Master of Social Work

• A review of past academic performance
• Relevant work and/or volunteer experience
• Letters of recommendation
• A personal statement
• Written academic or professional work
• An admission interview (when required)

1. Admission to Graduate Studies.
2. An earned bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
3. Students transferring from other graduate programs must submit evidence of good standing from that program (verification forms available from the Social Work Department).
4. Completion of the following prerequisite requirements with a grade of C or better in each course. (Applicants may enroll in these courses during the time in which their MSW applications are being evaluated; however, the prerequisite requirements must be met by the first day of the semester a student begins the program. All offers of admission are conditional upon the completion of these prerequisites. Any exceptions are handled on an individual basis.)
   1. Eighteen hours of social/behavioral sciences completed with a minimum of:
      1. one Introduction to Psychology course,
      2. one Introduction to Sociology course and
      3. one Introduction to Political Science/American politics course or American National Government course.
   2. A human biology course or evidence of completed course content in human biology is required, i.e. knowledge of how we develop as human organisms throughout the life cycle. Subject matter may have been covered in one or several courses. Applicants are required to specify those courses that have included such content.
   3. One social work research foundation course and one social work statistics foundation course. The statistics course must cover the portion of the research process involving quantitative manipulation and analysis of data. The course should cover descriptive and inferential statistics. Courses in research methods and/or tests and measurements usually will not fulfill the statistics prerequisite. (The research and statistics courses must have been completed within 10 years of beginning the MSW program. Research and statistics courses from other disciplines will be evaluated on an individual basis.)
   4. A 3.0 grade point average in all prerequisites. (A grade no lower than C in any prerequisite will be accepted.)
   5. Prerequisite course content older than 10 years will be reviewed for currency. Applicants may be required to validate these courses to insure the applicant is prepared for the MSW program of study. An applicant can have a course validated by submitting a course description from the catalogue during the year in which the course was taken and, if possible, a course syllabus.
   • NOTE: Deficiencies in these prerequisites must be rectified before the student is eligible to be fully admitted into the program.
   6. An overall 2.8 grade point average on a 4.0 scale on all undergraduate work completed; or a 3.0 grade point average on the last 60 semester hours, or equivalent, taken in the undergraduate program. (Rare exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis.)
   7. Evidence of writing skills compatible with graduate-level standards. All written products submitted will be evaluated.
   8. Evidence of potential to develop into a sound professional social worker. (A personal interview and/or additional evaluative data may be required of applicants.)
   9. International students will be required to meet additional requirements e.g., a score of 550 on the paper-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or 213 on the computer-based version, an official or certified true copy of all grade reports, diplomas, and academic records attesting to the completion of undergraduate work, Supplemental Information Form for international students which includes a financial summary stating amounts and sources of support for the duration of study, and an international student transfer form if attending another school in the United States.
   10. Successful completion of the application process.

1. Graduation within the last seven years with a BSW from an undergraduate program accredited (or admitted to candidacy) by the Council on Social Work Education. A student who is in a program admitted to candidacy must submit one copy of all social work course syllabi for review.
2. An overall 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale on all undergraduate work completed; or a 3.0 grade point average in the last 60 semester hours, or equivalent, taken in the undergraduate program. (Rare exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis.)
3. Applicants must have satisfactorily completed a minimum of 400 hours of generalist based field instruction in direct practice with individuals, families, groups, and communities under appropriate social work supervision.
4. Advanced standing students will have transcripts and/or program content evaluated to determine if foundation content has been met. Students may be required to present copies of course descriptions, course syllabi, and/or assignments in order to document that appropriate content has been covered in their previous course of study.