Social Work: Foundation (MSW)

At the most basic level, social work involves helping people address struggles in their lives. Social work is a vast field, which means there are numerous opportunities based on your interests or passions.  Some people enter social work already drawn to a specific population or issue, whereas others develop an interest through their coursework and field experiences.  Social workers can help with difficulties, transitions or struggles from birth to death and at any point in between. Some areas of social work practice include (but are not limited to):

Not only are social workers employed in a variety of settings, but they work at different levels of practice, including:

• Micro level (direct practice):  Micro level practice involves direct interaction with clients to cope and address their problems.  This is the most common type of social work practice and is offered in a variety of settings.
• Mezzo level:  Mezzo level social work involves working with groups, which runs the scale from working with family units, groups, organizations, and communities.  Social workers frequently work across both the micro and mezzo levels within the same job.
• Macro level:  Macro level social work is larger scale, and involves interventions, policy work, and advocacy at larger scale levels, including communities, states, and countries.  Macro social work can include activities such as grant-writing, activism, and crafting policies or laws.

Trauma-Informed Care is an approach that recognizes the pervasiveness of trauma in the general population and views it as a driving force behind many psychological conditions, physical health ailments, behavioral disorders, public health issues, and systemic racism/oppression. Based on this understanding, the aim of TIC is to reduce the effects of stress, adversity, and trauma in individuals (both clients and providers), families, organizations, and broader systems of practice. It does this by integrating knowledge about trauma into all aspects of services and trains providers to recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma to help minimize the potential for harm and re-traumatization.

Examples of TIC approaches include (but are not limited to):

• Changing organizational policies, procedures and practices to minimize potential barriers to service
• Teaching staff and clients de-escalation protocols, stabilization skills, and stress reduction techniques
• Conducting screening and assessment that identify exposure to trauma and adversity
• Providing trauma-specific interventions to effectively resolve the negative impact of trauma. 

UNI offers one of the few trauma-informed care specialization MSW programs in the Midwest, and the only one in the state of Iowa.

A Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) is an extremely versatile degree option.  An MSW offers a much broader range of job options in addition to providing therapy services.  Because of that, MSWs tend to receive a higher salary compared to people in the field with an undergraduate degree.

Some people choose to get an MSW in order to be able to practice as a mental health therapist, or what is known as clinical social work.  Similar disciplines (e.g. mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy, and psychology) also offer graduate programs that allow the practitioner to provide mental health therapy services.  Disciplines differ in their perspective of what causes the problems that people face and how to address those issues.  Practicing as a mental health therapist requires licensure by the Iowa Board of Social Workers.  An MSW from UNI allows our graduates to sit for the licensure exam to become a Licensed Master's level Social Worker (LMSW).   

There are also a wide variety of non-therapy jobs for MSWs.  Non-clinical opportunities for MSWs include (but are not limited to) advocacy, program development and management, agency and non-profit administration, and policy makers.  UNI'S MSW program is considered a "generalist" program, meaning that it provides a rounded education to prepare our MSWs for a broad range of jobs.

The mission of the University of Northern Iowa Masters of Social Work Program is to provide students with a trauma-informed foundation that prepares them to identify, evaluate, and address the personal, social, and systemic conditions that perpetuate individual, family, organizational and community-based trauma using evidence-informed interventions. Our curriculum is based on the perspective that effective change within this paradigm requires upholding the dignity and worth of the individual, advocating for human rights and social and economic justice, challenging oppression, promoting human relationships, practicing multi-cultural responsiveness, and identifying factors that mitigate the effects of trauma and enhance strengths, competencies, and resilience. Students obtain an in-depth understanding of these values and practices through in-person and online coursework and instruction that promotes critical thinking, self-reflection, and ethical decision making, along with intensive experiential learning through local, state, national, and international field placements. 

What does that mean for our students?

Our curriculum is based on the perspective that social workers are change-makers.  Social workers follow a professional code of ethics from the National Association of Social Workers. Ethically, we believe it is our responsibility as social workers to:

• Treat every person with dignity and worth
• Advocate for human rights, along with social and economic justice
• Challenge oppression, in all its forms
• Promote human relationships
• Recognize and address our own biases
• Practice multi-cultural responsiveness
• Address factors to reduce the effects of trauma
• Recognize the strengths and assets in our clients
• Help clients build resilience

Our curriculum is based on these ethical principles.  Through our courses, we want students to develop skills in:

• Critical thinking
• Self-reflection
• Ethical decision-making

Students will also complete a practicum/internship. Our agency partners request that you are available on weekdays between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. You will need to complete approximately 12-13 hours per week over two semesters. If you are already employed in the human service field, it may be possible to complete your internship at your current place of employment if your internship duties and supervisor are different than your employment duties and supervisor.

The Master of Social Work programs are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Accreditation verifies that the MSW degree meets the high standards considered essential to providing a high quality social work education, and ensures that every student graduating from a social work program in the U.S. possesses the same requisite skills and knowledge.

The MSW programs satisfy the licensure requirements in Iowa. Requirements may vary by state. For licensing requirements specific to your state, visit ASWB. For further information about whether or not this program meets the licensing requirements in your state, please contact your state board (a list of state agencies can be found at https://www.aswb.org/licenses/how-to-get-a-license/getting-licensed-in-…). 

Licensing exam information can be found at www.aswb.org/.

Program cost All students pay the same tuition rate, regardless of location, making it an affordable option for all students. Based on the 2025-2026 tuition rates and program sequence, the full cost of the Social Work: Foundation MSW program is estimated as follows:

*** Fall 2025 - Spring 2026 Tuition and Fees per Board of Regents, State of Iowa Approval ***

*Spring 2025-Summer 2025 costs reflect the 2024-2025 Tuition & Fees.

***Tuition and fees may be adjusted by the Iowa Board of Regents and are typically announced in the spring with increases occurring in the fall. More information can be found at tuition.uni.edu.

In addition to tuition and fees, students should also budget for indirect costs such as books, supplies, and personal expenses. View more information about the direct and indirect costs here.