Welcome to the Nazareth University Department of Social Work. This Handbook is intended to assist you as a student in the Department. The document contains information about Nazareth University, our Department and its BSW and MSW Programs, policies and procedures, and student rights and responsibilities. After reviewing the information in this Handbook, please feel free to learn more through the University and Department websites.

This Handbook is intended as a guide and is subject to change. The information contained here is current. Nazareth University reserves the right to modify, ammend, and update any part of this handbook at any time without prior notice. Changes may include, but are not limited to, policies, procedures, benefits, or any other information described within. It is your responsibility to stay informed by reviewing the handbook regularly. 

Updated: July 22, 2025

All social work students are provided with and expected to read this Nazareth University Department of Social Work Student Handbook in its entirety, including the Standards for Evaluating Performance, Policies, and Procedures, as well as the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics (2021). Students are required to electronically sign an acknowledgment that they have read, are aware of the contents, and will abide by the policies and procedures herein. All relevant federal, state, and local laws, as well as the institutional policies of Nazareth University are applicable to these standards.

The link to acknowledge receipt of this Handbook is here. Students will complete this acknowledgment form when they begin the BSW or MSW Program and/or annually.

Since 1926, Nazareth students have enjoyed rewarding experiences in social service and health care agencies located in Rochester and other nearby communities. In the early days of Nazareth and during the Depression, many Nazareth students did volunteer work at Charles Settlement House and Genesee Settlement, helping to keep much-needed programs alive. From 1935 to 1965, graduates with a degree in sociology and social work found beginning-level jobs in these agencies and strengthened the ties between them and this service-oriented University. In 1965, the social work undergraduate program became structured as a separate degree. During the 1977 academic year, the undergraduate program earned full accreditation from the Council on Social Work Education.

The initial local planning for creating a collaborative graduate social work (MSW) Program in the Rochester, NY region began in the early 1990s. The Nazareth Social Work Department was a full partner in the Greater Rochester Collaborative MSW (GRC MSW) Program of Nazareth University and The University at Brockport for 20 years, with the GRC MSW Program receiving initial CSWE accreditation in 2003 and re-accreditation in 2007 and 2015. Nazareth went on to establish its own independent MSW Program beginning in the fall semester of 2019 and became fully accredited later that year.

The strong alliance between Nazareth and the Rochester area has been carefully maintained and serves as one of the Department’'s greatest assets. Members of the Department are grateful for the enduring relationship with alumni, local agencies, and field instructors for their generous service to the Department and the education of social work students.