Rachel Schwartz, PhD

Director of the MSW Program and Associate Professor in Residence

Rachel Schwartz (she/her) is the Director of the MSW Program and an Associate Professor in Residence at the UConn School of Social Work. She has focused her social work career on research, management and administration within higher education, with a particular emphasis on online education, as well as gender issues and interpersonal violence. Her most recent experiences include the development and management of the online and blended MSW programs at Rutgers University School of Social Work, including academic advising of online and blended program students. In addition to student support, she has also worked closely with faculty teaching across the MSW curriculum to provide pedagogical support and expertise in teaching and developing courses. Schwartz’s scholarship regularly reaches a national audience on issues related to social work education, including online education, student supports, practicum education and technology. She is currently the co-chair of the Technology and Social Work Practice track with the Council on Social Work Education.

Schwartz successfully defended her dissertation for her Ph.D. in Higher Education at the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education in May 2024, with the degree to be conferred in October 2024.  Her research explores the experiences of online MSW students who identify as women and who hold multiple roles and responsibilities, including student, caretaker and employee. She also earned her MSW from Rutgers University School of Social Work, with a specialization in non-profit and public management.

View her CV.