News Release
July 2003
(Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)— Moravian Theological Seminary has
joined with the Marywood University School of Social Work to offer
joint degrees for students interested in applying social work principles
and practice in their ministry. Under the new program, students can
complete both a Master of Divinity and Master of Social Work degree
in four years—as opposed to five years if taken separately at
both schools. Students who wish to combine social work practice with
a pastoral counseling ministry may complete the Master of Arts in Pastoral
Counseling and Master of Social Work degrees in three years—as
opposed to four years if taken separately.
Dr. Cynthia J. Weaver, assistant professor of social
work at Marywood, and Dr. Glenn H. Asquith, Jr., professor of pastoral
theology at Moravian,
initially proposed the combined curriculum to their respective faculties
for approval. “The joint program is accomplished by sharing comparable
requirements for both degrees and also sharing field placements that
would satisfy all degree requirements,” said Dr. Asquith. “While
Marywood’s main campus is in Scranton, Pennsylvania, it also
has a campus at DeSales University in Allentown, where all requirements
for the M.S.W. can be completed, thus making it possible for students
to easily complete courses at both schools in a given semester.”
Marywood’s Master of Social Work is accredited
by the Council on Social Work Education. Students who complete the
joint program can
be licensed in Social Work (LSW) and in Clinical Social Work (LCSW)
by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, though the clinical social work
license requires an additional 2600 hours of supervised clinical work
beyond the M.S.W. degree.
The degrees will be awarded separately at each
respective campus upon completion. Early inquiries and applications
are already indicating
a positive reception of the joint degree program. A “signing
ceremony” to recognize the beginning of the joint program will
be held on the Moravian campus on Friday, September 26, at 1:00 p.m.
The ceremony will be followed by a continuing education program on
professional ethics, led by faculty from both schools, until 4:30 p.m.
For more information, call 610-861-1516.
