Has any one studied under Columbia's Social Issues practice?

[Charlie_]

I'm wondering if anyone here is on the clinical track and focusing on Columbia's new Contemporary Social Issues field of practice? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it! I was just accepted to Columbia and am considering going for this field of practice since it isn't offered anywhere else but I'm wondering what does it actually offer? Does it guarantee me field placement for my internship in a social justice related role? Are there any classes geared specifically towards social justice/social issues? Most importantly for me- do the professors and study body seem equip to teach/handle this well? My fear is that even with the focus I'll be met with more institutional BS at Columbia than I would CUNY Hunter on just a regular clinical track...

 

Or- if anyone has advice on this: I've struggled to support myself and go to school basically my whole life. I want to go to Columbia now that I have the opportunity to finally get access to this ~ivy league~ education but fear that the education won't be worth the struggle of going to a school filled with incredibly privileged out of touch students and professors that I won't connect with. I know Hunter also offers a great program and has a student body that will likely be more similar to me and the community I normally prefer to engage in. Can anyone offer advice on this?

[MCSW23]

Hi! I'm AGPP at Columbia with my specialization in Contemporary Social Issues, so it's pretty similar. What will happen is when you declare CSI for your specialization year, you'll be paired up with the corresponding field advisor for CSI (Jenny Crawford). From there, you will rank your top 3 choices out of 700+ different possible advanced placements- so to answer if you're guaranteed a social justice placement, in short, yes. You have the reigns for that second year.

But for the first year you don't get much of a choice at all and oftentimes people will find themselves in placements that they aren't stoked about or aren't in their field of interest, but it's about experience year 1. 

Now onto the classes- all classes at CSSW have some type of social justice lens to it with most focus leaning on PROP (power, race, oppression and privilege). But if you choose CSI as your specialization set, you will end up taking a class clearly titled Contemporary Social Issues. In it you will cover topics like the carceral state, LGBTQ+ issues, race relations, etc. So if that's what you're interested in, you will get it. 

Edit: I didn't see the professor question before, so here is that answer. I definitely think it depends on who you are taking the class with. Research your professors before enrolling. It really depends entirely on who is teaching. 

To the total other point of the type of people here- I want to say that almost no one comes from an Ivy League background to be here at CSSW. I went to state school in the midwest and had the same worries. My reality has been, though, that CSSW is pretty normal and diverse (for a PWI), especially compared to the rest of the Columbia. And you really won't interact outside of the social work school. So don't let that really hinder you from choosing Columbia if you think it's right for you. 

I have tons of other thoughts, but feel free to message me on those.  This is just my most objective info. 

Edited February 17, 2022 by MCSW23