Poster session is road map to solutions for real-world challenges

What are the influences of family violence on behaviors of children and are there effective interventions? What interventions are effective on special education and school children with emotional and behavioral problems? What are the effects of religion and spirituality on depression, suicidal ideation and substance abuse?

These are the types of real-world questions that students in ASU’s Master of Social Work program are attempting to answer. Their work will be featured in the annual Master of Social Work Applied Project Poster Session, April 20, at ASU’s West campus.

Under the guidance of project professors Bonnie Carlson, Barbara Klimek and Fei Sun, 64 students will showcase their capstone project work, research that has been conducted in conjunction with their field placements and often tackles a challenge faced by an agency or community organization.

“This poster session mirrors the type that university faculty present at conferences across the country,” said Carlson, associate director of the Master of Social Work program that is part of ASU’s College of Public Programs. “The projects are extremely wide ranging. The students will be presenting their posters that summarize the results of their research projects. They will be on hand to answer questions and discuss their findings.”

The session is the last chance to see such work, as the social work program moves to ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus at the end of the current semester. In addition to the graduate student posters, a presentation featuring group projects by undergraduates in the program will be on display, and the Phi Alpha Honor Society will conduct an induction ceremony for new members.

Event sponsors are the Phi Alpha Theta Tau Chapter at the West campus, the College of Public Program’s Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center, and the Phoenix VA Health Care System – Social Work Department.

The poster session takes place in the La Sala ballroom in the University Center Building (UCB) from 4-7 p.m. 

Refreshments will be served and admission is free. Parking at the West campus is $2 per hour. The West campus is located at 4701 West Thunderbird Road in northwest Phoenix.