Senate Bill No. 0304-22
UNIVERSITY SENATE
UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
Introduced by: Graduate Academic Council
Date: March 2004
PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH A JOINTLY REGISTERED DUAL DEGREE
PROGRAM
M.S.W. – UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY / M.S. BIOETHICS – ALBANY MEDICAL
COLLEGE AND GRADUATE COLLEGE OF UNION UNIVERSITY
IT IS HEREBY PROPOSED THAT THE FOLLOWING BE ADOPTED:
1. That the University Senate approve the attached Proposal for “Dual Jointly-Registered
Degree, Master of Social Work (Direct Practice) at the University at Albany School of
Social Welfare and Master of Science in Bioethics at Albany Medical College and
Graduate College of Union University ” as approved by the Graduate Academic Council.
2. That this proposal be forwarded to the President for approval.
Proposed Dual Jointly-Registered Degree
Master of Social Work (Direct Practice) at the University at Albany School of Social
Welfare and
Master of Science in Bioethics at Albany Medical College and Graduate College of
Union University
11/7/03
PROPOSED PROGRAM TITLE: Dual Jointly Registered Degree Program in Social
Work and Bioethics.
TITLES and Program Code Numbers of Currently Registered Programs which are to be
combined: M.S.W. in Social Work (Albany) 03048. Master of Science in Bioethics
(Albany Medical College and Graduate College of Union University) 24465 and
24642(distance learning registration code).
PROPOSED DEGREES: M.S.W./M.S.B.
HEGIS Classification and Number: Public Affairs and Service, 2104 (M.S.W.);
Masters in Bioethics, 0499.
Academic Units That Will Offer the Program: School of Social Welfare, University at
Albany, State University of New York and Albany Medical College and Graduate College
of Union University (degree awarded by Graduate College of Union University).
Proposed Beginning Date: September 1, 2004.
Summary of Program: The School of Social Welfare, University at Albany, State
University of New York, offers approved B.S., M.S.W., and Ph.D. programs in Social
Work. The approved Master of Science in Bioethics is offered jointly by the Center for
Medical Ethics at Albany Medical College and the Center for Bioethics and Clinical
Leadership of the Graduate College of Union University. This proposal is to offer a
combined masters-level program in Social Work (Direct Practice Concentration) and
Bioethics. The proposed dual jointly registered degree program is 88 credits: 51 credits
(of 60) in the Master of Social Work and 37 credits (of 40) in the Master of Science in
Bioethics. Students will take 16 of the 19 courses required toward the Social Work degree
(48 credits) and 11 of the 12 required Bioethics courses (40 credits). The students will
attend the Albany campus for the social work courses. Most Bioethics courses will be
online (with some on-site options) and three intensive sessions in person on the Albany
Medical College campus. We anticipate admitting one or two students a year. This
program will be a Council on Social Work Education accredited M.S.W. program under
the School of Social Welfare’s current accreditation.
The curriculum for the proposed dual jointly registered degree program is displayed in
Tables 1 and 2.
Rationale for the program: The M.S.W. degree with a concentration in Direct Practice
prepares graduates for beginning-level professional social work with individuals,
families, and small groups. The program is accredited by the Council on Social Work
Education. Hence, its degree is nationally-recognized as a professional social work
degree. Because an M.S.W. degree-holder may be licensed by the state of New York, in
New York the M.S.W. is among the most flexible and marketable of degrees in the human
services. Many social workers are employed in settings where they deal daily with
bioethical issues, including hospital and other health care settings (17% of recent Albany
M.S.W. graduates in 2001), services to older persons (9%), substance abuse (6%) and
developmental disabilities (5%).
The M.S.B. degree is an interdisciplinary degree offering intensive education in bioethics
for persons from many disciplines, including medicine, healthcare administration, law,
nursing, pharmacy, and social work. The program is offered through on-line courses and
short-term intensive sessions designed for working healthcare professionals. It covers a
range of bioethical issues including healthcare policy, law, biomedical issues, research
ethics, and reproductive ethics. It includes a strong emphasis on practical application in
health settings.
The proposed dual jointly-registered program would offer students the opportunity to
combine the M.S.W. with a strong specialization in biomedical issues. The M.S.W.
coursework includes generalist and advanced social work practice that prepares students
to work in healthcare and health-related settings. In the advanced curriculum, students
may select courses in social work and health, aging, end-of-life issues, disabilities, and
other related practice arenas. The M.S.B. coursework includes core courses in health care
policy, biomedical ethics, legal issues, practicum at Albany Medical College, a masters
project which may be a thesis, and two intensive, face-to-face seminars at the beginning
and end of the program. Both degrees will count courses in the other program as meeting
elective courses. The program will be a fully accredited M.S.W. program under the
School of Social Welfare’s current accreditation.
Social workers provide many services in health care settings, including mental health,
health-care compliance, and family and grief counseling. They frequently encounter
bioethical issues, and in many hospitals they are leaders in raising consideration of such
ethical issues. The combined program will give social workers the in-depth education
they need to make informed decisions and the credential to become leaders in bioethics in
health care. The social work combination will give bioethics a strong clinical application,
an interest of the M.S.B. program.
Potential Demand: We expect up to five students a year. The combination of degrees is
unique in the United States. There are no other bioethics programs in New York State. We
anticipate that the graduates of the program will become leaders in social work and health
care. The need for persons trained in bioethics will increase dramatically due to
increasing complexity of medical interventions and increases in the need for medical care
among an aging population in New York.
Enrollment in the M.S.W. program has been steady between 350 and 375 and
applications for the entering class have been between 200 and 400.
The M.S.B. program enrolls about 15 students a year. All are working professionals in
health care fields who appreciate the part-time distance learning program.
General requirements for program completion of each separate program:
The University at Albany School of Social Welfare currently offers a 60-credit degree,
Master of Social Work (M.S.W.). The M.S.W. degree includes 31 credits of required
coursework and 29 credits of coursework in an advanced concentration. Because this
proposal concerns only one advanced concentration, the Direct Practice concentration,
the model full-time curriculum for Direct Practice students only is presented in Table 3.
In the Direct Practice concentration (second-year), three courses (11 credits) are required
of all students; 4 courses (12 credits) are selected from courses designated by the faculty
as meeting requirements for Advanced Behavior (1 course, 3 credits), Advanced Policy (1
course, 3 credits), and Advanced Practice (2 courses, 6 credits). Courses which have been
approved in each area are listed in Table 4. Typically, four to eight of each course type are
offered each semester. Two additional courses (6 credits) are taken per advisement.
The Masters in Bioethics includes 12 courses. Ten are required (including three intensive
clinical sessions, two courses for the masters project, and 5 semester-length on-line
courses). Two courses are electives selected from a choice of three courses. The courses
are listed in Table 5.
4. Specific requirements for the jointly registered dual Master’s program:
4a. Listing of all required courses.
The required courses for the proposed Dual-Jointly Registered Master’s Program in
Social Work and Bioethics are listed in Table 1. The 88 credit degree includes 13 required
social work courses (courses listed as RSSW with a number), 3 social work courses that
meet distributional requirements (listed as RSSW 7xx), 10 required Bioethics courses
(courses listed as MED) and one of the three MED electives (MED 206).
4b. Supporting courses and electives.
The courses that meet distributional requirements in social work will be selected from
those listed in Table 3 (Social Work). They will be the same selection of courses offered
to students in the MSW program at the same time. The elective in Bioethics will be the
one elective that meets student time commitments (MED 206, Scientific Integrity).
4c. Courses and credits that will be used to satisfy requirements for both degrees.
Table 2 indicates how credit will be allocated toward each degree. The 4 courses that
meet requirements of both degrees are in the center column of Table 2. One course
includes content that is similar in both programs, basic research methodology (SSW 660
Introductory Research Methodology. Research methodology is required in the MSW
program and is an elective in the Bioethics program. Two Bioethics courses are
acceptable substitutes for MSW courses. MED 281, Health Care Policy, will meet the
requirement for an MSW Advanced Policy course; the content is similar in scope and
difficulty as that expected of an advanced policy course. MED 284, Bioethics and the
Law, core content for Bioethics, is an appropriate elective course in the MSW program.
One course would be an elective in each program, MED 206, Research Ethics.
In terms of completing degree requirements, toward the M.S.W. Social Work degree,
students will take 16 of the 17 required Social Work courses (48 credits). One additional
requirement, the Advanced Policy course, is met by a policy course in Bioethics (MED
281). No required content will be lost. In the regular degree program, students take two
electives in social work or any related graduate department. Two Bioethics courses are
appropriate electives and will enrich the content of the M.S.W. program.
Toward the M.S.B. degree, students take all 10 required courses and one elective course.
The second elective course is met by a social work course that is content similar to the
elective, RSSW 660 Introductory Research Methodology. No required content is lost.
4d. Number of semesters required for dual program completion. The model program
is laid out in Table 1. The degree will take three academic years and three summers to
complete.
4e. Other program requirements. There are no additional requirements. Students must
satisfactorily complete all courses, including courses in Field Instruction (internship in an
agency).
4f. Assuring program quality: Several means exist to assure program quality. First, the
M.S.W. degree program (including the variation proposed in this dual jointly registered
degree program) is accredited by an external accrediting body, the Council on Social
Work Education. It is reviewed periodically by outside reviewers and must meet rigorous
standards, especially when variations to the regular degree programs are present.
Secondly, as part of the M.S.W. requirements, students must complete four semesters of
field instruction, carrying out social work duties in a social work agency (practica or
internship). Professional responsibility as well as concerns for liability require careful
monitoring of student preparation for and supervision during the field practica. Thirdly,
the M.S.B. is undergoing accreditation by the Department of Education of New York
State and uses a curriculum designed to satisfy the current core competencies for clinical
ethics consultation standards of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities and to
meet prospective requirements of such accrediting and funding bodies as the Joint
Commission on Accrediting Healthcard Organizations (JACHO) and the National
Institutes of Health (NIH). Finally, faculty at both programs have formal mechanisms for
periodic review of curriculum, including the content and relevance of courses that fulfill
degree requirements.
4g. Admissions: Students must be eligible to matriculate in both programs and must be
accepted through the admissions process of each program.
Table 1
Proposed Dual Jointly-Registered Degree
Master of Social Work (Direct Practice) at the University at Albany School of Social
Welfare and
Master of Science in Bioethics at Albany Medical College and Graduate College of
Union University
Curriculum and Model Program
Time
Frame
University at Albany Master
of Social Work
Albany Medical
College/Graduate College
of Union UniversityMaster
of Science in Bioethics
Year 1Fall SSW 600 Social Welfare Policy
and Services (3 credits)
SSW 610 Human Behavior and
Social Environment I (3
credits)
SSW 620 Micro Practice in
Social Work I (3 credits)
SSW 630 Macro Practice in
Social Work I (3 credits)
SSW 650 Field Instruction I (3
credits)
Year
1Winter
SSW 611 Human Behavior and
Social Environment II (3
credits)
SSW 621 Micro Practice in
Social Work II (3 credits)
SSW 631 Macro Practice in
Social Work II (3 credits)
SSW 651 Field Instruction II (4
credits)
SSW 660 Introductory
Research Methodology (3
credits)
Year 1
Summer
2nd half
(August)
MED 246 Proseminar in
Health and Human Values (2
weeks in August Albany
Medical College)
Year 2
Fall
SSW xxx Advanced Practice (3
credits)** SSW xxx Advanced
Behavior (3 credits)*
MED 281 Health Care
Policy (on line/on-site
option)
MED 206 Research Ethics:
Scientific Integrity (on
line/on-site option)
Year 2
Winter
SSW xxx Advanced Practice (3
credits)*
MED 274 Biomedical Ethics
(on line/on-site option in
Spring)
Year 2
Spring
MED 202 Clinical Ethics (on
line)
MED 284 Bioethics and the
Law (on line)
Year 2
Summer
MED 301 Practicum I –
Clinical Ethics (Albany
Medical College)
Year 3
Fall
SSW 661 Evaluation of
Clinical Practice (3 credits) OR
SSW 665 Research Methods in
MED 302 Practicum II –
Online Practicum )
(conducted in social work
Social Work Management (3
credits) (prepare proposal for
masters project)
SSW 752 Field Instruction III
(4 credits)
field practicum)
Year3
Winter
SSW 753 Field Instruction IV
(4 credits)
MED 391 Masters Project I
(on line)(conducted in social
work field practicum)
Year 3
Spring
MED 392 Masters Project
(on line) (conducted in social
work field practicum)
Year 3
Summer
MED 399 Capstone in
Clinical Ethics (Albany
Medical College) 10 days in
May
Total
credits
51
37
Table 2
Proposed Dual Jointly-Registered Degree
Master of Social Work (Direct Practice) at the University at Albany School of Social
Welfare and
Master of Science in Bioethics at Albany Medical College and Graduate College of
Union University
Allocation of Credits to the Degree Programs
Credits counting toward
Master of Social Work
only
Credits counting toward
both degrees
Credits counting
toward Master of
Science in
Bioethics only
SSW 600 Social Welfare
Policy and Services (3
credits)
SSW 610 Human
Behavior and Social
Environment I (3 credits)
SSW 620 Micro Practice
in Social Work I (3
credits)
SSW 630 Macro Practice
in Social Work I (3
credits)
SSW 660 Introductory
Research Methodology (3
credits)MED 281 Health
Care PolicyMED 274
Biomedical EthicsMED 284
Bioethics and the Law
MED 246
Proseminar in
Health and
Human Values
MED 206
Research Ethics:
Scientific
Integrity
MED 202
Clinical Ethics
MED 301
Practicum I –
SSW 650 Field
Instruction I (3 credits)
SSW 611 Human
Behavior and Social
Environment II (3
credits)
SSW 621 Micro Practice
in Social Work II (3
credits)
SSW 631 Macro Practice
in Social Work II (3
credits)SSW 651 Field
Instruction II (4 credits)
SSW 661 Evaluation of
Clinical Practice (3
credits) OR SSW 665
Research Methods in
Social Work
Management (3 credits)
SSW 752 Field
Instruction III (4 credits)
SSW 752 Field
Instruction III (4 credits)
SSW xxx Advanced
Practice (3 credits)
SSW xxx Advanced
Practice (3 credits)
SSW xxx Advanced
Behavior (3 credits)
Clinical Ethics
MED 302
Practicum II –
Online Practicum
MED 391
Masters Project I
MED 392
Masters ProjectII
MED 399
Capstone in
Clinical Ethics
48 credits
13 credits
27 credits
Table 3
School of Social Welfare
University at Albany-State University of New York
M.S.W. Curriculum with Concentration in Direct Practice
First-Year Generalist Curriculum
First Semester (Fall)
RSSW 600 Social Welfare Policy and Services (3 credits)
RSSW 610 Human Behavior and Social Environment I (3 credits)
RSSW 620 Micro Practice in Social Work I (3 credits)
RSSW 630 Macro Practice in Social Work I (3 credits)
RSSW 650 Field Instruction I (3 credits)
Second Semester (Spring)
RSSW 611 Human Behavior and Social Environment II (3 credits)
RSSW 621 Micro Practice in Social Work II (3 credits)
RSSW 631 Macro Practice in Social Work II (3 credits)
RSSW 660 Introductory Research Methodology (3 credits)
RSSW 651 Field Instruction II (4 credits)
Second-Year Direct Practice Concentration
Third Semester (Fall)
RSSW xxx Advanced Behavior (3 credits)*
RSSW xxx Advanced Practice (3 credits)
RSSW 661 Evaluation of Clinical Practice (3 credits)
RSSW xxx elective (3 credits)
RSSW 752 Field Instruction III (4 credits)
Fourth Semester (Spring)
RSSW 7xx Advanced Policy (3 credits)
RSSW 7xx Advanced Practice (3 credits)
RSSW xxx elective (3 credits)
RSSW 753 Field Instruction IV (4 credits)
Table 4
School of Social Welfare
University at Albany - State University of New York
Courses Currently Designated as Meeting Advanced Concentration Distribution
Requirements
Advanced Policy:
SSW 740 Social Gerontology: Policies, Programs and Services
SSW 780 Child Welfare
SSW 781 Poverty, Health and Health Policy
SSW 782 International Social Welfare Policy
SSW 783 SW in Rural Settings
SSW 784 Women and Social Policy
SSW 785 Mental Health Policy
Advanced Behavior:
SSW 711 Variant Family Forms
SSW 712 Family Violence
SSW 717 Discrimination: Implications for Social Work
SSW 721 Ego Psychology: Theory in Practice
SSW 732 Traumatology
SSW 734 Latter Half of Life
SSW 735 Disorders of Children and Adolescents
SSW 737 Families in Mid and Late Life
Advanced Practice:
SSW 710 Social Work Practice with Children
SSW 719 Comparative Approaches to Direct Treatment
SSW 721 Ego Psychology
SSW 722 Social Work Interventions in Grief and Loss
SSW 724 Social Work Practice with Groups
SSW 725 Social Work Practice with Involuntary Clients
SSW 727 Advanced Family and Marriage Therapy
SSW 729 Social Work Practice with Women
SSW 731 Clinical Case Management
SSW 731 Social Work Practice with Immigrants
SSW 731 Spirituality in SW Practice
SSW 731 Crisis Intervention
SSW 731 Theory and Treatment of Depression
SSW 741 Practice with Mature and Aging Adults
SSW 742 Cognitive Methods in Social Work Practice
SSW 745 Social Work Intervention in Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
SSW 746 Cultural Diversity in Social Work Practice
SSW 747 Task-Centered Practice
SSW 748 Social Work Practice in Mental Health Settings
SSW 749 Social Work Practice in Health Care Settings
SSW 770 Assessment and Treatment of Problems of Adolescence
SSW 771 Social Work Interventions in Family Violence
SSW 772 Social Work in the Schools
SSW 773 Sexual Identity and Social Work Practice
Table 5
Master of Science in Bioethics at Albany Medical College and Graduate College of
Union University
Curriculum
MED 246 Proseminar In Health & Human Values (on site)
MED 281 Health Care Policy
MED 274 Biomedical Ethics
MED 284 Bioethics & the Law
MED 301 Practicum I - Clinical Ethics (on site)
MED 205 Reproductive Ethics (elective)*
MED 206 Scientific Integrity (elective)*
MED 207 Empirical Research Methods (elective)*
MED 202 Clinical Ethics
MED 302 Practicum II – On-line Practicum
MED 391 Masters Project I
MED 392 Masters Project II
MED 399 Capstone in Clinical Ethics (on site)
*Students select two elective courses.
