Appendix C

Proposal for a Concurrent Degree Program in Asian American Studies and
the Graduate Program in Social Welfare, School of Public Policy and Social Research

This proposal seeks to establish a concurrent degree program leading to a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Asian American Studies and a Master of Social Welfare (M.S.W.) in the School of Public Policy and Social Research. It is designed to provide students who have an academic interest in Asian American Studies with a professional career path in social welfare. This program will not involve the development of any additional courses in either Asian American Studies or Social Welfare. Present faculty resources are adequate to support this new program.

Asian Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing population in the United States and almost half of that population resides in Southern California. Yet the paucity of academic knowledge about these communities restricts the ability of agencies and individuals concerned with social welfare to develop and define programs to meet the increasing needs of this very heterogeneous population. From the Asian American Studies perspective, a concurrent degree program provides an opportunity to combine the humanist/social science approach with the applied field found at the core of Social Welfare. From the perspective of Social Welfare, a concurrent degree program with Asian American Studies offers enrichment for its students in understanding the cultural and social influences on the behaviors of Asian Americans to enable them to develop more relevant and effective social service programs and social policies for the well being of these communities.

A concurrent program would also enhance the recruitment of students for the Department of Social Welfare and the Asian American Studies Center. These top students will be committed to combining a strong social science and humanistic foundation with that of a professional training in Social Welfare. The dual preparation would provide these students with unique grounding and skills. To support this joint endeavor for the students and both degree programs, a concurrent faculty committee, for students and both degree programs, led by Professors Pauline Agbayani Siewert and Mitchell Maki, will provide advice and mentorship to the students. The committee will be comprised of faculty members from the Department of Social Welfare and the Asian American Studies Center who will act as advisers to students enrolled in the joint program (See Attachment 1). The committee will provide guidance on course selection and research development and review student progress.

Students will apply separately to the M.A. program in Asian American Studies and the M.S.W. program but they can write a common statement of purpose. Admission to each degree program is independent of the other program and competitive. Acceptance into Asian American Studies does not guarantee admittance into the Social Welfare and vice versa. Students admitted to the concurrent Asian American Studies/Social Welfare program will be required to complete the required course work for the Masters Degree in each of the two programs. Whenever possible, there will be flexibility in the concurrent degree program regarding students sequencing of classes.

Given an adequate language and/or research background, the concurrent degree program envisions students completing the course work for both degrees in a total of three years. The minimum requirements for the Masters degree in Asian American Studies are eleven upper division and graduate courses. Of that number, seven of the minimum eleven courses must be graduate level (200 or 500 series). Three of those courses will consist of the Asian American Studies graduate "core" curriculum, AAS 200A (history), AAS 200B(contemporary issues), and AAS 200C (Thesis Research). Of the eleven courses required for the AAS Master Degree, two will be fulfilled by two Social Welfare "crossover" courses: SW 205 (Cross Cultural Awareness) and Social Welfare M290 (Social Policy in Asian American Communities). These courses will count jointly toward both degrees. The remaining nine courses will consist of the three core courses, the three "breadth" courses, two courses for the Thesis or Comprehensive Examination, and one Asian American Studies elective. The proposed timing for the courses is presented in Attachment 2.

The Masters of Social Welfare curriculum requires 76 units which generally will be completed by the student during the second and third years of the concurrent degree program. This curriculum is designed to equip students with the essential knowledge, philosophy, values, and professional skills for responsible and effective leadership and practice in the field of social work. Students are required during their second year to take courses that expose them to the fundamentals of social welfare ranging from clinical practice to broad policy issues. In the third year, students focus on either micro (Individuals, Families, and Groups SWIFG) or macro practice (Social Work in Organizations, Communities, and Policy Settings SWOCP) and within that broader context select one of four areas of specialization: Gerontological Social Work, Children and Youth Services, Mental Health Services, and Health Services.

An extensive Field Practicum is required for the M.S.W. degree. Students are placed as interns at selected agencies under the supervision of a qualified field instructor. Several of the social agencies and organizations used by Social Welfare include those located in the Asian American community.
The first year will be devoted to fulfilling the majority for the requirements for the M.A. in Asian American Studies. The second year of this concurrent degree curriculum will consist of a regular first year Social Welfare schedule. The student will complete 38 units (this includes SW 205 which is one of the "crossover" courses).

The third year of the concurrent degree curriculum will consist of 34 units of Social Welfare courses. It is assumed that Social Welfare M290 will be taken in the first year of the concurrent program (thus, making the total units completed 76). SWIFG Social Welfare students will be required to take four unites Social Welfare electives. SWOCPS will be required to take six units of Social Welfare electives. Additionally, students will complete their AAS thesis of Comprehensive Examination during the third year of the concurrent degree program.

The completion of this program will result in the student completing the required eleven AAS courses and the seventy six SW units. Only eight units (SW205 and M290) will overlap and be counted for both degrees.

Students in the concurrent degree program will have access on a competitive basis to the grants and fellowships that are offered in both the Asian American Students Center Masters Degree program and the Social Welfare Graduate Program.

Several faculty in the Department of Social Welfare are currently on the Faculty Advisory Committee for the Asian American Studies Center. The working relationship between the two programs is long standing and well established. Professors James Lubben, past Chair of the Department of Social Welfare, also chairs the Asian American Studies Faculty Advisory Committee. Professor Emeritus (recalled) Harry Kitano has long been active in the programs of the Center. Professors Ailee Moon, Pauline AgbayaniSiewert, and Mitchell Maki are active in the Center as well. Dr. Agbayani Siewert holds a joint appointment in Asian American Studies and Social Welfare.

During the 1997 98 academic year, there were three students participating in an articulated program in Asian American Studies and Social Welfare without the benefits of course overlap. Two other students have indicated an interest in pursuing a dual degree program.

Letters of support from these students are attached (See Attachment 3). It is anticipated that approximately five students per year would be interested in pursuing the option of a concurrent degree program.

The Department of Social Welfare and the Asian American Studies Center have numerous ties with community agencies, providing health and social services to the Asian Pacific Islander populations in the Los Angeles area as well as nationally. The proposed concurrent degree program will formalize the existing links between the Center and the Department. It is proposed that the concurrent program be initiated in the Fall of 2000.