University of Minnesota Social Work Option
Program Description
The focus of the Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) degree program option is on direct practice. The goal of this concentration is to prepare students for advanced social work practice with a variety of populations and settings. The curriculum prepares students for interventions with individuals and families as well as work with communities and organizations for social change.
Admission Requirements
Applicants to the M.S.W. program must meet the requirements and the standards set by the University of Minnesota Graduate School and the School of Social Work.
The curriculum is offered in two basic formats: the full program of 50 semester credits for persons who do not have an undergraduate degree in social work, or the advanced standing program, a minimum of 34 semester credits, which is available to persons with an undergraduate degree in social work from an undergraduate program in social work that was accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) at the time the degree was awarded. To be eligible for this advanced standing program applicants must have completed their undergraduate degree in social work within seven years of enrolling in the M.S.W. degree program.
Minimum Application Requirements--50 credit program (full program):
- Completion of a undergraduate degree with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher preferred (A = 4.0).
- One year of experience in social work or a related human service field.
- An undergraduate degree with a liberal arts orientation that includes 39 quarter credits or 26 semester credits in college level social sciences.
Minimum Application Requirements--34 credit program (advanced standing):
- Completion of an undergraduate degree in social work within seven years of enrolling in the graduate program, with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher preferred (A = 4.0).
- One year of experience in social work or a related human service field.
Required Application Materials (full program and advanced standing):
- Completion of all required application forms for the School of Social Work and the Graduate School of the University of Minnesota.
- Two sets of transcripts from all colleges, universities and graduate courses attended - one of which must be official and one that can be unofficial.
- A personal statement that outlines an understanding of the profession of social work and career goals.
- A formal academic writing sample that discusses views on social welfare.
- Letters of recommendation.
- A non-refundable application fee that is payable to the Graduate School Admissions Office.
- Results from the TOEFL exam for international students whose first language is other than English (a score of 550 is required).
- Scores from the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) if the applicant's undergraduate transcript contained "pass/no pass credit," or other ungraded notations for a substantial number of courses taken during the final two years of study at the undergraduate level.
No entrance testing is required for most applicants.
Enrollment Prerequisites:
Admitted applicants must successfully complete a college-level course in statistics and a college-level course in biology that includes content on human anatomical and physiological development. Interested persons may apply and be admitted without the prerequisites, but must complete the prerequisites before enrolling as a degree-seeking student in the program.
Degree Requirements
There is a minimum of either 50 (full program) credits or 34 (advanced standing) credits required. The full program includes foundation course requirements, courses in the concentration area, electives and two field internships of 480 hours each. The advanced standing curriculum includes required courses and electives in the direct practice concentration, and one field internship of 480 hours. An advanced standing student must enroll as a graduate degree-seeking student within seven years of completing the undergraduate social work degree. A student with advanced standing may be required to take credits beyond the 34-credit minimum if she/he received a grade of less than B (3.0) in an undergraduate social work course that fills a foundation requirement.
Program Delivery
Social Work courses available at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) are delivered via interactive television and in-person instruction. Faculty, instruction, and course work are the same as that offered in classrooms on the Twin Cities campus. Students participate through interactive television with the faculty and peers at similarly equipped classrooms in the Twin Cities and other distance sites. Some courses are also supported with course web-sites. There are some graduate-level courses offered at MSUM that can be considered for electives for the M.S.W. degree program.
Admission Deadlines
The University of Minnesota only enrolls cohorts of full program and advanced standing students at the MSUM site on an every other year basis in the fall. A new cohort of full program and advanced standing students will be admitted in Fall 2004. Community persons may take up to eight credits in this program without being admitted that may be later transferred into the program.
Applications forms and materials are available by contacting the School of Social Work Admissions Office at 1-800-779-8636 or 612-624-4704, or online at ssw.che.umn.edu/. Interested persons can obtain further information about the program at MSUM by contacting the on-site coordinator, Trude Hendrickson, at 218-477-2613, or by visiting the School of Social Work website at ssw.che.umn.edu/