Accelerated Dual-Degree
On Campus
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Visit the College of Arts & SciencesSocial work is one of the fastest growing fields in the United States, and it needs multitalented professionals with a passion for social justice and equity. Our dual-degree program, completed in 5 years, gives arts and sciences students the chance to leverage their diverse knowledge base and skill set in numerous careers that make a difference in the lives of others.
The BA or BS/Master of Social Work program enables incoming students who are entering the College of Arts & Sciences to earn their bachelor’s and MSW degrees in 5 years. This accelerated program is open to students majoring in criminal justice, gerontology, health, medicine and society, justice and community engagement, psychology and sociology, allowing them to tailor their degree to focus on the social issues and problems of greatest importance to them. It also emphasizes interprofessional education and a team-based healthcare approach.
By building an undergraduate foundation in a discipline such as sociology, criminal justice, gerontology or psychology, students create inroads to a range of careers, from mental health and substance abuse counseling to social service administration and city-wide policy planning. This degree prepares students to work in a variety of settings, from schools to hospitals, and to become a major voice and resource for many populations, including at-risk children, veterans, inmates and advanced-age individuals.
Accelerated dual-degree program students complete their undergraduate work in 3 years. They begin taking graduate-level coursework in their third year before matriculating into the School of Health Sciences for the remaining 2 years, where they complete their MSW and prepare for licensure. All students work closely with a faculty adviser throughout the program to carefully plan their course of study, ensuring timely completion of both degrees.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 53,800 new Social Work jobs will be created over the next decade. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023)
A 2017 National Association of Social Workers Workforce Study found MSW salaries were $13,000 higher than for those who held a BSW degree.
Members of Quinnipiac’s School of Law recently participated in a virtual meeting on homelessness mitigation, hosted by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and other top White House administrators, including Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff and Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Adewale Adeyemo.
In response, the law schools committed to using their available resources to liaison with outside legal services providers and community outreach groups in order to promote housing stability, an arena particularly shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are working on more functional programming to keep interacting. We will focus on different and better types of communication to better facilitate between legal, policy and social issues,” said Holt. “Best practices are developing across the country, around the confluence of services to work as a team and a multifaceted effort.”
This type of interdisciplinary endeavor is characteristic of Quinnipiac’s learning ecosystem, and collaboration with social work master’s students and other schools may be on the horizon, said School of Law Dean Jennifer Brown.
“Most fundamentally, we want the Quinnipiac law school to be a positive contributor to efforts that keep people in their homes, to prevent the disruption and public health crisis, education crisis and employment crisis that result from displacement from one’s home,” said Brown. “That’s what makes it exciting, that our law school can be part of something that has such a valuable outcome for this central goal.”
Our accelerated dual-degree (3+2) program enables you to earn your undergraduate and graduate degrees in the most efficient and economical way possible, positioning you for success in a competitive landscape. This approach to earning your degrees advances on traditional higher education models by focusing on rigorous, interdisciplinary and experiential learning.
The benefits include:
Save time and money: You’ll complete your degrees sooner, save on tuition costs and enter the workforce at least one year earlier, with a graduate degree
Competitive career positioning: Your graduate degree will give you an advantage in a competitive landscape
Dedicated guidance: You’ll be partnered with a faculty adviser who may also be the director of the program within the school
Experiential learning: You’ll have access to special programming and networking opportunities for program students
Course overload fees are waived during the Fall and Spring semesters for students in accelerated dual-degree programs up to 19 credits per term (or up to 20 credits per term for up to two semesters for students engaging in a study abroad program). Summer and/or January term courses may be required to earn the accelerated graduate degree and are also offered at no cost to students in accelerated dual-degree programs.**
*This only applies to the one graduate program associated with your chosen dual-degree.
**Not to exceed a seven-credit limit per Summer (Summer 1 and Summer 2 combined) or a three-credit limit per January term in which you enroll in courses. Any additional credits in a Summer or January term will have associated credit hour costs. Please see the tuition and fee schedule on the webpage for specific costs per program.
Accelerated dual-degree students, like all students, are required to live on campus for their first three years of enrollment.
Our BA or BS / Master of Social Work programs position you for a growing number of specialized and in-demand opportunities. Graduates gain valuable skills suited for a wide array of potential careers.
Therapist or counselor
Medical social worker
School social worker
Community outreach worker
Human services specialist
Probation officer
Behavioral management aide
Substance abuse counselor
All Council on Social Work Education programs measure and report student learning outcomes. Students are assessed on their mastery of the competencies that comprise the accreditation standards of the Council on Social Work Education. These competencies are dimensions of social work practice that all social workers are expected to master during their professional training. A measurement benchmark is set by the social work programs for each competency. An assessment score at or above that benchmark is considered by the program to represent mastery of that particular competency.
View the Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes: Form AS 4(M) (PDF)
The MSW and MSW - Advanced Standing programs meet the academic requirements for licensure as a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). These programs are fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. Initial accreditation was granted in March 2016.
Quinnipiac's online Master of Social Work (MSW) and online MSW Advanced Standing are pending approval from the Council on Social Work Education's (CSWE) Board of Accreditation (BOA) for the online MSW format.
Our undergraduate admissions counselors are here to answer any questions you may have and help you navigate the application process.