SIPA: School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University

Master of Public Administration and Social Work

Back to MPA Dual Degree Programs

MPA and MSW
45 SIPA credits, 43.5 Social Work credits*

MPA/MSW Dual Degree Curriculum Overview

Dual-degree students are required to fulfill the SIPA and MSW core requirements outlined below. Dual-degree candidates must complete a minimum of 3 semesters in residence at SIPA and fulfill all MPA core requirements. Dual-degrees do not need to complete a policy concentration or specialization.  The second professional degree will be accepted toward the MPA in lieu of a policy concentration. 

Core Requirements – SIPA

Dual-degree MPA/MPH students must fulfill the SIPA MPA Core requirements.  Dual-degree students are not required to complete a concentration at SIPA.

• PUAF U6110 Politics of Policymaking (4 credits)
• SIPA U6000 Management for International and Public Affairs (3 credits)
• SIPA U4200/U4201 or U6400/U6401 Economics for International & Public Affairs I/II (6 credits)
• SIPA U6500 Quantitative Methods (3 credits)
• (note: T6502 Quantitative Methods for Social Work fulfills this requirement)
• Financial Management Requirement:
  (students must take one of the following courses)
  • SIPA U6310 Budgeting for Non-Profits (3 credits)
  • SIPA U6320 Budgeting for Government (3 credits)
  • SIPA U6200 Accounting for International and Public Affairs (3 credits)
  • INAF U6022 Economics of Finance (3 credits)
• Capstone Courses:
  • Capstone Workshop course number TBA (3 credits)
• SIPA U4040 Professional Development (.5 credit)
• Internship (1.5-3 credits)

* The number of credits required at social work will be between 45 and 54, depending on the student’s chosen method concentration area.

Core Requirements – Social Work

At CUSSW, the course of study leading to the Master of Science (MS) degree is based upon a progressive sequence of courses taken during the total period of study. These courses have been designed in accordance with the standards of the Council on Social Work Education, the School’s accrediting body. The Council on Social Work Education requires all students to take courses in the following areas: practice, practicum, research, human behavior and the social environment, and social welfare policy. For a more complete description, see the School Bulletin.

• T660A/T660B Human Behavior and the Social Environment A and B** (3 credits each)
• T6801 Social Welfare Policy (3 credits)
• T7100 Foundations of Social Work Practice (T7100) in the first year.
• Two additional courses in the student’s primary practice method, taken in the second year.

Prior to the second year of study, students select their practice method concentration. The School has five practice method concentrations: Advanced Clinical Social Work Practice, Advanced Generalist Practice and Programming, Policy Practice, Social Administration and Social Research. The choice of the practice method concentration determines your second field placement and the set of second-year practice courses for which you will register.

** Beginning in Fall 2004, any student who takes a HBSE course at CUSSW is also required to take and pass a HBSE proficiency exam.

Advanced Clinical Practice

Differential assessment, intervention, and evaluation within a field of practice, using individual, family, group, and case management modalities; clinical application of risk and resiliency theories and research to at-risk populations; and clinical issues with specific client populations.

Advanced Generalist Practice & Programming

Core processes of direct practice in advanced generalist practice; community practice; movement from case to cause; development of innovative and responsive social programs and of program resources, including staffing and funding.

Policy Practice

Policy analysis and policy advocacy, including the development of knowledge, values, and skills needed to define policy issues from a social work perspective, collect and analyze relevant data, develop policy options, prepare testimony, and present recommendations.

Social Research

Pursued in conjunction with Advanced Clinical Social Work Practice or AGPP, the emphasis is on advanced social work research methods and technologies; data analysis and statistics; application of research methods to social work problems; and completion of a research study in a practicum agency.

Social Administration

Administering social service programs and developing knowledge, values and skills in program planning, program evaluation, financial management, staff development and training, human resource management, and management information systems.

MSW Field of Practice Requirements

Although exempt from the field of practice course, dual degree candidates must choose a field of practice from among the following:

Aging:
The role and status of the elderly; social problems affecting the aged; sociology of the family and age stratification; financial support, health, and social care policies for the elderly; and social services to meet their needs and problems.

Contemporary Social Problems:
Emerging problems (currently homelessness, violence and substance abuse); etiology, epidemiology, and interconnections; relevant policies, programs, and practices, and the coordination or lack of coordination among service systems.

Family, Youth, and Children’s Services:
The economic and social status and service needs of families, youth, and children; laws, funding streams, and service organizations; family support and child care services; preventive and protective services; school-based services; teenage pregnancy and parenting services.

Health, Mental Health, and Disabilities:
Health factors and social stressors that affect clients; risk factors and their application to program development and evaluation; fiscal, legal, and organizational influences including managed care; assessment of system entry points for client care and advocacy.

International Social Welfare and Services to Immigrants and Refugees:
Global social problems, international trends in social policies and programs including response to disasters, needs of immigrants and refugees, and community development; and activities of major international organizations and voluntary agencies. Students who select this field must have at least 9 months experience working, volunteering or interning outside of the students’ country of origin; or primarily with immigrants and refugees in this county. A written application that includes information about experience outside of country of origin, and anticipated skills and goals is required. Enrollment is limited and preference in acceptance will be given to those fluent in a second language.

School-based and School-linked Services:
Issues affecting school-aged children, legal and policy issues in public education; problems of school failure; design, administration, financing, delivery, and evaluation of school-based or school-linked child and family services; and interdisciplinary collaboration.

World of Work:
The composition, status, and needs of the labor force; conditions interfering with work roles; services for clients as workers and for their dependents; collective bargaining; discrimination and unequal opportunity; interdisciplinary initiatives; and legislation related to work and social welfare.

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