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MSW Admission

Admissions

The University of Southern Indiana's Master of Social Work Admission Committee begins accepting applications each year on September 1.

Non-BSW/Traditional and Advanced Standing Part-time students are admitted for the Fall semester. Advanced Standing Full-time students are admitted for the Summer semester.

Each year, the application deadline for Advanced Standing Full-time admission (i.e. those with a Bachelor of Social Work degree) occurs on the second Friday of January; the application deadline for non-BSW (i.e., those without a Bachelor of Social Work degree), Advance Standing Part-time and program readmission occurs on the second Friday of April.

Click on the button below for a dropdown of information.

Admissions

To get started, complete the following four steps:

1.) A completed USI Application for Graduate Study and $40 application fee.

2.) Upload the following to your application account.

  • Resume/CV
    As part of the application, you will be required to upload your resume/CV as a PDF file. The resume/CV file name should be  Lastname-firstname-resume.pdf   (ex. Smith-Joe-resume.pdf).Your resume/cv should include the following information:
    • All college/universities attended, starting with the most recent, and include the name of the institution, dates attended, and degree(s) awarded. If no degree was awarded, please state such.
    • Employment history, starting with the most recent, and include name of organization, location (city and state), a brief description of duties and dates of employment.
    • Field/Internship experiences, starting with the most recent, and include name of organization, location (city and state), a brief description of duties and dates of employment.
    • Relevant volunteer activities, starting with the most recent, and include name of organization, location (city and state), a brief description of duties and dates of employment.
    • As part of the application, you will be required to upload your resume/CV as a PDF file. The resume/CV file name should be  Lastname-firstname-resume.pdf   (ex. Smith-Joe-resume.pdf)
  • Personal Statement/Narrative
    Answer the following questions as an opportunity to describe yourself, and the qualities beyond academic grades that make you ideally suited to be a Clinical Social Worker. Responses should be thoughtful, honest, yet professional, and should demonstrate excellent writing skills, critical thinking, insightfulness, and self-awareness. Be comprehensive, yet succinct in your response and use examples from your life experiences.
    • Life Experience - Describe events and life experiences that have informed your choice to pursue a Master of Social Work degree and a career in Social Work. 
    • Values - Describe the ways that your personal values, beliefs, and interests are congruent with the mission and philosophy of social work. 
    • Diversity - Think about situation(s) when you had to deal with differences in age, race, disability, ethnicity, gender, religious and/or sexual orientation. Based on your experience, how do you plan to work with diverse and vulnerable people?  
    • Additional Experiences - What experiences have allowed you to develop the skills necessary to be an effective social worker? 
    • Summary - Provide a final summary of your statement, highlighting what you consider to be the most important points for the admission committee to know about your application to the MSW Program. 
  • Professional References
    • You will be required to provide three professional references including name, email and phone number. An email will be sent to each of these individuals upon submission of this application requesting a reference.

3.) Submit official transcripts to Graduate Studies.

  • Official electronic transcripts are preferred and can be emailed from the previous institution to Graduate.Studies@usi.edu

  • Mailed transcripts can be sent to this address:
    Graduate Studies
    University of Southern Indiana
    8600 University Blvd.
    Evansville, IN 47712

4.) International students may be required to provide additional information.

Admission & Readmission Applications

MSW Admission Application

Admission Policy

It is the applicant's responsibility to provide all required materials to the Social Work Department by the application deadline. Applications are reviewed when all materials have been received by the Social Work Department MSW Admissions Committee.

Admission decisions for the Master of Social Work (MSW) Program are based upon:

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

Indiana Public Law 11-1994 and MSW Admission

In order to fully comply with Indiana Public Law 11-1994 (conviction of sexual offenses against children), the Social Work Department will conduct a criminal history check of students requesting admission to the Master of Social Work program. This check will be conducted at the point of admission and upon entering the field placement. A student who has been convicted of sex offenses against children as identified in P.L. 11-1994 will not be granted admission to or allowed to continue in the Master of Social Work program.

Individuals who were convicted of such crimes outside of the state of Indiana are required to report their intent to reside more than seven days in the area within Indiana to local law enforcement authorities having jurisdiction in the area of intended residence.