Grand View University recently announced the launch of its new Master of Social Work (MSW) degree program. Beginning this summer and fall, the program offers flexible online and hybrid coursework as well as a 3+2 option where students can begin taking graduate level courses while still working on their undergraduate degree. Students can choose from three specialty areas: Administration and Leadership, Clinical Social Work and School Social Work. “Our MSW faculty team is thrilled to offer three distinct specialties that will prepare students to be advanced practitioners in their communities,” Cathy Beck-Cross, program director and associate professor of social work, said. “The demand for master’s level social workers is strong and the Grand View MSW program will help fill that gap. The need for social work professionals, who serve as change agents at the individual, policy, and systemic level, has never been higher.” A study of the workforce in Iowa by the National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice and the National Association of Social Workers noted there are not enough qualified social workers to meet the needs of growing communities. Especially noted by the study is the need in Iowa for culturally and linguistically diverse professional social workers, those who serve older Iowans, and social workers in rural areas of the state. Grand View’s new MSW program provides an option to complete a certificate in diversity, equity, and inclusion, which may be completed alongside the MSW or as a stand-alone graduate-level certificate.