Master of Social Work - Clinical Social Work

The Master of Social Work program in professional social work is designed to prepare students for direct service and leadership positions in the field of social work. The program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. The curriculum is structured as an integrated and sequential set of conceptual and practicum educational experiences. In preparing students for practice, the School of Social Work recognizes a variety of theoretical paradigms and values and welcomes the challenge and benefits of intellectual and philosophical diversity. It supports students in their personal synthesis of these paradigms and values. In addition, the School stresses development and dissemination of social work knowledge and practice skills.

All students must demonstrate mastery of a set of competencies and practice behaviors, as required by our accrediting body, the Council on Social Work Education. The graduate program prepares students for specialized and advanced levels of practice. It also incorporates a foundation curriculum, built on a liberal arts base. The foundation has two goals: 1) To provide students with the knowledge, values, and skills leading to an informed perspective on the profession of social work, and its service delivery systems, and 2) to prepare students for entry into the concentrations.

The Clinical Social Work concentration prepares students to become informed practitioners and leaders in working with individuals, families, and groups. Practice courses in the concentration are designed to provide expert competencies in Clinical Social Work. Such competencies include the ability to assess situations, carry out appropriate interventions, and evaluate one's own practice framework, strategies, and results when working with clients.

Applicants for graduate study in social work must complete an online application that can be obtained through the School of Social Works homepage In addition to the Universitys requirements for admission to a masters degree program the following criteria will be considered

Evidence of adequate academic preparation for graduate study in social work This includes consideration of undergraduate performance liberal arts academic background and proficiency in professional writing A minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 is required for admission into the 60 credit Full time or Extended Study MSW program unless otherwise approved by the Admissions Committee
Evidence of personal qualifications considered desirable for successful social work practice These include motivation for a human service profession personal maturity and leadership ability

Undergraduate degree
3.0 cumulative GPA

Test of English as a Foreign Language TOEFL 80 iBT graduate.
TOEFL Essential 8 Graduate.
International English Language Testing System IELTS Academic - 6.5 graduate.
Pearson Test of English Academic Module PTE - 54 graduate.

Students who have earned a Bachelor of Social Work from a CSWE accredited program within six years of application may apply to the 39hour Advanced Standing Program Applicants must meet the following criteria
BSW degree from a CSWE accredited program that was awarded not more than six years prior to the date of application to the WMU School of Social Work
Overall grade point average of 3.25
If applicant has one BSW course below a B they will be required to retake an equivalent course in the MSW curriculum Applicants are not eligible for the Advanced Standing program if they have earned more than one BSW course below a B
One year of fulltime post-BSW human service work experience is recommended
One of the three letters of recommendation must be from the applicants BSW program field instructor or faculty liaison