Document Actions
Master's of Social Work
THE MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK PROGRAM
The School of Social Work prepares professional social work practitioners who are committed to enhancing human capacity to solve complex social problems in order to create a more humane and just society. The Master of Social Work Program (MSW) prepares professional social work practitioners for advanced direct practice; advanced generalist practice; or planning, administration, and community practice, each with a special emphasis on populations of the Southwest. MSW graduates take pride in their practice, place the highest values on excellence, are willing to devote their careers to finding the most effective methods of intervention, and are committed to understanding and service those most in need of help. The Master of Social Work Degree program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
General Information
The Standard MSW program can be completed in two years of full-time study. A part-time program that can be completed in 3 years of study is available for qualified students. In addition, a MSW full and part-time Advanced Standing Program is offered and available for qualified students. The MSW program includes both formal classes and field experience in community agencies. Arizona State University requires a culminating experience for graduation in all professional master's programs. All social work graduate students depending on their concentration must pass a capstone course (SWG 621), complete a field portfolio, or applied project prior to graduation. In keeping with accreditation requirements, no academic credit can be awarded for life or work experience.
The School is committed to the University's mission to be competitive with the best public research universities in the country. Faculty members have active research agendas that include a wide variety of topics, including work with children, with drug and alcohol abusers, with the developmentally disabled, with immigrants and refugees, in human services administration and planning, and many other areas. Practice methods have a heavy research-oriented or empirical focus at the clinical and community levels of intervention.
Career Opportunities in the Field
Master's prepared professional social work practitioners are employed in public and private health and human service agencies, schools, hospitals and research and policy organizations. They work with clients who face challenges such as adoption, aging, substance abuse, domestic violence, disabilities, child neglect and abuse, mental health problems, chronic or catastrophic illnesses, loss of a loved one, divorce, as well as in the areas of research, policy, planning, administration and community organizing. Trends suggest that the demand for social work professionals will grow dramatically over the next decade. Salaries for beginning level, master's prepared social workers typically range from $36,039 - $56,226 depending on qualifications and geographic area.
Program Uniqueness
The MSW program is the only CSWE-accredited program in the State of Arizona and offers three advanced practice concentrations. The school has a continuum of education from the BSW through the Ph.D., as well as credit-bearing certificate programs and continuing education classes that offer continuing education units (CEUs).
ADVANCED STANDING PROGRAMS
The MSW Advanced Standing Program is offered at the Downtown Phoenix Campus and Tucson Component. All applicants must have a BSW degree from a CSWE accredited program. The deadline for applying to the Advanced Standing Program is January 4th. Late applications will be accepted contingent on space.
Applicants must have a BSW degree from a CSWE accredited program with at least a 3.00 GPA (on a 4-point scale) in the last two years of work leading to the BSW degree (Jr/Sr GPA). Applicants must have received their BSW degree no more than 6 years prior to the date of admission to the MSW program. In addition, all applicants are required to have completed a course in human biology and a course in statistics prior to enrollment in the Advanced Standing Program.
The Advanced Standing Social Work Program is a 36 credit hour program, including both classroom and field instruction. Students must start the program in summer (beginning first summer session) and complete a total of three credit hours in each summer session for a total of six credit hours. The remainder of the program can be completed within two semesters (fulltime) or four semesters (part time).
Advanced Standing Program - Downtown Phoenix Campus and the Tucson Component
The program is available both at the Downtown Phoenix Campus and the Tucson Component The six credit hours of summer courses are available in Phoenix only.
Advanced Standing students complete one internship (480) hours and select one of three concentrations:
- Advanced Direct Practice, which prepares students to facilitate change in individual, family and community systems. In addition Advanced Direct Practice students select one of the following specializations:
Children, Youth and Families
Health/Behavioral Health With Adults
Public Child Welfare
- Planning, Administration and Community Practice (courses are generally offered in Phoenix only).
- Advanced Generalist, which emphasizes cultural proficiency within the emerging field of practice that characterize the dynamic, growing areas of Arizona.
MSW Advanced Standing Program Application Materials
Standard MSW Program -
The Standard MSW Program is a 60 credit hour program, including both classroom and field instruction and is available both in Phoenix and Tucson. The program is available to students as either a full time or part time program. The deadline for applying is March 1st. Priority review is given to completed applications received on or before February 1st. Applicants who are admitted to the Standard MSW Program begin classes in the fall.
The Standard Program prepares students to facilitate change in individual, family and community systems. It is divided into a foundation year (core curriculum) taken by all students and a concentration year. The foundation year includes basic courses in clinical practice, organizational and community change, social polity, human behavior, and research. The second year students select a concentration in either:
- Advanced Direct Practice, which prepares students to facilitate change in individual, family and community systems. In addition Advanced Direct Practice students select one of the following specializations:
Children, Youth and Families
Health/Behavioral Health With Adults
Public Child
Planning, Administration and Community Practice (courses are generally offered in Phoenix only).
- Advanced Generalist Practice, which emphasizes cultural proficiency within the emerging field of practice that characterize the dynamic, growing areas of Arizona.
All students are required to complete a foundation field placement (480 hours) and a concentration field placement (480 hours) in a different setting.
Regular Admission requires a 3.00 GPA (on a 4-point scale) in the last two years of work leading to the bachelor's degree (Jr/Sr GPA). Test scores from either the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) are required only if the applicant's Jr/Sr GPA is below a 3.00
Although the Standard MSW Program is 60 credit hours, admitted students may acquire up to 15 hours of credit towards the degree by a combination of:
- exempting up to 15 hours of foundation course work without examination
or
- successfully passing a waiver examination in any of the following foundation courses: SWG Human Behavior in the Social Environment I, SWG 502 Human Behavior in the Social Environment II or SWG 519 Research Methods in Social Work.
MSW Standard Program Application Materials
Only students from BSW Programs accredited by CSWE can be considered for exemptions. To be eligible for an exemption from any courses students must have received their BSW degree no more than five years prior to the date of admission or be able to demonstrate current continuing education credits. Students awarded a BSW degree by ASU are exempted from the courses listed below (if the GPA requirement is met). BSW students from other accredited programs may also be exempted from the same courses but must submit their course syllabus for review by the MSW Program Coordinator for an equivalence review. BSW students may be exempted from the following courses:
- SWG 501, if the student has at least an "A" in SWU 301; or an equivalent social work course;
- SWG 502, if the student has at least an "A" in SWU 340 or 402; or an equivalent social work course;
- SWG 519, if the student has at least an "A" in SWU 320 or 420 or an equivalent social work course;
- SWG 531, if the student has at least an "A" in SWU 171 or 271 and SWU 432 or equivalent social work courses;
- SWG 533, if the student has at least an "A" in SWU 374 or 474 or an equivalent social work course.
Students who believe they have successfully completed equivalent undergraduate courses or have related work experience covering content taught in the MSW courses listed below can request to take a waiver examination. Waiver examinations must be taken prior to the start of the MSW Program in the Fall.
SWG 501 Human Behavior in the Social Environment I 3 credits
SWG 502 Human Behavior in the Social Environment II 3 credits
SWG 519 Research Methods in Social Work 3 credits
All applicants must have graduated with either an undergraduate liberal arts degree or a BSW degree form a CSWE accredited School of Social Work. Applicants with other undergraduate degrees must have completed 30 credit hours of liberal arts courses at either the undergraduate or graduate level. The 30 credit hours must include course work from the social/behavioral sciences, natural sciences and humanities. The distribution should approximate the current policy undergirding the ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus School of Social Work BSW program:
- Eighteen (18) hours in social and behavioral sciences;
- Six (6) hours in natural sciences with at least one course in human biology; and
- Six (6) hours in humanities
Additional Admission Requirements
All students are required to have completed a course in human biology and a course in statistics. Students who:
- Do not meet the human biology requirement must successfully complete an approved equivalent course prior to commencing their first semester in the program; and/or
- Do not meet the statistics requirement must successfully complete an equivalent course by December 31st of the first semester enrolled in the program or prior to registering for SWG 519.
A limited number of students are admitted each year to a planned three year part-time program. Students interested in this option must apply to the part-time program and complete it in accordance with the plan developed to complete the degree in three years.
Applicants with grades below the minimum level may be considered for provisional admission if there is counterbalancing evidence suggesting the potential of outstanding performance in the MSW program.
Upon recommendation of the admissions committee, the first year of graduate study (up to 30 graduate semester hours) earned at another CSWE accredited school of social work may be transferred and applied toward the MSW degree at ASU. Under these circumstances, the student must complete the second full year of graduate study (at least 30 semester hours of graduate work) at ASU, resulting in a 60-hour program composed of the work from both schools. Transfer work must have been completed within three years of the semester and year of admission to the MSW Program at ASU and with a grade of B or better.
Transfer students in addition to submitting the application materials required of all applicants for the Standard MSW Program must also submit:
- A letter of good standing from the MSW Program where the transfer work was completed
- Course syllabi for all courses completed or anticipated to be completed
- If applicable, a copy of the field evaluations and a statement from the school indicating how many clock hours were completed for the internship
A maximum of nine semester hours of course work earned as a non-degree in the ASU School of Social Work or six semester hours of graduate course work earned in another discipline may be transferred. A combination of credit earned as a non-degree student at ASU or transferred from another university may not exceed nine semester hours and of those nine hours no more than six hours may be elective credit. Transfer work must have been completed within three years of the semester and year of admission to the MSW Program at ASU. Consideration for acceptance of prior graduate credits must be applied for at the time of admission. The grades for all transfer credit must be a "B" or better. No academic credit is given for life or work experience.
The School of Social Work offers the full foundation year (30 credits) at its Tucson Component. Advanced Direct Practice students may complete their professional degree entirely in Tucson while Planning, Administration, and Community Practice students take 9 to 12 credits at ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus. Students admitted to the Advanced Standing Program take the first six credit hours of the program during the first and second five week summer session at the ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus.