By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Bowling Green State University may become the first university in the country to offer a Master of Social Work with a concentration in Gerontology.
The Faculty Senate Tuesday approved the new major. Final approval will be up to the university’s Board of Trustees. The trustees will meet the end of next week.
Derek Mason, program coordinator for social work in the College of Health and Human Services, said that recent changes in the accreditation requirements by the Council of Social Work Education has made such specializations possible.
The new major is a good fit for BGSU given its current programs in gerontology.
Mason said that the college did a needs survey and found that over the next few decades there will be a growing demand for caregivers for the elderly. By 2030, he said, 25 percent of the population in Northwest Ohio will be over the age of 60.
As proposed this would be the first MSW “with such a focus and depth of specialization,” Mason said.
The program will be designed as a 60-credit-hour program though students with a Bachelor in Social Work will be able to complete the degree in 30 credit hours. The degree will also require 1,000 hours of field internship.
The plan is to enroll 20 full-time students and five part-time students each year.
At least five courses, especially those focusing on aging issues related to specific ethnic groups, will be offered online.
Mason said that the web-centric designation can be misleading. In order to have a blended program with at least one online offering that’s what the program must be called.
