Students walking in front of Twente Hall

KU School of Social Welfare

With each relationship, we vow to be a true partner by providing a diverse, equitable and safe environment that encourages forward-thinking and creates inclusive experiences that drive social change.

Our Vision & Mission

Let's Connect

Our School strives to reinvent, innovate, transform and educate. Learn about our degree programs, request information or share your support.
Dean Michelle Mohr Carney

Driven by our guiding principles and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, we strive daily to achieve our vision that all individuals, families and communities utilize their power to achieve justice, equity and well-being.


Michelle Mohr Carney
Dean and Professor

A Foundation of Strengths

Offer innovative programming that graduates and supports uniquely qualified and compassionate social workers

Academics

12%
Ranked in the top 12% of public graduate institutions
85
years providing exceptional social work education
students sitting in grass by Fraiser Hall

Future Students

KU is the longest-running social work program in Kansas and is the only comprehensive, premier research School of Social Welfare in the state. Explore our undergraduate and graduate programs.

BSW, MSW, DSW, PhD
Graduates dressed in Regalia with Christina Boyd, Coordinator for Strategic Initiatives and Instructor-MSW Program, at the Lied Center getting lining up for graduation ceremony

Current Students  

Current students have access to resources including professional and faculty advising, a writing consultant, and practicum placement. Find resources for student support and funding.

Resources for Current Students

Study Social Work at KU

Whether you are just starting your search or you know you are ready to apply, we are here for you each step of the way.

A Vision of Justice

Drive discoveries that TRANSFORM LIVES

Research

$8M+
new research funding awarded (2022)
72
scholarly research presentations (2022)
50
students working on research projects (2022)

Advancing Research

Research Clusters were designed to foster an integrated and inclusive environment for scholarship and research. Research Clusters work towards advancing the science and knowledge base of social work through collaboration, curriculum, scholarship and research.
Michael Riquino giving research presentation to a crowd in Garden City

A Mission of Change

Embrace our responsibility to promote social, economic, and environmental justice in Kansas, the nation and the world.

Community

5
Locations offering the MSW program, with options in person and online
59
Children & parents served from all 4 federally recognized tribes in KS
$4.5M
given back to Kansas each year in social service volunteer hours
Policy Summit Panel at the BEST Conference Center at the Edwards Campus in Overland Park

Community Impact

Increasing transformative experiences through holistic support and DEI centered culture. Increasing research productivity around serious societal needs. Increasing community engagement and partnerships as international leaders in social work.

Community Engagement

Collaborate with us

We strive to be the ultimate advocate who serves the needs of our communities, equitably and honestly by collaborating to transform practice and policy through evaluation, training and technical assistance, and professional development.

KU Social Welfare Stories

Pegah Naemi Jimenez wins research achievement award

Pegah Naemi Jimenez wins Research Achievement Award

Naemi Jimenez’s scholarship focuses on cross-system approaches and community-engaged research that addresses social problems experienced by children and families in marginalized communities.
Three graduates of the Integrated Health Scholars Program shared their stories from the program

Alumni Stories from the Integrated Health Scholars Program

Nearly 250 graduates of the Integrated Health Scholars program are now providing integrated health care to under-served communities in Kansas and western Missouri. Hear from recent graduates of the program.
Sunflowers

Partnerships Equip More Social Workers to Serve Rural Kansas

MSW students taking classes through partnership programs at Pittsburg State University and K-State Salina answer the call for more social workers in underserved communities.

Latest News

Social Welfare student to present at Kansas Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol

Kansas Undergraduate Research Day is intended to raise awareness of the research being conducted by undergraduate students at state universities.

Social work Grand Challenges event focuses on supporting older adults facing social isolation

The Grand Challenges for Social Work is an initiative within the social work profession to champion social progress around a series of grand challenges that the profession works to affect. 

KU scholars strive to advance racial equity through newly funded research projects

The project teams — representing five units across the university — were chosen through a peer-reviewed competition co-sponsored by the Office of Research and the Hall Center for the Humanities. They each will receive approximately $20,000 to support their work.

Study: International organizations take oversimplified approach to understanding domestic violence in Nepal

A new study from the University of Kansas has found that research reports written or sponsored by international organizations have often taken an oversimplified “cultural essentialist” approach to understanding domestic violence in Nepal.

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