Master of Social Work

How the program works

Designed to meet the needs of the broadest spectrum of students, official classes meet twice a month on Sundays with the option of joining virtually or in person. In between class sessions, all students complete course assignments online.

• Advanced placement:  With a bachelor's degree in social work from a CSWE-accredited institution, qualifying students can typically complete the master’s program in 12 months (three semesters) on a full-time basis.
• Foundation placement:  With a bachelor’s degree in another discipline (or from a non-accredited BSW program), full-time students typically can complete the program in six semesters.

Eligibility

• Bachelor's degree:  A bachelor’s degree from an accredited program, with coursework indicating a strong liberal arts background. (Advanced placement requires a bachelor of social work degree from a CSWE-accredited program.)
• GPA requirement: GPA requirement: Possess a preferred GPA of at least 3.0 (on a 4.00 scale) in social work courses for Advanced Placement and 2.75 for Foundation status. 

Admission process

1. Graduate application:  Submit a graduate application (with non-refundable fee of $40). Apply now
2. Transcripts:  Submit official college and university transcripts. Many institutions subscribe to the convenient transcript-request service at National Student Clearinghouse, or you may also contact your institution directly. Have your transcripts sent to the Graduate and Professional Studies office (gradtranscripts@southern.edu). If you earned your prerequisite degree at Southern, you do not need to complete this step.
3. Recommendations:  Submit two recommendation forms from a college professor, work supervisor, or social-work field instructor. This should be done as part of the online application process.
4. Personal statement:  Submit a personal statement describing your motivation for graduate school in social work. It should be submitted through your Application Status Page. Download guidelines
5. Resumé:  Submit your current resumé through your Application Status Page.

Application deadlines

Term	U.S. Residents	International
Fall	July 1	May 1
Winter	November 1	September 1

International students

Applicants who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States are considered international students and must meet additional requirements for admission.

• View international-student admission requirements »

  1. All non-U.S. transcripts must be submitted through one of the following approved credential evaluation agencies:
     • SpanTran: use this link to send to Southern
     • Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc (ECE): www.ece.org
     • World Education Services: www.wes.org
     Evaluations are to be sent directly to Southern, Graduate Studies, by the service. All evaluation reports are considered to be advisory. Southern reserves the right to make final equivalency decisions.
  2. Certification of English proficiency.
     See School specific requirements in the Graduate Catalog. Scores are valid for two years from the test date. Learn more at:
     • ets.org/toefl »
     • englishtest.duolingo.com/en »
  3. Submit Declaration of Finances.
     International students must have financial resources sufficient to support themselves for the calendar year, in addition to an international-student deposit of $3,000 (USD). Download Form

  • • To be issued an I-20 Form, students must also provide a letter from financial sponsors (including their name and address), as well as copies of bank statements for the last three months showing the balance history for the student's account or the financial sponsor's account.

International students who will be coming to Southern's campus need some additional information about travel documents and living on campus.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact the International Student Services Coordinator at 423.236.2845 or internationals@southern.edu.

More Information

MSW Accreditation Assessment

The Master of Social Work program utilizes multiple measures to assess student competency in advanced generalist social work practice.

View the outcome data for the 2021 MSW graduates » 

Faculty