initial cohort of 25 students for the online degree. However, as prospective students began applying from all corners of the state, the program director pushed to increase capacity. “Preliminary data suggests that we are meeting an existing need throughout the state, as evidenced by the number of applications we received,” said Boyas. Applicants have come from a wide variety of professions and experiences, with academically sound backgrounds, said the director. For the first semester in fall 2020, the program received more than twice the applications than it had seats,
