The new accreditation will be retroactively implemented for students!
Virginia State University (VSU) has just made history as the first historically Black college or university (HBCU) to offer an accredited social work program, Black Enterprise reports. VSU first launched its Master of Social Work program in 2022. Now, the graduate-level program will become the first Council of Social Work-accredited (CWSE) program at an HBCU. The school made the announcement via its website last week, adding that the new accreditation will be retroactively implemented for students from previous semesters up to Fall 2022. The university is working to build a pipeline of culturally and socially competent mental health experts.
“The Virginia State University MSW program is committed to the development of culturally competent, ethical, empathetic, and skilled professionals who [identify] with the social work profession, recognize, support, and build on the strengths and resiliency of all human beings, and dedicated to advanced social work practice and leadership roles within social service agencies, educational, health and behavioral health agencies, organizations, and institutions. The program has a major focus [on] preparing its graduates to address, systematically and strategically, the well-being of traumatized individuals and the promotion of human rights, social and economic justice through community engagement, advocacy, and collaborative scientific inquiry and the impact on professional practice locally, nationally and globally,” reads a statement on the University website.
This isn’t the first time VSU has paved the way for HBCUs, the university previously becoming the first HBCU to host a general election presidential debate, forgiving student loan balances for students enrolled during the COVID-19 pandemic, and renaming four buildings on campus in honor of Black women to preserve its rich legacy. Now, VSU is trailblazing in the mental health profession sector, and the new accreditation is opening pathways for more Black graduates to enter the industry and transform how mental health is practiced within families, communities, and among the most marginalized populations in America and abroad.
To learn more about the VSU Master of Social Work program, click HERE.
Cover photo: Virginia State University Makes History as First HBCU With Accredited Social Work Program/Photo credit: Virginia State University