Dan Woods talks with Dr. Dana Branson, Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, Social Work and Sociology. Dr. Branson shares about the Social Work program and career opportunities for graduates.
Woods:
This is KRCU’s Going Public. I'm Dan Woods. Our first guest is Dr. Dana Branson. She's Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, Social Work and Sociology. Dana, it’s good to see you.
Branson:
Thank you for having me.
Woods:
You’re here to talk to us about the social work program here at the university. So, kind of give us an overview of the program first.
Branson:
So, what I like to tell people is Social Work is like Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science and Criminal Justice all got together and had a baby. And that's what Social Work is because we do care about that individual person and what's going on with them that causes them to do some of the things that they're doing that's creating some problems in their lives, very much like Psychology. But we also care about the environment and society and the family groups or the peer groups that they're in that might be adding to the problem, like Sociology. We also care about their culture, because for us to present them with interventions that don't go along with their culture is going to be worthless, so that's when the Anthropology part comes in. And then Political Science, we know that, unfortunately, there's a number of systemic issues that create challenges for certain people over other people, so we have to be aware of those. And then with Criminal Justice, just knowing that when things get started a certain way, they tend to keep going that way without significant intervention. And so, we're kind of a hodgepodge. Social Work is a rather new discipline, versus Psychology or Sociology. Psychology and Sociology are considered academic disciplines and Social Work, as well. We're steeped in theory; we're steeped in research and science, but we also have a practice component to us. So, one of the things that our students do, along with their academic work, is they also have practice classes.
Woods:
Okay? What would that look like?
Branson:
So, our practice classes is…we have several throughout the curriculum. We teach them how to interview people, then we teach them how to take a client from when they walk into an agency all the way to when they leave the agency with that one-on-one case management. We also teach them how to do educational groups with people, and then we also teach them how to do community level social work. So, they have a number of practice classes throughout their academic career. Then the big practice part is the last semester that students with us, they're no longer in academic classes. They're placed in an agency for 32 hours a week. So typically, it's Tuesday through Friday, eight to four, nine to five, and then the only time they're on class on campus is Mondays for a seminar class. And that's when we talk about what they're doing, how the academic portions that they've learned are coming alive in their agencies. So, when our students graduate, they have a minimum of 448 hours of practice experience. So, when people see a resume from a social work student, they know that they've already been doing the work.
Woods:
I saw the 448 hours, and I wondered what made that up. There's a lot of intensive work that goes into this degree.
Branson:
Yes, our hope is that when our students start in an agency—there’s some mentoring and observation—but our hope is by the end of that 14 weeks, or 448 hours, that they are a staff member that is working at that agency. We want them really…when they leave that the agency feels like they have a hole now because the student was such a part of their mission and their agency.
Woods:
So, what could a student do with their Social Work degree? What kind of career paths might be available?
Branson:
So, Social Work…it really depends on how much social work you do. So, if you graduate with a Bachelor of Social Work, you are going to have a number of doors open to you. And you're never going to want for a job. You can do case management. You're an entry level social service provider. The problem is you're going to hit a ceiling pretty quick, and you just can't go any higher. If you're willing to go get that masters, then you have all these doors. Down here, the salary is not as great up here. It's significantly better. So here at Southeast Missouri State, we don't have a master's program right now, but we are an accredited program through Council on Social Work Education, which allows our students, if they have a high enough GPA, which is usually about 3.0 or higher, they can go to a Master of Social Work program advanced standing—which is usually concentrated summer, two semesters, and they're done. So, it's…most of our students that finish our program and go on to graduate school have their masters, start to finish, in five years from undergrad through masters.
Woods:
Can you share about any recent graduates? Some things that they're doing now, maybe from the program that are working here in our area, perhaps?
Branson:
So, we have…well, we have your daughter who is working and…yeah, she has her master's degree., She is working at an agency here in town called NASV, which is the Network Against Sexual Violence. She does the Green Bear program, which is a preventative program and awareness program for kiddos in schools to know the difference between good touch and bad touch and how to access services if they're in a situation where somebody is not treating them the way that they should be. We have a lot of our students end up at places like Gibson Center working with people who have substance abuse issues, Community Counseling Center with mental health issues. We have a number of graduates at both schools as school social workers. We have students at the Veterans Home and the Veterans Clinic and the outpatient VA. We really…anywhere that you have social services, we have a sprinkling of our graduates.
Woods:
What does the job market look like in the next 5-10 years for social workers?
Branson:
Yeah, so social work is projected to grow, especially in the areas of mental health, substance abuse, medical social work and school social work. So yeah, we…we get…I get…all of us faculty get emails on a regular basis saying, “Do you have any graduates coming up?” Because agency…it's really hard to find social workers, specifically masters-level social workers, because once you get your master’s and you test to get your license, you can start diagnosing. You can start practicing stand alone. And agencies have to have those diagnostic level clinicians to for their agency to operate.
Woods:
So, if a student was really interested in really going to that level, they would really have to get their master's degree to be able to do that type of level.
Branson:
Yes, to diagnose stand alone, you do have to have your master's, and then after your master's you get your license, yes.
Woods:
So, if the students or their parents are watching or listening to us, what kind of encouragement would you give them to explore social work at Southeast. What do they need to do?
Branson:
They are welcome to call our office. We'd be happy to meet with them one-on-one. We can Zoom; we can phone call. We can tell them about the different curriculum they're going to take, what to expect. They are welcome to come sit in on a class or Zoom in to a class. And we, all of us that work in our department, we love what we do. We were all practicing social workers before we came to academia, and so we love, love, love, love…I wear Social Work like a badge of honor.
Woods:
That's wonderful. Dana, it’s good to visit with you. Thanks for being here today.
Branson:
Thank you.
Woods:
We've been Going Public with Dr Dana Branson, Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, Social Work and Sociology. To hear more interviews, visit KRCU.org. And don't forget to subscribe to the Going Public podcast. It's available wherever you get your podcasts.
