On Aug. 30, Fordham’s Graduate School of Social Service (GSS) welcomed its first cohort of students enrolled in its new online Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) program.
The thirteen students, who all hail from the tri-state area but live beyond a 50 mile radius of New York City, were on campus for a two-day orientation and a meet-and-greet with eight faculty members participating in the 66-credit program. (In the photo above, associate professor G. Lawrence Farmer talks about research methods to the group.)
Students also met Dean Peter Vaughan, Ph.D., and were given campus tours and tutorials in digital research methods. Fordham’s GSS is the first school of social work in New York state to offer an online MSW, said Dale Lindquist, LCSW, D. Min, assistant professor and coordinator of the online program (pictured left, above).
New student Thomas Omaje Benjamin, a transition counselor for the Duchess County Sherrif’s Office, said the online degree served his desire for a graduate program that offered both a social justice emphasis and a part-time curriculum.
“I work full time,” said Benjamin, a resident of Poughkeepsie. “I’ve been looking for a program that has both a social justice foundation and flexibility. There aren’t too many of them around.”
The online students will participate in a monthly integrative seminar designed to match classroom learning and field learning. They will visit Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus again next semester to meet fellow online students, faculty and staff.
—Janet Sassi
