St. Thomas School of Social Work

09/01/2026

Our Master of Social Work and Doctor of Social Work applications are now open for those looking to join us in the Fall of 2027.

The School of Social Work holds over 50 years of excellence in teaching, mentoring and graduating future social work leaders, practitioners and scholars. We'd love to have you be a part of it.

Learn more and apply: https://health.stthomas.edu/social-work/index.html

08/25/2026

We were grateful to welcome our Doctor of Social Work (DSW) Cohort 12 students to campus last weekend. Over a three day orientation, these students learned more about program expectations, course offerings, banded dissertations, and the importance of being a part of a cohort.

Having an understanding support system makes all the difference when it comes to completing doctoral studies. It was incredible to see this cohort be together in person and build the connections that will set them up to successfully complete this three-year, fully online program.

Welcome to the Morrison Family College of Health, DSW Cohort 12, we are so glad you chose the University of St. Thomas!

08/18/2026

Last week our Fall 2026 Master of Social Work students were welcomed to campus for their orientation and given the opportunity to mingle with classmates, faculty, and staff, while learning about all the details of this program.

The need for social workers in Minnesota remains on the rise. We're so happy you chose St. Thomas, but we're even more happy that you chose this career. Looking forward to watching each of you learn and grow in the field of Social Work!

08/06/2026

✨New Faces in the Morrison Family College of Health✨

Will Carlson is an incoming Assistant Professor for the School of Social Work. His scholarship focuses on the implementation and adaptation of services for communities affected by psychological trauma and displacement. He is particularly interested in resilience processes and post-exposure trajectories following potentially traumatic events and looks forward to collaborating with students to provide high quality, evidence-based clinical training in the in the Master of Social Work program this fall. In his spare time, Will enjoys running, cooking, and being outdoors.

Welcome Dr. Carlson - we're looking forward to having you on the team!

07/09/2026

We are so proud of our School of Social Work triple threat Dr. Amanda Thooft (BSW '04, MSW '07, DSW '26) who served as this year's Morrison Family College of Health graduate commencement speaker!

Beyond her incredible work as a student, Amanda also teaches and supervises students in our Master of Social Work program, experience which shaped her banded dissertation theme "Supervision Matters: Shaping Competent and Confident Social Workers."

There is still a few weeks left to complete your DSW application if you're looking to start with us this fall - make sure all of your materials are received by July 31, 2026!

07/07/2026

Our School of Social Work is hiring for a Clinical Faculty to be the Director of MSW Field Education!

The position holds an 11-month contract, check out the job description to learn more and apply: https://facultyemployment-stthomas.icims.com/jobs/9399/clinical-faculty---director-of-msw-field-education/job?mobile=false&width=1200&height=500&bga=true&needsRedirect=false&jan1offset=-360&jun1offset=-300

06/22/2026

Welcome Dr. Paul Force-Emery Mackie to the Morrison Family College of Health as our Department Chair of the School of Social Work! Dr. Mackie has a wealth of experience as a professor and in leadership roles at Minnesota State University, Mankato. His research focuses on rural behavioral health workforce needs, rural culture, community organizing, and health care policy.

We're so grateful to have you on the team! Learn more about Dr. Mackie in our newsroom:
https://news.stthomas.edu/paul-mackie-named-chair-of-school-of-social-work/

05/27/2026

Another school year is in the books, and it wouldn't be the end of the year if we didn't highlight our Area of Emphasis in Aging Scholars!

Thank you to everyone who joined us on May 15 for our Annual Spring Celebration and Workshop. It was a wonderful day filled with panel speakers from a range of Palliative, Hospice, and Bereavement Care settings, and of course our AEA Scholar Clinical Portfolio presentations. 💟

04/21/2026

Our Doctor of Social Work students are defending their banded dissertation's this week.
Join us (virtually) April 21 - 23, to learn all about what Cohort 10 has been studying and researching over the course of their program.

Full Dissertation schedule and link to view:

Join Cohort 10 of the Doctor of Social Work (DSW) program as they present and defend their banded dissertations.

04/15/2026

Dr. Kingsley Chigbu has been teaching in our Doctor of Social Work program for 10 years and can't wait for the new specialization in Leadership, here's what he had to say:

"I’m truly encouraged by the intentional way we infused leadership into our program and by the thoughtful curriculum that grew from that work, including complex analysis. I’m excited for us to continue setting the standard as a program that inspires and prepares future doctors and leaders."

We are still accepting applications for a Fall start in our DSW program, head to our website to learn more: https://health.stthomas.edu/social-work/graduate/doctorate/index.html