Home to a rich history of excellence, innovation, and 100 years of social justice education.
Below are just a handful of key moments in our School’s history.
1918
School’s beginning dates back to the School of Education located on Beacon Hill, later renamed the School of Religious and Social Work.
1937
Division of Social Work inaugurates a two-year graduate program. In 1939, the School is accredited provisionally and in 1940 officially becomes a separate entity.
1979
Associate Dean Ken Schulman leads the School’s first ever Travel Study Seminar on Cuba.
1980
The dual degree program in social work and theology is established.
1982
As part of a new Off-Campus Program offering a part-time weekend option to those living and working in educationally under-served areas of Massachusetts, the Fall River Campus launches at UMass Dartmouth, welcoming students from southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. This year marks the launch our public health dual degree program option, the first of its kind in the country.
1988
The School of Social Work partners with BU’s School of Education – now Wheelock College of Education & Human Development – to establish the dual degree program in social work and education.
2002
A new Off-Campus Program site opens at the Cape Cod Community College in Barnstable, Massachusetts.
2009
The first BU-North site of the Off-Campus Program opens in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts. The program at BU-North now operates in Bedford.
2011
Launch of the Online Program at BU School of Social Work.
2015
Building on the long-standing success of BUSSW’s Social Work and Master of Public Health (MSW/MPH) dual degree program, the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health (CISWH) is established after a generous gift from an anonymous donor to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable populations nationally and globally.
2019
The Worcester Hybrid MSW Program opens to offer an innovative, Off-Campus/Online part-time format based at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.