Seton Hill University recently announced that social work will be offered as a major through its Adult Degree Program, in addition to continuing to offer the major to its traditional students.

“We believe that there is a substantial interest in this field of study by adults who are unable to attend classes at traditional times,” says Dr. Mary Ann Gawelek, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Seton Hill. “In addition, we think this major will be attractive to professionals in the field who haven’t been able to complete their Bachelor of Social Work degree and who want to enhance their academic credentials and increase their field experience.”

According to “Pennsylvania Workforce 2005,” human services work (an all-encompassing term that includes social work and is used by the U.S. Department of Labor) is the occupation with the second highest growth rate in Pa., with a 79% growth from 1994 projected through 2005. The social work major at Seton Hill provides a strong foundation, in both the liberal arts and in the professional discipline, for a career as a generalist practice social worker and for graduate study. The major includes a 500-hour faculty-directed field learning experience.

Accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, the social work program at Seton Hill is directed by associate professor of social work Dr. Marilyn Sullivan-Cosetti. Assistant professor of social work Dr. David Droppa serves as field coordinator.

Sullivan-Cosetti earned both her MSW and PhD in social work from the University of Pittsburgh. She has held various professional positions in the municipal and federal levels of government, in private human services agencies and at another academic institution. She also sits on the boards of several human service organizations. “We, as an institution, feel strongly about fulfilling the need for trained social workers in our area,” says Sullivan-Cosetti. “Our accredited social work program is designed to be rigorous from both an academic and a field practice standpoint. Our Bachelor of Social Work graduates can apply for advanced standing in graduate schools of social work across the U.S.”

Droppa, a licensed social worker, received his PhD from the University of California at Berkeley and his MSW from the University of Pittsburgh. Droppa has 30 years of direct service, management and administrative experience in human services as well as five years of undergraduate teaching experience at Seton Hill. “I enjoy helping students to connect course work to life experience,” Droppa says. “And as an adult learner myself, I understand the needs of adult students.”

For more information about the social work major being offered through the Adult Degree Program at Seton Hill, please contact Seton Hill’s Office of Graduate and Adult Studies at 1-800-826-6234 or adultstudies@setonhill.edu.

Seton Hill University, chartered in 1918, is a coeducational Catholic liberal arts university in Greensburg, Pa. with more than 30 undergraduate programs and eight graduate programs, including an MBA. Seton Hill brings the world to its students through its distinguished lecturers and nationally and internationally renowned centers. Recognized three times by Entrepreneur magazine as one of the nation’s Top 100 Entrepreneurial Universities, Seton Hill has also been named one of the Best Mid-Atlantic Colleges by The Princeton Review and one of Pennsylvania’s Top 100 Businesses by Pennsylvania Business Central. In addition, Seton Hill has been named a University of Distinction by Colleges of Distinction, an organization founded by a group of concerned parents, educators and admissions professionals. For more information on Seton Hill please visit www.setonhill.edu or call 1-800-826-6234.