The School of Social Work has joined with the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS) to establish a dual degree program at the graduate level, the first of its kind in the United States.
The dual degree will address the gap in services for U.S. Latinos and Latin American immigrants. Graduates of the three-year program will earn the Master of Science in Social Work (MSSW) and the Master of Arts (M.A.) with a major in Latin American studies.
Graduates of the dual degree program will combine clinical social work skills with cultural and linguistic competency suited to diverse Latino and Latin American immigrant populations in the U.S. and abroad.
“Latinos are expected to make up close to one-third of the U.S. population by 2050. This dual degree augments our existing programs, particularly the St. David’s Foundation Bilingual Scholarships, to ensure that more graduates are ready for superb culturally competent social work practice with the growing numbers of Latino clients in Texas and beyond,” said social work dean Luis H. Zayas.
The need for social workers who speak Spanish and understand the Latino and Latin American immigrant cultures is acute, particularly in Texas, where Latinos are the largest ethnic group. Studies have shown that there is an increasing discrepancy between the growth of minority populations in Texas and the number of social service providers that can meet these populations’ cultural and linguistic needs.