Purpose/Justification
The University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work and the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs offer a concurrent degree program to prepare students for professional practice in policy arenas. This concurrent degree program enables students to pair the quantitative and ethics-oriented approach to policy analysis offered by the MPP program with 2 the substantive policy and practical training in health and human service-related domains offered by the MSW program. Through this program, students are able to finish both degrees over a shorter period of time than if each degree was pursued separately.
Required Semester Credit Hours
The joint MSW/MPP program requires a total of 69 semester credit hours. The degree can be completed in 3 - 4 years as a full-time student. The joint MSW/MPP program for Advanced Standing students will require a total of 58 semester credit hours. Advanced Standing students can complete the degree in 2 - 3 years.
Up to 12 semester credit hours earned as part of the MPP program are applied to the students’ MSW degree for full program students and 6 semester credit hours for Advanced Standing students. Up to 9 semester credit hours earned as part of the MSW program apply to the student’s MPP degree.
Admission Requirements
Students entering the MSW/MPP concurrent degree program must apply and be admitted separately by both the Graduate College of Social Work and the Hobby School of Public Affairs. Applications for admission to this degree program will be accepted in compliance with the application deadlines for each school. Admission to one program has no bearing on admission to the other program. All students wishing to enter the MSW/MPP concurrent degree program must apply to the second program no later than the end of their first year.
Academic Requirements
The MSW program in the Graduate College of Social Work requires that students complete 51 semester credit hours (SCH) of masters level courses. MSW students must complete a 15 SCH foundation curriculum and then enter one of two concentrations - (1) Clinical Practice or (2) Macro Practice. Students admitted to the concurrent MSW/MPP degree track may select either MSW concentration.
The MPP program in the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs requires a minimum of 39 SCHs for graduation, including the completion of a 3-credit hour full time internship requirement during the summer.
Twelve (12) hours from the MPP are applied toward 3 elective courses and the Social Policy Analysis course in the MSW Program; nine (9) hours from the MSW are applied toward 2 elective courses and the internship course in the MPP Program. For Advanced Standing students, six (6) hours from the MPP are applied toward 1 elective course and the Social Policy Analysis course in the MSW Program; nine (9) hours from MSW are applied toward 2 elective courses and the internship course in the MPP Program. For both full program and Advanced Standing students, the internship requirement for the MSW and the MPP can be met through completion of the required practicum hours through the GCSW.
Curriculum Model
The first year of the concurrent degree program must be in one college or the other. The student may choose which college to begin the joint program. All MSW Foundation coursework (including credit for Generalist Practicum 1) must be completed prior to taking any advanced social work courses. After completion of the MSW Foundation coursework, MSW and MPP courses can be taken concurrently.
Should the student not complete the requirements for the MPP degree, the Graduate College of Social Work will accept a maximum of 6 semester hours from the public policy curriculum for MSW elective credit. Likewise, should the student not complete the requirements for the MSW degree, the Hobby School of Public Affairs will accept a maximum of 6 semester hours from the social work curriculum.
Graduation Requirements
To graduate with the concurrent degree, students must meet all academic, curricular and graduation requirements of both colleges. Until all of these requirements have been met, no course credit from either college will be applied toward the degree in the other college. Students must file for graduation and pay all applicable filing fees to the University of Houston. When filing for graduation, students must state on their application that they are filing for both degrees in the same semester. Graduates will receive two diplomas.