Student Services

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An overhead photo of five students sitting on couches and comfortable chairs with a coffee table in the center covered with various items and several lush green plants.

Each summer, Smith’s student services will also assist you with writing, quantitative learning, tech challenges, accessibility needs and much more. In your final summer, you’ll take advantage of our career services with mock interviews, resume help and on-campus job interviews. 

SSW Writing Program

The SSW Writing program offers individual and group writing sessions throughout each summer term.

Individual Writing Counseling

Our experience has shown us that all writers can benefit from feedback on their writing, no matter what their level of expertise, so make appointments with us to discuss your work at any stage of the process. We can help you break down an assignment, brainstorm ideas, create an outline, organize first drafts and polish final papers. We’re here to help you produce your best work by building on your strengths. We also offer more specialized work for English language learners and people with learning differences.

Sample Group Workshops:

Using Sources: Summary, Quotation and Paraphrase

Academic writing builds on other writers’ ideas, and the profession of social work expects you to use sources in specific ways. In this workshop you will learn to use them more effectively through summary, quotation, and paraphrase. We’ll discuss when to summarize, when and how much to quote, how to integrate quotations into your own prose, and - the most challenging task - how to paraphrase a source without inadvertent plagiarism.

Lessons in Style I: Improving Clarity

Effective writing communicates a clear message to the reader. In this workshop you will learn how to improve the clarity of your prose by paying attention to characters and actions in sentences. You will also learn how to identify nominalizations (i.e., nouns derived from verbs and adjectives), which can make the prose difficult to follow - and how to decide when they should be replaced.

Lessons in Style II: Improving Cohesion and Coherence

Cohesion refers to the sense of flow from one sentence to the next; coherence refers to how well sentences fit together in a passage. In this workshop you will learn how to arrange words in sentences so that the reader can move through a passage with ease. You will also learn how to use consistent topics in sentences so that a passage of your prose is focused and easy to understand.

Lessons in Style III: Improving Elegance

The most compelling academic prose is not only clear and cohesive but also elegant: it avoids wordiness, varies the length and structure of sentences, skillfully uses emphasis. In this workshop you will learn how to write more concisely by eliminating unnecessary words and how to shape long sentences so they present complex ideas with clarity and grace.

Smith and Five College Libraries

Smith Libraries

Neilson Library is the Libraries’ central campus service hub and home to Special Collections. The Libraries’ circulating collections are distributed across the campus from three locations: Neilson Library, Hillyer Art Library and Josten Performing Arts Library. Additional study spaces and library services are located in Alumnae Gym. Current libraries' hours can be found on the Libraries' website. Requests for materials, research consultations with librarians and helpful guides are all available online.

Five College Libraries

Through an exchange with the Five College Consortium, School for Social Work students also have access to the library holdings at Amherst, Mount Holyoke and Hampshire colleges and the University of Massachusetts' flagship campus in Amherst.

Sophia Smith Collection

The Sophia Smith Collection is an internationally-recognized repository of manuscripts, photographs, periodicals and other primary sources in women’s history.

The collection was established in 1942 to be the library’s distinctive contribution to the College’s mission of educating women. It has evolved from a collection of works by women writers into a historical research collection of material documenting the lives and activities of women. In 1946 it was named in honor of the founder of Smith College.

Today, the collection consists of over 7,500 linear feet of material in manuscript, print and audio-visual formats. The holdings document the historical experience of women in the United States and abroad from the colonial era to the present. Subject strengths include birth control, women’s rights, suffrage, the contemporary women’s movement, American women working abroad, the arts (especially theatre), professions (especially journalism and social work) and middle-class family life in 19th- and 20th-century New England.

The Grécourt Bookstore

The Grécourt Bookstore, located on the corner of Green Street and West Street, offers a convenient location to purchase textbooks. It is sometimes possible to rent textbooks from the bookshop as well. In addition to textbooks, the bookshop carries general books, stationary supplies, imprinted clothing and gifts.

Religious and Spiritual Life

The Center for Religious and Spiritual Life prepares Smith students to live and lead effectively in a world where religion matters. Religious and Spiritual life at Smith supports religious expression, encourages multi-faith dialogue and raises spiritual and ethical concerns for the campus at large. The office sponsors programs of interfaith learning and dialogue, provides community service opportunities and encourages students to take time for quiet and reflection. The staff are also available for guidance and help in times of need.

Office of Disability Services

The Office of Disability Services (ODS) provides resources, information, and support on an individualized basis to students who choose to register with our office.  ODS works in close collaboration with SSW administration, staff, and faculty to facilitate necessary accommodations and modifications in policies and procedures as appropriate to the class, internship placement, or the general program. We also strive to proactively identify and mitigate structural barriers that might limit opportunities for full participation and inclusion as part of SSW’s Universal Access commitment.  While the unique academic structure, condensed course time frame, and rapid pacing of the School for Social Work academic program offers many benefits, it can also pose challenges for students with learning, mental health, and other disabilities. It is important to prepare and plan well for your success at Smith by contacting ODS well in advance of your arrival.  All students must take time to consider a range of factors in determining the type of graduate program that best supports their individual learning needs.

Office for Equity and Inclusion

The Office for Equity and Inclusion supports the college’s belief that diversity in all aspects of the educational environment is necessary for achieving the highest level of academic excellence. Members of an educational community rich in varying perspectives, outlooks and values will be better prepared to deal with complexity and to participate productively in a pluralistic society.