ESU Partners With Marywood University To Offer Master of Social Work

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Posted by: admin on June 5, 2013, No Comments

In response to a growing demand for social workers with graduate degrees, Marywood University in Scranton, Pa., will partner with East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU) to begin offering a Master of Social Work program on the ESU campus this fall. The new satellite program will be known as Marywood’s Pocono Program at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.  Key stakeholders from ESU and Marywood will participate in a signing celebration to mark their new joint venture on Friday, June 14 at 1 p.m. in ESU Innovation Center, located at 562 Independence Road, East Stroudsburg, Pa.

“Our relationship with Marywood University will improve the quality of life in Northeast Pennsylvania,” said Marilyn Wells, Ph.D., M.P.H, ESU vice provost and dean of the graduate college. “It’s really designed to be an interwoven program, involving students and faculty in public service and leadership in the educational and economic development of the region.  We anticipate new opportunities for service projects and research where the faculty and students are working side by side to serve our communities.”

Marywood is one of the premiere educators of social workers in Pennsylvania and has been offering an M.S.W. at its Scranton campus since 1969.  The M.S.W. classes at ESU will be held on Saturdays to accommodate students who are already in the work force. They will be taught largely by Marywood professors and the M.S.W. degree will be conferred by Marywood.

Students with a bachelor’s degree in social work from an accredited program can apply for advanced standing in the master’s program, which means they will be required to earn 39 credits. Students with a bachelor’s degree in another field will be required to earn 60 credits for their M.S.W. ESU is working toward accreditation of its bachelor of science degree in social work, which will enable its graduates to later earn a master’s degree in social work in a shorter span of time.

Social workers today are employed in a broad spectrum of settings, including schools, hospitals, substance abuse treatment facilities and community mental health centers. They work with clients across the lifespan including children at risk, families in poverty, and the aging.

“Social workers are initially trained to be generalist practitioners and then specialize through advanced training and education,” said John Kraybill-Greggo, Ph.D., M.S.W., L.S.W., and A.C.S.W.,  associate professor and chair of the ESU Department of Sociology, Social Work and Criminal Justice. “In the health care field alone, the U.S. Department of Labor is predicting a 34 percent growth in the need for social workers and a lot of that has to do with the projected needs of baby boomers.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, the profession is expected to add more than 161,000 social workers from 2010 to 2020.

“Nationally, social work has been listed as one of the top professional programs for the next few years, in terms of need,” said Lloyd Lyter, Ph.D., M.S.W., L.S.W., director of Marywood’s Pocono Program. “Social workers are the primary providers of mental health services in the United States. There are social workers in virtually every kind of setting.”

Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry is anticipating nearly 10 percent overall growth in the need for social workers from 2010 to 2020 with a projected increase of nearly 17 percent in the number of social workers employed in medical and public health settings. Monroe County had one of the fastest growing populations in the Commonwealth from 1990-2010 and correspondingly has seen an increased demand for social services and the professionals who staff them.

Dr. Lyter said he’s already had a lot of interest from potential students for the M.S.W. at ESU.  He and Dr. Kraybill-Greggo said both faculties are looking forward to collaborating on research, community work and symposiums.

For more information, about the Marywood master’s degree in social work at ESU, contact Ann L. Williams, Marywood University graduate admissions, at awilliams@marywood.edu or 570-348-6211, ext. 2368 or Lloyd Lyter, director, Pocono Program, at lyter@marywood.edu or 570-348-6211, ext. 2388.