Finding a school to fit my interests

[nicolep30]

I'm having troubles finding a school that fits my interests. I would love to get my MSW and focus on mental health and specifically work with veterans. Right now I'm focusing on schools with mental health concentrations but are there any programs that focus on veteran populations? Should I just make sure that a program would offer a field placement at a VA? Should I be looking at professors who have done some work/research with veterans? I also don't want to back myself into a corner with a niche specialty should I choose to change my focus farther down the road. And just for a jumping off point these are some programs that I am interested in for various reasons: UT-Austin, UIC, UW-Seattle, and my backup OU.

[citychild]

USC has a sub-concentration in military social work

http://sowkweb.usc.edu/master-of-social-work/msw-degree/sub-concentrations/military-socialwork-veteran-services

[michigan girl]

If you don't want to pay top-dollar for a USC education, make sure that the MSW program that you are applying is located near VA hospitals. For instance, Michigan doesn't have a veterans sub-concentration, but the Ann Arbor VA Hospital does take a few MSW interns who want to specialize in working with military populations..