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📣 Applications are now open for the UConn School of Social Work’s special practicum scholarships and workforce programs for the 2027–28 academic year!

Explore opportunities to build specialized skills and gain experience in bilingual behavioral health care, child welfare, school social work, aging, neurodevelopmental disabilities, and more:

🎓 Connecticut ¡Adelante! Scholars — up to $4,000 scholarship
🧠 Behavioral Health Scholars Program — $25,000 stipend
🤝 DCF Child Welfare Workforce Training Program — $4,000 scholarship
🏫 School Social Work Scholars Program — $15,000 scholarship
🌟 LEND — graduate assistantship, tuition waiver, and stipend
👥 Scholars in Aging Program — $1,500 scholarship

📅 Application deadlines: December 15 for returning students and February 15 for incoming students.

🔗 Explore the programs and apply: https://socialwork.uconn.edu/workforceprogramsform/

Applications are also open for the Black Male Mental Health Professional Mentoring Program, which offers a $4,500 stipend. Applications are accepted until all slots are filled. Learn more and apply: https://socialwork.uconn.edu/bmmh-mp/

Program offerings and funding are subject to change. Financial support depends on available funding and is confirmed only when awards are officially made. Questions? Contact sswstrategic@uconn.edu. ...

They come to the @uconnsocialwork from universities across Connecticut and the Northeast, and as far away as California and England.

Their professional backgrounds are just as varied: corporate social responsibility, child welfare, and stage management.

Some are pursuing joint degrees in social work and public policy. One is a 35-year veteran of the corporate world. Another, a veteran of the U.S. Army.

What do they have in common?

They are among the UConn Master of Social Work students who have found their way to the Institute of Municipal and Regional Policy (IMRP) in the UConn School of Public Policy, where their required practicum experiences give them an opportunity to contribute to policy research and legislative issues affecting Connecticut communities.

Learn more about the experiences of MSW students Stav Keshet, Diane Cantello, Lorien Velasquez, and Susan Camoroda, and recent alumna 👩‍🎓Kate Mazzotta `25 (SSW) in this UConn Today article: https://today.uconn.edu/2026/09/different-paths-shared-purpose-msw-students-find-a-place-for-policy-practice-at-imrp/ ...

🤖 How will artificial intelligence shape the future of social work?

Join @uconnsocialwork for Social Work in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: A Symposium Exploring Research, Practice, and Policy — a half-day symposium examining AI’s opportunities, challenges, and implications for social work and social service delivery.

🎤 Keynote speaker:
Dr. Meredith Broussard — Associate Professor, Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, New York University; Research Director, NYU Alliance for Public Interest Technology; and award-winning author.

The symposium will feature panels exploring AI in Social Work Research, Community Practice, and Legislation, with:
🔹 Dr. Eric Rice | UNC Chapel Hill — AI and social work
🔹 Dr. Shaddy Saba | NYU Silver — Data science and health technology
🔹 Dr. Manu Sharma, MD | Yale / Institute of Living — Digital psychiatry and AI
🔹 Dr. Sabrina Trocchi, MPA | Wheeler Health — President and Executive Director
🔹 Ben Shaiken | The Alliance-CT — Director of Public Policy and Advocacy
🔹 Dr. Sarah MacDonald, LCSW | Community Health Services
🔹 Dawn Brown, MSW | NASW-Connecticut — Executive Director
🔹 Hector Glynn, MSW | The Village — President and CEO
🔹 Charlotte Warren | Former Maine State Representative

📅 Nov. 9, 2026
⏰ 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
📍 UConn School of Law | Hartford, Connecticut

👉 Learn more and register: s.uconn.edu/aisocialwork ...

@uconnsocialwork student Sean Excellent wants to help young Black men find a stronger sense of identity, purpose, and well-being — something he knows can be difficult to navigate alone.

Now a second-year master’s student concentrating in Individuals, Groups, and Families, Excellent is preparing to offer that support to others as a future social worker. Along the way, he is finding guidance of his own through UConn’s new Black Male Mental Health Professional Mentoring Program.

A joint initiative of the UConn School of Social Work and the @uconnneag School of Education, the program pairs graduate students with mental health professionals committed to supporting Black men and boys. Through mentorship, training, and professional development, it aims to help students establish lasting careers while strengthening a network of practitioners serving the Greater Hartford community.

Learn more: https://today.uconn.edu/2026/09/uconn-students-prepare-to-support-black-mens-mental-health-through-new-mentorship-program/ ...

The UConn School of Social Work is seeking your help! As part of a new research study on understanding parent-children perspectives of food insecurity, Assistant Professor Alex Forté is searching for parents and their adolescent (between the ages of 13 and 17) to participate in an interview. Those who participate will receive an incentive ($25 for parents and $25 for adolescents).

Study eligibility:
• Be experiencing food insecurity
• Live in the United States
• Be a parent (older than the age of 18)
• Be a parent of a child (between the ages of 13 and 17)
• Be willing to let child participate in the study

Do you know any potential participants? Please e-mail Dr. Alex Forté at alexandria.forte@uconn.edu or visit https://socialwork.uconn.edu/foodinsecuritystudy/ for more information about the study. ...