Adelphi School of Social Work Goes Global

Social Work in a Global Context: Students and professors at Adelphi’s faculty-led study abroad group in India

Adelphi’s School of Social Work has long been seen as one of the country’s top programs and recognized for its powerful impact on Long Island and the region. These days, the School’s influence is expanding internationally by building ties with programs across the world. In doing that, it’s creating rich opportunities for scholarship and providing students with a global perspective.

Recent publications by Carol S. Cohen, D.S.W., an associate professor in the school, highlight the program’s worldwide scope. This fall, she co-authored an in-depth evaluation of the China-United States Social Work Education Collaborative, a five-year program of partnerships between universities in the two countries designed to promote the growth of social work programs in mainland China.

That report followed her April 2017 publication of Practicing as a Social Work Educator in International Collaboration, a collection of essays on the role of U.S. educators in international efforts, which she co-edited.

Adelphi’s social work program is itself involved in significant international partnerships. Last summer, its collaboration with Kwansei Gakuin University brought Japanese students to Garden City for a week of cultural exchange. This summer, Associate Professors Bradley Zodikoff, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor Chrissan Newransky, Ph.D., will lead Adelphi social work students on a trip to Japan to explore the differences between social work theory and practice in the two countries.

Social work students can also get international experience in study abroad programs, including the Social Work in a Global Context course in Mumbai, India. Offered during January Intersession and led by Associate Professors Hanna Kim, Ph.D., and Subadra Panchanadeswaran, Ph.D., the program combined fieldwork and classroom-based learning to give students exposure to a range of challenges that affect social work practice.

“The field of social work is expanding its outlook, and so are we,” said Andrew Safyer, Ph.D., dean of the School of Social Work. “Our perspective is increasingly global, which deepens our understanding and provides so many opportunities for learning.”