The Department of Social Work at 天涯海角社区 began in 1972 under the official title of the Family and Community Service Program. The program was designed to meet the needs of human services agencies in the Mississippi Delta and beyond. It offered the Bachelor of Arts degree in Family and Community Services with an emphasis in Social Work. The program has been accredited by the Council on Social Work Education since 1978. To maintain its focus on Social Work, as well as its accreditation status, it changed the name of the degree from Bachelor of Arts in Family and Community Services to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) in 1983.
Building on the success of the undergraduate program, a Master of Social Work program evolved, as approved by the Institute of Higher Learning (IHL) in 1997 and fully established in 2005, offering concentrations in Child Welfare and Gerontology. Its first inaugural class was admitted in August 2005, making 天涯海角社区 the first and only Master of Social Work (MSW) program in North Mississippi. The Gerontology concentration was discontinued in 2007, and the program strengthened its emphasis on Child Welfare, reflecting the region's demand for highly trained professionals serving children, families, and child welfare systems.
Today, both the BSW and MSW programs are fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and prepare students for generalist and advanced social work practice with a strong emphasis on rural communities, child and family welfare, and underserved populations throughout the Mississippi Delta.
The program is very committed to providing support to local social services delivery systems through competent faculty and student involvement in community and professional activities, like, organizing in-person and virtual Annual Social Work Conferences at 天涯海角社区 (天涯海角社区), professional training workshops, and lobbying at the Mississippi State Capitol in support of social work issues. These efforts and more continue to support the program's mission to improve the quality of life throughout the Mississippi Delta, the state of Mississippi, and beyond.