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Vision — The Synergy of Dual DegreesBy Matthew Robb, MSW, LCSW-C Social Work Today Vol. 6 No. 1 P. 20 Are two perspectives better than one when it comes to social work education? What do you get when you combine a Top 10-ranked MSW program with the nation’s No. 1-ranked master’s program in nonprofit management? Employers banging at your door. At least, that’s what Sarah Rissler, 24, is banking on. This May, she graduates with two master’s degrees from prestigious Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Graduation is four months away, but she’s already getting serious nibbles from area employers. Same story with Ken Mortimer, 23. Dual degrees in social work and health administration from Top 10 Washington University are pricey, but, by his 2007 graduation, they should help him land a leadership position at a regional hospital or community health organization. Ditto for Jess Geevarghese, 28, and Naomi Warren, 24. The two students at Washington University’s George Warren Brown School of Social Work are hoping for a decisive competitive edge by tacking MBA and JD, respectively, next to the MSW that will soon headline their resumes. These four students mirror an accelerating national trend that sees social work students pairing MSWs with more than 48 distinct disciplines to expand opportunities and often boost earnings. While several dual-degree options are currently commonplace—think law, business, and public health—others creatively pair MSWs with studies in architecture, city and regional planning, international affairs, criminology and criminal justice, women’s studies, Pan-African studies, psychology, child development, and gerontology. An ongoing proliferation gives rise to intriguing new hybrids. On the other side of the aisle, the University of Southern California recently debuted an MSW/Case Management Certificate geared toward registered nurses. Numerous other programs are serving up an intriguing smorgasbord of MSWs bundled with less intensive program certificates. Citing powerful synergies and enhanced marketability, Rissler, Mortimer, and Geevarghese wonder why more of their peers aren’t following suit. The movement is clearly accelerating, observers say, but still has plenty seats. At Case Western, only 2.3% (eight of 343 social work students) are dual-degree students. At the University of Maryland (UM) School of Social Work, only 2.5% (approximately 20 students of 820 overall) of MSW students are enrolled in one of its four dual-degree programs. Washington University’s rate is double that, but a whopping 95% noninvolvement rate begs the question, why do only a fraction of students take advantage of this remarkable opportunity? Many Offerings In January 2005, Greif joined UM Associate Professor Karen Hopkins, PhD, and doctoral candidate Shari Miller to take a quick coast-to-coast snapshot. Examining Web sites of CSWE-accredited MSW programs, they counted 58 schools offering at least one dual-degree program and 35 schools offering two or more. “In all,” Greif says, “we counted 48 different dual-degree options, the most common being the MSW-JD, followed by the MSW-MPH (public health), MSW-MDIV (divinity), and the MSW-MBA (business administration).” Social work programs large and small offer dual degrees, with larger programs generally offering more. Next, Greif and his colleagues surveyed UM’s own dual-degree graduates. An analysis of 225 responses to their 24-item questionnaire found the vast majority held an MSW-MA in Jewish communal studies—the school’s oldest program—dating back as far as 1972. Other early findings showed the following: • The majority of respondents were Caucasian women, with nearly 50% aged 41 to 50. • Approximately 25% earned an annual salary above $100,000. • More than 50% work in nonprofit organizations and hold the title of director or president. • Approximately 75% said both degrees were equally beneficial to their careers. • Most said they chose the dual-degree option to be more “marketable.” Roughly one half of respondents reported being employed in social work, but “using their other degree,” while the remainder said the converse. Noting the proliferation of dual-degree programs, the UM team hopes its survey will shed light on the role of dual degrees on the social worker’s professional development. Miller notes an intriguing footnote. “A couple of respondents perceived a discord between MSW and MBA students,” she says. “One woman, in particular, reported keeping her MSW hush-hush from colleagues in the business world since they had negative opinions about that degree.” This same woman also reported being on the receiving end of “animosity” in her dual-degree classes—a response Miller says needs exploration. “Even though she kind of described herself as a ‘bleeding-heart social worker,’ she said students in the MSW program tended to see her as disloyal,” Miller says. Albeit, Miller notes that an overwhelming majority of respondents expressed “very positive experiences” in the dual-degree concept and recommended the program highly to future students. On February 18, 2005, Greif, Hopkins, and Miller will detail their findings—including updated data from dual-degree MSW students in law and public health—at the CSWE annual meeting in Chicago. Big Sacrifices, Big Rewards “I wish I knew the answer to that question,” Rissler says. “I think about it all the time. I’m the only student in my cohort at Case Western currently enrolled in the MSSA-MNO [Master of Nonprofit Organization] program.” The program is widely regarded as the nation’s best. Geevarghese is puzzled, too. “There are two MSW-MBA students at Washington University right now and maybe 10 MSW-JD students,” she says. “Given the large size of these two schools, it seems only a small fraction of students have the inside picture of how valuable dual degrees really are.” Miller says the answer is both complex and simple. Awareness. Many social workers, she says, seem unaware that the dual-degree option even exists or how it may enhance their career trajectory. “Schools of social work tend not to market their dual-degree programs very aggressively,” she notes. Rissler and Geevarghese agree. Relevance. “Many students come to our MSW program,” says James Herbert Williams, PhD, associate dean of Washington University’s MSW program, “because they want to do direct practice work. They don’t see how the dual degree would add to their careers—and I agree. But for students interested in marrying together two professions, the dual degree makes sense.” Mortimer, Rissler, and Geevarghese conditionally agree, but say social workers with leadership aspirations—or those who simply wish to better position themselves should the economy sour and a midcareer job switch be necessary—may benefit from two degrees. Cost and time. Would-be applicants typically cite money and time constraints as key barriers. “Dual degrees can be enormously expensive,” Miller notes. “Many social work students are already buried under loans; some have families to support.” Doubling a debt load is a deterrent for many. Greif notes that money worries scare off older potential students, in particular. The median age of UM social work students is nearly 30, while dual-degree students tend to be somewhat younger, Greif says. But Miller notes it’s no cakewalk for younger students. “Either way,” she says, “a dual degree is definitely a time-, money-, and brain-intensive proposition. You have to focus in and hunker down.” The cost of a dual degree varies, often considerably. Excluding books, fees, and not-so-incidental “incidentals,” the full tuition load for the UM-Johns Hopkins MSW-MPH is $45,000 to $50,000. In contrast, a Case Western dual degree carries a $75,000 tuition price tag, while Geevarghese says the tuition burden on a Washington University MSW-MBA tops out at approximately $80,000. Williams notes that many schools assist students with tuition remission, loans, grants, paid internships/externships, work-studies, and more. “We give out about $3 million a year in scholarships.” Says Geevarghese, “Both schools [at Washington University] gave me scholarships. They helped quite a bit, but I do have what I feel is a significant student loan debt.” She pauses, then adds, “Actually, my loans really aren’t that significant.” At the age of 28, Geevarghese figures she has 40 years to recoup her investment while doing something she really enjoys. Greif notes that dual-degree students tend to be younger than the typical MSW. Rissler relates to Geevarghese’s long-term outlook. By May, she will have logged seven years in higher education. “Paid internships the first two years helped,” she says. “And right now, I’m working 20 hours a week doing administrative work. I’m hoping to get out of college with under $100,000 in loans. That’s a lot of debt for a social worker starting out in the nonprofit world.” Rissler’s dream job is to work with adults dually diagnosed with mental retardation and mental illness. Upon receiving her degrees in May, she hopes to land a clinical position with an annual salary upward of $36,000. “When I tell people about my debt and career aspirations,” she says, “they tell me I’m never going to make any money.” Rissler is unfazed. “Yes, it’s going to cost me a hundred grand to graduate, but I don’t care,” she says. “I will be happy doing what I’m doing and I’ll be making a difference in somebody’s life.” Ten years down the road, while others are clock-watching and wondering what might have been, Rissler says she is going to “love going to work in the morning.” Her long-term plans include eventually starting a nonprofit organization. “A Cut Above” Because the MPH program is research intensive, MSW-MPH students skip the foundation and advanced research courses in social work. During his three-year course of study, MSW-MHA student Ken Mortimer will take human behavior, diversity, and perhaps couples counseling or psychopathology. But he will also take MHA courses in quantitative decision making, finance, accounting, human resources management, medical ethics, and strategic planning. If this academic lineup seems vaguely reminiscent of an MBA program, Mortimer says the MHA program is geared “specifically to healthcare situations” and should not be considered a B-school offshoot. Students searching for a handy backdoor into a keenly competitive MBA, JD, or architecture program need not ring the MSW doorbell, Williams says. Dual-degree students do not receive preferential admissions into other programs. “You absolutely do not get a break,” he says. “You stand on your own merits in each school.” The fact that dual-degree students can go toe to toe in sometimes academically cutthroat programs, he says, speaks volumes about the caliber of students MSW programs are now attracting. Critics may view this development somewhat less enthusiastically. “From our study,” Greif says, “we think our dual-degree students are a cut above. We have gotten a number of students in our program that we would not have gotten had there been no dual degree. These are high-achieving people.” Dual-degree grads typically earn higher salaries. An MSW-MHA entering the workforce may secure a starting salary of $40,000 to $50,000. Still, the average rank-and-file social worker can’t be forgiven for wondering how any social worker can afford to repay $75,000 in student loans. On Ethics and Loyalties Greif points to early researchers who hypothesized that dual-degree social workers may “identify with the higher-status degree upon graduation and experience possible conflicts around differences in professional ethics.” A subsequent study of MSW-MPH students, he notes, did not support that concern, but no compelling research exists within the business or law arenas. Williams is cautiously optimistic. “Students who graduate with an MSW-JD degree here don’t go on to Wall Street. They are doing child advocacy work, working for Legal Aid, and promoting social justice issues.” He says the stereotypical shark-as-attorney isn’t likely attracted to social work. “But,” he adds, “we need to be cautious. As we move forward with the dual-degree concept, we need to make sure that what social work offers to the dual degree is something unique and distinctive, so that getting a law degree is not replacing an MSW, but is an added-on value.” Ethics authority Frederic Reamer, PhD, says, “These sorts of ‘bilingual’ practitioners can be enormously helpful, providing they are anchored in social work values and concepts.” But he also outlines an ethics dilemma—suppose a JD-MSW graduate goes to work in a public defender’s office. While there, she functions as both lawyer and liaison to the agency social workers. One day, she asks a staff social worker to accompany her to the local jail to interview a new client charged with domestic violence. The client, who is not psychiatrically stable, discloses behaviors that constitute child abuse. The state’s mandatory reporting law requires that the social worker report this finding to child welfare officials. But such reporting without consent would be a violation of the JD-MSW’s lawyer’s code of ethics. The result, says Reamer, finds the JD-MSW “caught on the horns of an ethical dilemma with regard to her own duty and the duty of the MSW colleague. That is, the conflict between the two professions’ ethical norms is problematic.” Another conflict may arise, he says, between an MSW-MDiv (divinity) graduate over a women’s right to choose. “The moral of these vignettes,” he says, “is that students who enroll in these dual-degree programs need to prepare for possible conflicts, conceptualize about them, and factor potential conflicts into their career decisions.” Greif sees dual-degree social workers as potentially serving as ambassadors “who will inform other professions and disciplines as to what we do.” Rissler, reflecting on her classroom experience, sees striking differences in values among students in her social work and business/nonprofit programs. “A lot of social workers fear that MBA types will bring their intensely competitive, bottomline-oriented, sometimes cutthroat values into our social worker world,” she says. Rissler says she sometimes finds herself in a no-woman’s land where she has to “defend one program or the other.” Says MSW-MBA student Geevarghese, “The cultures of the two schools are diametrically opposed. However, I could name 10 or 15 people in the business school who understand the need to look at an organization, business, or community in a holistic sense. I see a slow movement toward integrating the concepts of social work and business.” Might the accelerating dual-degree phenomenon limit future opportunities for traditional social workers? Greif says no. “It’s clear that to get ahead in any profession,” he says, “education is the surest road there.” But many other tangibles and intangibles enter into the equation, he says, including track record, references, personality, and more. Rissler says the relative paucity of dual-degree graduates and the nearing retirement of Baby Boomer social workers suggests the near-term infusion of dual-degree students will be felt only at the margins. But she also says, “No offense to social workers, but [MBA and MNO degree graduates] have a lot more training and education on administering organizations. They could make it more difficult for some social workers to rise into administration, unless they go back for more education and training.” She adds, “The MSW is a great degree and there’s nothing wrong with just having an MSW. But to be more effective in administrative work, I think it helps to have the MNO and a business background.” Naomi Warren weighs in with her law school perspective. “Dual-degree graduates may have a competitive edge,” she says, “but many employers might see them as overqualified for certain social work positions. I think the bottom line is that for some students, like me, the two degrees enhance each another and provide balance. But I’m also confident social workers will continue to do important work for which a second degree just isn’t required.” Noting that ours is an increasingly credentialed and interdisciplinary society, Williams considers the issue moot. Dual-degree programs, he says, are the future of social work. We must respond, he says, lest others respond for us. Might social workers anticipate even more intriguing dual-degree pairings in the future? Williams says yes. “We offer dual degrees that are a natural fit and that have a natural synergy. We don’t rush these processes.” In the meantime, Rissler says her expertise in the management of nonprofits is helping her become a “more informed, more efficient, and more effective social worker.” “If I wanted to start my own nonprofit from scratch,” she says, “I would know exactly how to do it.” And that is the very definition of empowerment.
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