DSW Immersion
We know life can be hectic. Our week-long Summer Immersion is designed to give busy professionals like you a break from your day-to-day life so you can focus on your professional and academic growth.
Laissez les bons temps rouler.
Meet your online classmates, professors, and mentors in person with a fun-filled week in New Orleans. This low-residency immersion experience is built to foster connection and introduce students to the rich New Orleans culture and history that informs our Doctor of Social Work (DSW) program, all while accommodating your busy life. A mandatory part of our course curriculum, this week-long immersion allows students to focus on their professional and academic careers without the hustle and bustle of home.
Through lectures, group seminars, and workshops, our DSW students expand and apply their social work leadership expertise right here in New Orleans. Plus, we invite hundreds of alumni and faculty to a variety of in-person networking events during the immersion, so our students always have someone to lean on.
All DSW candidates must attend the week-long Immersion program in New Orleans during their first Summer semester.
Talk with an enrollment advisor and get all your questions answered! Call 504-266-0699 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CST, or email us any time.
Indulge
Experience the world-renowned culinary landscape of New Orleans through provided meals, lagniappes (extras), and drinks.
Discover
See our city through a social work lens with lectures from experts, program evaluations for local nonprofits, and access to Tulane's expansive library.
Explore
Breathe in the beauty of New Orleans from the comfort of a dormitory suite on Tulane's uptown campus.
Learn
Dive deep into the heart of social change with our immersive and engaging program evaluation and qualitative analysis lectures. Gain hands-on experience and invaluable insights as you learn to assess and enhance social programs, equipping you to make a real difference in communities.
Connect
Discover the power of connection and community at our annual Alumni and Current Student Mixer. You'll forge invaluable relationships and gain insights from seasoned social work professionals, doctoral alumni of all ages, and faculty members. Your journey begins here, where connections last a lifetime.
Envision
Apply the research methods you've learned in your courses to service outcomes for a local New Orleans agency at our Grand Challenge activity. Students will develop a critical frame for designing real-world program and clinical evaluations, network with leaders at local and national agencies, and #DoWorkThatMatters.
Advance Your Practice and Leadership Opportunities
This applied degree is designed with focused coursework and mentorship for those seeking leadership roles in program management, university curriculum, and nonprofits. You’ll build on the experience you already have to help communities with organization management, advanced practitioner learning, and policy evaluation—ultimately helping to define and shape social change.
Familiarize yourself with Tulane's campus, meet your peers in person, and grab some swag before attending a speech from a keynote speaker. Past keynote speakers include Dr. Arabella Perez, Director of the state of Maine's federally-funded Thrive Initiative.
In-person group lectures offer a unique opportunity for dynamic interaction and immediate feedback from your online cohort. Grow a deeper sense of community and camaraderie with your peers, enhance your motivation and engagement, and have spontaneous discussions. The courses held at the Immersion are part of your Summer curriculum and will be bookended by normal once-monthly weekend classes.
Grand Challenges for Social Work, the flagship program of the American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare (AASWSW), is a groundbreaking initiative to champion social progress powered by science. It’s a call to action for social work researchers and practitioners to:
- Harness social work’s science and knowledge base;
- Collaborate with individuals, community-based organizations, and professionals from all fields and disciplines; and
- Work together to tackle some of our toughest social problems.
Our Grand Challenge Day examines large-scale societal issues like gentrification and climate change. Students do related readings, listen to presentations from local nonprofit leaders, and use interconnected approaches to brainstorm solutions.
Take full advantage of Tulane's expansive resources with a library workshop focused specifically on research for your Advanced Practice Project (APP). With thousands of books and journals available on-campus and even more at your fingertips through online databases, there's nothing you can't learn.
During our DSW Immersion week, we invite all faculty, staff, and alumni to attend a mixer at our downtown campus. At this event, we provide refreshments, hear from the Program Director, and even have a raffle for some limited-edition swag. Throughout the immersion week, we also host smaller networking events for current students to build relationships with their professors and mentors.
Meet Your DSW Team
At the immersion, you'll have the opportunity to meet the Doctor of Social Work program faculty and staff you've been learning and receiving support from during your time at Tulane.
Fred Buttell, PhD, LCSW
Director of DSW Programs
Ngawang Legshe, DSW, LCSW-BACS
Assistant Director of DSW Programs
Lisa Hawkins, MBA
DSW Program Manager
Michael Owens, MA
DSW Academic Success Coach
Take the Next Step!
For more details about graduate programs through Tulane School of Social Work, complete our information request form. If you're ready to take the next step, apply today!
