Social Work MSW

Admission Requirements

Admission to the MSW Program requires admission to the University of Missouri-St. Louis Graduate School and acceptance by the School of Social Work. All applicants to the program must meet the following requirements to be considered for admission:

• Completion of a bachelor's degree from a college or university accredited by a recognized regional accrediting organization.
• Completion of a liberal arts education including courses in the humanities, the social and behavioral sciences, and the physical sciences. These courses must include successful completion of a college level statistics course with a grade of C or better. Students may be admitted (restricted status) without statistics, but they cannot proceed in the MSW program past the first semester until this requirement is met.
• Attainment of a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for all undergraduate course work is required for regular admission. In special circumstances, students with an undergraduate GPA between 2.5 and 3.0 may be admitted under restricted status and only allowed to take a maximum of 6 credit hours in their first semester. Students with a cumulative undergraduate GPA below 2.5 will not be considered.
• Submission of the following documents by the admission deadline:
  • A completed application to the UMSL Graduate School and a completed MSW supplemental application.
  • Two written essays.

  • Three letters of reference: If applicant graduated within the past five years, two letters of reference from former professors, preferably in applicant’s major field of study, and one additional letter from a work or volunteer supervisor or other professional reference are required. If it has been more than five years since completion of an undergraduate degree, one letter from a professor in applicant’s major field of study and two others from work or volunteer supervisors or other professional references are required. Letters from employees/supervisees, friends, and family may not be used.

  • Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended.
  • Applicable fees.

Application Deadline

The deadline for application to the MSW program is March 1 for admission in the following fall semester and October 15 for admission in the following Spring semester. See School of Social Work's website for more details.

Admissions to the Program with Advanced Standing

Applicants with a BSW, BASW, or BSSW from a Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accredited social work program may be given up to 24 credit hours of advanced standing for foundation social work courses. Admission with advanced standing is available to applicants who meet the general admission requirements and who:

1. Have earned a bachelor's degree in social work from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education within five years of applying to the MSW Program, and
2. Have earned no less than a B in applicable foundation-related courses

See School of Social Work's website for more details.

Course Waivers

A student who does not have a bachelor's degree in social work but who can document successful completion (with at least a B) of comparable courses from an accredited BSW program within the last seven years will be given course waivers and be allowed to replace these courses with electives.

Students from non-accredited BSW programs or students who have taken comparable course work in other undergraduate programs, may take test-out examinations for select foundation courses; waivers will be given if students successfully pass test-out examinations. The waiver does not provide graduate credit; it is a mechanism for allowing elective courses to be substituted for required foundation courses.

Academic credit cannot be given for life experience and/or previous work experience, in whole or in part, in lieu of field practicum or other courses.

Transfer Credit

Transfer coursework is limited to one-third of total hours in the degree program; therefore, the School of Social Work can accept up to 20 hours of graduate credit from another CSWE accredited MSW program or up to 12 credits of electives from another regionally accredited college or university’s graduate program. (Credit hours from colleges and universities that use quarter hours will be adjusted to semester hours.)

Degree Requirements

The MSW is a two-year program comprising a foundation year and a concentration year. All students are required to take the foundation year courses, have advanced standing credit for them, or transfer credit for them. These foundation courses provide a common base of knowledge across all practice settings and populations. Beyond the general requirements of the Graduate School, the department requires a minimum of 60 semester hours of course work, of which 48 must be at the 5000 or 6000 level and 48 must be in social work or cross-listed with social work, including the following foundation courses:

SOC WK 5100	Generalist Social Work Practice	3
SOC WK 5200	Social Policy and Social Services	3
SOC WK 5300	Community Practice and Social Change	3
SOC WK 5350	Social Work and Human Service Organizations	3
SOC WK 5410	Critical Thinking and Analysis	3
SOC WK 5450	Social Work Research Methods and Analysis	3
SOC WK 5500	Human Behavior in the Social Environment	3
SOC WK 5700	Diversity and Social Justice for Social Work	3
SOC WK 5800	Graduate Field Practicum I	4
SOC WK 5801	Foundation Field Practicum Seminar	2
Total Hours		30

Upon completion of the 30 credits of foundation year requirements, students move into a year of advanced study, called the concentration. The concentration year requires 30 hours of course work that includes up to 12 hours of elective (4000-level or higher) courses approved by the adviser. Students plan their degree program to reflect their career interests in the following concentration areas:

• Family Practice
• Leadership and Social Change

Additionally, if students choose, they may elect to participate in one of the following focus areas:

• Health & Behavioral Health
• School Social Work 

To remain in good standing, students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.

The field practicum is an integral part of the concentration year. Students will complete 300 hours (approximately 20 hours per week) of MSW supervised practice in an agency as part of their foundation curriculum and they will complete 600 hours total hours (approximately 20 hours per week) as part of their concentration curriculum. A student must receive a grade of B or better in the foundation field practicum seminar course and receive a satisfactory grade in the foundation practicum to be eligible to enter the concentration field practicum. S/U grades are given for both the foundation practicum and the concentration practicum. 

Part-Time Status

Generally, students who enter the program as part-time complete the foundation curriculum in two years and the concentration course work in an additional two years.

All students must complete the MSW in six years.

Live-Virtual Program

MSW students who cannot travel to campus due to distance or have difficulty committing to in-person classes due to complicated schedules can choose the live/virtual program option, a family practice-focused, part-time MSW program. 

Students in the live/virtual program engage with students who are meeting in in-person sections of the same classes, allowing for real time (but virtual) lecture, discussion, activities. Students in the live/virtual program are welcome to attend the in-person section of classes as needed or desired. Due to the structured nature of this synchronous learning model, only family practice concentration courses are offered as part of the live/virtual program. Students have the option of taking electives in any format (virtual, in-person, asynchronous online, etc.).

Goals of the Master of Social Work

The goals of the MSW program of the University of Missouri- St. Louis are consistent with the land-grant public service mission of the University, the MSW feasibility study, and the educational policy statement of CSWE and are to:

• Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior
• Engage Diversity and Difference in Practice
• Advance Human Rights and Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice
• Engage in Practice-informed Research and Research-informed Practice
• Engage in Policy Practice
• Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
• Assess Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
• Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
• Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities