Master of Social Work earns $1.1 million

By carolinianweb on February 3, 2015 • ( 0 )

photo courtesy of susan smith/flickr

“UNC-Greensboro’s Joint Master of Social Work Program is in for major funds”

By Spencer Schneier, Staff Writer

Published in print Feb. 4, 2015

UNC-Greensboro and N.C. A&T’s Joint Master of Social Work Program received a $1.1 million federal grant, UNC-Greensboro announced last Monday.

The grant will be split between the schools over the next three years, which will provide paid internships for graduate students.

The News and Record reported that stipends up to $10,000 will be made available to students who work in the Greensboro community as social workers.

Much of the work will deal specifically with the field of mental health for children and young adults.

According to the official website of Greensboro’s Interactive Resource Center, Greensboro has some of the highest rates of homelessness in North Carolinia.

Guilford County, with its 9.4 percent unemployment rate surpasses even the state average for unemployment.

With the county’s speical needs, UNCG and N.C. A&T’s program is in strong demand to provide social work services

As The Carolinian’s recent interview with UNC-Greensboro Director of Strategic Initiatives Mike Tarrant suggests, these federal grants are a big piece of the puzzle at the academic level for universities.

Such sizeable grants provide one of the major cash flows for supporting paid internships and research.

The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration, which makes nearly $100 million available each year in grants for programs that provide research and health, as well as social work and related fields.

The Joint Master of Social Work Program is a multi-university program, with students taking classes at both UNCG and N.C. A&T over the life of the program.

This grant allows these students to further benefit the Greensboro community via social work while also receiving their education.

The News and Record reported that other UNC System schools who received money from this grant include: Appalachian State, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Pembroke and Western Carolina.

Presently, the program has roughly 100 students at present.