ASU has been serving Tucson and Southern Arizona through in-person and online degree programs; community college and K–12 partnerships; industry partnerships; research activity; and continuing education programming since 1972.
ASU is a strong community partner to Tucson and Southern Arizona entities through a multitude of programs in the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, our community college transfer partnerships, ASU Prep Global, industry partnerships, research activity and our strong alumni base.
In 1972, the ASU School of Social Work began offering Master of Social Work extension courses in Tucson. Today, our Tucson location offers bachelor's and master's degrees with students and faculty fully embedded in the Tucson community working to advance social work needs.
For 50 years, ASU’s School of Social Work has operated on the ground in Tucson — the only school of social work in Tucson, graduating thousands of students and playing a key role in supporting social service agencies throughout Southern Arizona. Each year, ASU School of Social Work Tucson students dedicate 90,000 service hours to the community through practicum experience. The School of Social Work has approximately 250 agency affiliations within Southern Arizona and offers twice per month professional development training for students, alumni and community members.
ASU offers numerous professional development, executive and continuing education opportunities in Tucson to strengthen its workforce.
ASU offers learning pathways for learners at every stage of life — from K–12 to community college to university.
The ASU difference:
We are measured not by whom we exclude, but by whom we include and how they succeed
Excerpt from ASU Charter
Arizona State University’s School of Social Work honored students, faculty, staff, alumni and notable local community organizations at the presentation of the school’s annual Social Work Month Awards.
Born and raised in South Africa, Barnard “Bennie” Mthembu grew up with four sisters, a brother and a single-parent mother. She taught him about the struggles often associated with getting ahead in life.
When Matt Ignacio’s tribe, the Tohono O’odham Nation, donated $1 million to ASU to support COVID-19 research, to understand and report any lasting effects of the virus among tribal members living on sovereign land, he applied for a portion of it.
Up-and-coming local government leaders in Tucson say an Arizona State University development program for municipal and county employees helps them seek career advancement with enhanced knowledge and confidence.
While urban dwellers can easily exist in relative anonymity in their own neighborhoods, an often-cited advantage of rural living is being around people with a strong sense of place, who understand and look out for each other.
In collaboration with ASU Prep Global, the Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District hosted a training session for more than 100 teachers in the district’s five schools. The training aimed to enhance educational practices through responsible Artificial Intelligence.
