UNC social work, Duke divinity schools approve program to award students two degrees

CHAPEL HILL -- Duke University Divinity School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Social Work will offer a dual degree program that will allow students to earn two masters degrees in four years, officials of both schools announced today (Oct. 15).

"Because of the highly integrated nature of this new program, graduates will be fully qualified to function as social workers, as ministers or as a minister/social worker," said Divinity School Dean L. Gregory Jones. "This preparation will provide graduates with a more holistic vision and will make them highly attractive to employers in tight economic times."

UNC School of Social Work Dean Jack M. Richman said the types of students who would be interested in the program "share common themes intellectually, although they grapple with them from distinctive angles of visions. There are many places where these distinct vocations converge, such as prisons, counseling settings and chaplaincies, hospice and palliative care."

Students may enter the program at either university beginning with the fall 2004 semester. Graduates of the dual degree program will receive a master of social work degree from UNC and a master of divinity degree from Duke. Previously, it would have taken five years for a student to earn both degrees. Students in the program will be able to use the Robertson Scholars bus service between the two campuses

Willie J. Jennings, senior associate dean for the Divinity School, said students will participate in seminars that put them in touch with practitioners from social work and from ministry. Likewise, students will serve in field education placements that will allow them to experience both vocations. Settings may include hospices, crises response centers, urban ministries, prisons, parish-based counseling and many types of outreach agencies.

"Our program with UNC will combine outstanding ministerial formation with the best practices of social work," said Jennings. "Individuals who are grounded in both vocations will embody a new future for the church."

Courses at Duke will draw from the school’s resources in clinical practical education, the interdisciplinary Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life, and the Theology and Medicine program, he said.

UNC plans to develop collaborations with additional institutions for students from other religious backgrounds, said UNC’s Richman.

Duke Divinity School, one of seven graduate professional schools on the Duke campus, is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It enrolls approximately 500 students from more than 30 denominations.

The UNC School of Social Work is ranked among the top 10 graduate social work programs in the nation. It enrolls approximately 350 masters and doctoral students from across the United States and several foreign countries.

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Contacts: Krystie Grubb (UNC), (919) 962-6540, kgrubb@email.unc.edu; or Elisabeth Stagg (Duke), (919) 660-3412, estagg@div.duke.edu