ABSTRACT
Social work education benefited from a convergence of two developments accompanying industrialization: the evolution of higher education following the Civil War and the application of scientifically-based expertise during the Progressive Era. Since 1985 the rapid growth of social work programs on all three levels - baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral - has been unparalleled since the creation of the Council on Social Work Education in 1952. The leeching of students from one program to another may be more pronounced among second- rather than first-tier social work programs. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that even first- tier schools are feeling the impact of the growth of other social work programs, which may be less expensive. The growth of master's programs from 1985 to 2004 followed a similar trajectory to baccalaureate programs. Entrepreneurial administrators in higher education likely perceived that, as regards their bottom line, the institutional investment in social work education could be easily recovered by student fees.
