Establishing a Russian-Spanish Master's Degree in Social Work: Harmonization or a Cultural Fit?

© 2017 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden. This paper reports on the experience of developing a double-degree master's program in social work between a Russian and a Spanish university. It focuses on the complementarity of the existing training programs in social work and on the handling of cultural and institutional particularities. Developing international master's degrees programs is a challenge in terms of both adjustments to the curricula and economic viability. A genuine interest in learning from the other country is a sine qua non condition difficult to meet because the traditions of social work and welfare in each county are deeply rooted in that country's culture and history. The authors explain how they worked to establish a common ground and describe the results they were able to achieve.