Director's Welcome
A message from Dr. Henry D'Souza, Interim Director
Welcome! I am pleased to introduce you to Grace Abbott School of Social Work (GASSW), located within the College of Public Affairs and Community Service at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Our program is fully accredited by the Council for Social Work Education, we recognize the importance of serving our urban and rural communities by providing all students with a social work education that is exceptional and accessible. Our faculty, staff, and students are committed to diversity in teaching, research, learning, and community engagement.
We offer a Bachelor of Science in Social Work (BSSW) degree, a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree, and three dual degrees including a Master of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice (MSW/MSCRCJ), Master of Public Administration (MSW/MPA), and a Master of Public Health (MSW/MPH) degree offered in conjunction with the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Our social work program is committed to meeting the needs of all students, and we offer multiple program format options and flexible scheduling. In addition to the traditional BSSW and MSW in-person format offered on our UNO campus, we also offer a hybrid format (partially online and partially in-person weekend classes) MSW program taught on the campus of the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
Many of our undergraduate and graduate social work courses include a service learning component which provides enrolled students opportunities to engage with local agencies and participate in community programs as part of the course curriculum.
Our faculty are active on numerous community, regional, and national boards and are actively engaged with many local and regional agencies and associations. Memberships and participatory relationships include the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI), National Association of Social Workers (NASW), as well as the Office of the Public Guardian, The Kim Foundation, and many others.
The GASSW also includes Support and Training for the Evaluation of Programs (STEPs) program, a program evaluation component for programs serving families and children in poverty. STEPs engages in evaluations of public and non-profit programs, and offers a series of educational workshops and consultation on program evaluation skills for agencies.
We welcome potential and current students, alumni, community partners, and friends of the Grace Abbott School of Social Work to visit our offices, attend one of our community events or professional educational workshops, and collaborate with us in the semesters ahead.
Sincerely,
Henry D’Souza, Ph.D.