To be eligible for the combined degree program, which aims to help remedy the massive social worker shortages the United States is facing, students from Albertus Magnus must complete their bachelor’s degrees with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 and 20 semester credits in liberal arts courses. They also will be required to complete nine credits of prerequisite courses in Quinnipiac’s MSW program while enrolled in their undergraduate major at Albertus Magnus.

“We are delighted to have this combined degree partnership between Albertus Magnus and Quinnipiac University’s master of social work program,” said Carol Awasu, director of the MSW program at Quinnipiac. “This new pathway contributes to the increase of professional social workers in mental healthcare in Connecticut and beyond.”

The combined degree allows students to complete both their undergraduate degree and MSW in 5 ½ years. Students also will save the tuition for the nine credits of the MSW courses, which are counted towards their undergraduate courses at Albertus Magnus and the MSW at Quinnipiac.

“We are excited to launch this partnership with Albertus Magnus,” said Debra Liebowitz, provost at Quinnipiac University. “It provides a terrific, accelerated pathway for students to make a difference in a field where the workforce needs are significant.”

Students within this program will receive a significant per credit percent scholarship off Quinnipiac’s published tuition rate for the MSW program. The scholarship amount will be determined by a student’s academic achievement while in the undergraduate degree portion of this program, as follows:

• Students with an incoming GPA of ≥ 3.50 receive scholarship equal to 30% reduction in tuition
• Students with an incoming GPA ≥ 3.00 receive scholarship equal to 25% reduction in tuition

"We are very enthusiastic about entering into this partnership with Quinnipiac University,” said Sean O'Connell, vice president of academic affairs and dean of faculty at Albertus. “We firmly believe that through collaboration, institutions of higher learning can offer more educational opportunities for students, which in turn will lead to even more fruitful careers in our state. Commitment and partnership are what this agreement with Quinnipiac is all about.”