Choose your focus.
Pursuing a specialization helps deepen your knowledge and expertise through advanced elective courses and a field placement in your focus area.
Specializations are offered across all of our MSW programs for both clinical and macro majors. While you are not required to specialize, you can customize your MSW experience by choosing to focus on one particular area, based on availability within your program plan. Eligible students will receive communication via email prior to the declaration period with instructions on how to declare.
Specializations
Aging
Aging is a lifelong process involving a complex interplay between biological, psychological, social, economic, and political factors. The Lowy Specialization in Aging Practice, Policy & Social Justice applies principles of social justice to analyze conditions that impact the lives of older adults and examines the role of power, privilege, and structural inequality in producing health disparities across the life course. Social workers play a vital role in working with individuals, families, and organizations, as well as local, state, and national communities to optimize opportunities for the health, economic well-being, and quality of life of older adults.
Behavioral Health
The Behavioral Health Specialization combines theory and skill development to enable you to promote behavioral and mental health in multiple domains – including co-occurring substance use disorder and trauma – with a special focus on the current opioid overdose crisis and other public health concerns within various community-based settings.
You will learn to advance health equity as a member of interdisciplinary teams while you prepare yourself for professional leadership roles that assure behavioral health systems address social determinants of health and the needs of specific individuals, families, and communities. As a program graduate, you will enter the workforce understanding the unique role social work plays in enhancing addiction prevention and intervention with racially, ethnically, and economically diverse populations who are facing multiple challenges in an ever-changing practice environment.
The specialization emphasizes a broad definition of behavioral health, including physical, emotional, psychological, environmental, and other social dimensions, not just the absence of injury or disease. It seeks to reinforce core social work values including social justice, human dignity, and respect for and empowerment of individuals and communities.
Children, Youth & Families
Healthy early-life development is essential to lifelong physical and emotional well-being and depends upon the health, safety, strengths, and resources of the families and communities in which children grow up.
The Children, Youth & Families Specialization prepares you to work with children and youth of all ages and identities and their families in direct practice and in medium and large-system settings using a social/racial justice framework. Major social work practice areas include early intervention; school social work; child protection; family support; promotion of child, youth, and family mental health; and community-based youth initiatives.
The specialization prepares you for practice by emphasizing trauma prevention and recognizing oppression – including racism, heterocentrism, ableism, sexism, and classism – as key threats to the optimal development and well-being of children, youth, and families. In doing so, the specialization equips you to fulfill the responsibility of social workers to disrupt and dismantle these and other forms of oppression.
Trauma, Violence & Justice
Trauma exposure is nearly universal. The field of trauma has exploded in the last several decades with advances in neurobiology, increased attention to evidence-based and evidence-informed interventions in trauma, and widespread recognition of violence across multiple contexts. Because trauma is a rapidly evolving field, social workers need integrated and cutting-edge training to work with, and on behalf of, diverse populations who are affected by wide-ranging traumatic experiences, including gender and race-based violence, interpersonal and/or community violence, natural disasters, combat trauma, and terrorism.
As a student in the Trauma, Violence & Justice Specialization, you will learn the foundations of trauma-informed and multi-level practice and policy and how to apply this knowledge to prevention, intervention, and policymaking to mitigate the impact of violence and trauma on individuals, families, communities, and societies.
Requirements
On-Campus (Boston/Charles River)
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
Requirements
- 1 advanced field placement in behavioral health setting
- 3 electives from the following:
- CP 762 Advanced Group Work
- CP 795 Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy
- CP 798 Psychodynamic Therapy with Adults
- CP 799 Brief Treatment
- CP 803 Adult Trauma
- CP 806 Theory and Practice with LGBTQ
- CP 809 Substance Use Disorder
- HB 723 Assessment and Diagnosis – Adults
- HB 727 Assessment and Diagnosis – Children and Adolescents
- WP 705 Mental Health Policy
- WP 711 Substance Use Policy
CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES (CYF)
Requirements
- 1 advanced field placement in CYF-serving agency
- 3 electives from the following:
- CP 762 Advanced Group Work
- CP 782 Trauma and Stress in the Early Years
- CP 785 Family Therapy
- CP 787 Couples
- CP 791 Anti-Oppressive Practice with Families and Communities
- CP 794 Clinical Practice with Children
- CP 804 Child and Adolescent Trauma
- HB 727 Assessment and Diagnosis – Children and Adolescents
- HB 743 Immigrants and Refugees
- WP 707 Policies and Programs – Children and Families
- WP 720 Family Policy
LOWY SPECIALIZATION IN AGING PRACTICE, POLICY & SOCIAL JUSTICE
Requirements
- 1 advanced field placement in aging
- 3 required courses:
- CP 807 Older Adults (can be taken in-person or online)
- HB 756 The Aging Experience: Theoretical Perspectives and Contemporary Issues
- WP 704 Social Policies and Programs on Aging
Students may choose other electives in Human Behavior or Policy with approval from the coordinator. Assignments must relate to older adults.
TRAUMA, VIOLENCE & JUSTICE
Requirements
- 1 advanced field placement with a trauma focus
- 1 required course: HB 805 Systems of Oppression, Trauma & Justice
- 2 electives:
- Clinical Child & Adolescent Track (choose 2):
- CP 782 Trauma and Stress in the Early Years
- CP 804 Child Trauma
- CP 814 Advanced Trauma Seminar
- Clinical Adult Track:
- CP 803 Adult Trauma
- CP 814 Advanced Trauma Seminar
- Macro Track (choose 2):
- CP 806 Theory and Practice LGBTQ
- HB 743 Immigrants and Refugees
- HB 752 Race and Culture Narrative
- WP 705 Mental Health Policy
- Clinical Child & Adolescent Track (choose 2):
Online & Hybrid Programs
As of September 1, 2023, all incoming students and some currently enrolled students, depending on their current year and program, can pursue a specialization. Any required courses not available at your campus will be taken through the BUSSW Online Program. Please be aware of the tuition differential rate for online program courses.
If you are a current student interested in pursuing a specialization, please contact your program administrator – sswocp@bu.edu for Off-Campus & Hybrid students, or sswolp@bu.edu for Online students.
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
Requirements
- 1 advanced field placement in a behavioral health setting
- 2 required courses:
- WP 705 Mental Health Policy
- HB 723 Assessment and Diagnosis in Adults or HB 727 Assessment and Diagnosis in Children and Adolescents
- 1 elective from the following options:
- CP 795 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- CP 803 Adult Trauma
- CP 809 Substance Use Disorders
- CP 762 Advanced Group Work
- MP 786 Health Equity
CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES (CYF)
Requirements
- 1 advanced field placement in CYF-serving agency
- WP 707 Social Welfare Policy and Programs on Children or WP 720 Family Policy
- 2 electives from the following options:
- Clinical Major
- CP 804 Child Trauma
- HB 727 Assessment and Diagnosis in Children and Adolescents
- CP 785 Family Therapy
- Macro Major:
- WP 707 Social Welfare Policy and Programs on Children
- WP 720 Family Policy
- HB 727 Assessment and Diagnosis in Children and Adolescents
- Clinical Major
LOWY SPECIALIZATION IN AGING PRACTICE, POLICY & SOCIAL JUSTICE
Requirements
- 1 advanced field placement in aging
- CP 807 Clinical Practice with Older Adults
- 2 electives from the following options:
- WP 705 Mental Health Policy or WP 720 Family Policy (assignments must relate to older adults)
- HB 723 Assessment and Diagnosis with Adults or HB 751 Human Neuropsychology (assignments must relate to older adults)
- Note: Students may choose other electives in Human Behavior or Policy with approval from the coordinator. Assignments must relate to older adults.
TRAUMA, VIOLENCE & JUSTICE
Requirements
- 1 advanced field placement with a trauma focus
- WP 705 Mental Health Policy (focus assignments on trauma/violence)
- 2 electives from the following options:
- CP 803 Adult Trauma
- CP 804 Child Trauma
- CP 809 Substance Use Disorders
Specialization Coordinators
- Aging: Bronwyn Keefe, PhD, bronwyn@bu.edu
- Behavioral Health: Deborah Chassler, MSW, chassler@bu.edu
- Children, Youth & Families: Lenette Azzi-Lessing, PhD, llessing@bu.edu
- Trauma, Violence & Justice: Ellen DeVoe, PhD, edevoe@bu.edu
Please visit the BU Bulletin for additional information about specializations as well as course descriptions, program information, and more.
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