Florida State University School of Social Work Files

The Florida State University social work program began in the early years of the institution. Dr. Raymond F. Bellamy, professor of sociology from 1918 to 1956, first introduced social welfare content into the curriculum in the 1920s. In 1928 Dr. Coyle Moore, later to become the first Dean of the School of Social Welfare, joined the sociology faculty and taught "The Field of Social Work" and an introductory social welfare course "for those who expect to take up social work." By the mid 1930s, during the Great Depression, undergraduate courses in casework and group work were offered, as well as field placements at the Leon County Welfare Association and the Leon County Unemployment Relief Council.

In 2005 the social work program became identified as the College of Social Work. As of 2008, there are approximately 300 undergraduates and 350 graduate students enrolled in the College and 32 faculty numbers. More than 50 students are engaged in active study for the Ph.D. in social work. The program offers social work degrees at the baccalaureate, master, and doctoral levels.

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) initially accredited the Masters in Social Work degree (MSW) program in 1950. The baccalaureate program was among the first of such programs accredited by CSWE in 1974. The Ph.D. program in social work was approved by the Florida Board of Regents in 1974 and accepted its first student in fall of that year. Administratively, the College is directed by a dean and is assisted by an associate and assistant dean. Other administrative faculties are responsible for the doctoral program, the undergraduate program, part-time programs, and field instruction. The faculty oversees committees addressing most areas of school functioning, with student representatives on each of these committees. Agency field internships are carefully selected, and provide students with the opportunity to put into action both the conceptual and practice aspects of social work.