Message from the Program Director

Welcome to the Social Work Program at Whittier College! We are a group of students, faculty, and social service agencies who are committed to personal growth and social justice. As we are learning, we look for ways that we can grow, change, and make a difference in our world.

Most of our social work classes have a community partnership as a part of the course. When you take a social work course, you are likely to be collaborating with clients and staff of agencies such as schools, mental health centers, family service agencies, and homeless rehabilitation centers. You could be helping a young child learn to read, create a garden with people who experience homelessness, assessing community needs for an agency, working with parents to improve family literacy, developing fair employer practices, or assisting families in locating resources for health and behavioral health. In each case, you are working for social and economic justice, an essential theme in our college and social work culture.

In addition to the community partnerships, each social work senior interns in a social service agency two days a week for the entire academic year. Seniors become a valued member of the professional staff, providing valuable services to clients as they strengthen their social work knowledge, values and skills. (For more information about field education, please contact Claudia Dorrington, Ph.D., who directs this part of the program.)

We hope that you will explore social work as a major or a minor. Our program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, which means that we meet the national standards of excellence for baccalaureate social work education. Many of our students continue their growth either in generalist social work practice or in an accredited graduate social work program (MSW degree). Whittier College social work majors may qualify for advanced standing in MSW programs, which reduces the number of required graduate classes. We have a strong group of social work alumni who are leaders in the profession.

Are you interested in social work and social/economic justice? Is social work the vocation for you? Stop by to see our faculty and our students involved in the Student Social Work Council. We are saving a place for you as you explore options for your future.

With appreciation,

Paula M. Sheridan, Ph.D., LCSW
Social Work Program Director