Peace Through Education

Admissions

Admission to the MSW Program

The University of Arkansas School of Social Work seeks to admit candidates to its graduate program who demonstrate personal and professional readiness to pursue graduate education in social work and to make significant contributions to the profession. The School welcomes applications from all persons regardless of age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, immigration status, political ideology, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.

In pursuit of a dynamic student body, the following areas are given particular consideration in admission: motivation to work in the human services field, academic potential, personal effectiveness, capacity for sustained effort, communication skills, and contribution to a diverse student body.

All applicants must apply to both the Graduate School at the University of Arkansas and the School of Social Work. It is the responsibility of the applicant to monitor the application process and ensure that all required application materials have been received by the appropriate parties.

Admission Requirements for the MSW Program

The following requirements for admission to the Master of Social Work degree program apply to all program options, including the Regular (2-year), Advanced Standing (on campus or online), and Extended (3-year). See additional requirements for admission to the Advanced Standing program in Requirements for Admission to the Advanced Standing Program below.

  • Admission to the University of Arkansas Graduate School
  • Baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university (official transcripts must be provided).  International bachelor’s degrees are submitted to the Council on Social Work Education International Social Work Degree Recognition and Evaluation Service for a determination of equivalency.
  • Undergraduate GPA of 3.0 (based on 4-point scale) for the last 60 hours leading up to the 1st bachelor’s degree. Applicants with a GPA less than 3.0 are required to complete the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Millers Analogies Test (MAT). If the applicant has a master’s degree from an accredited institution, the graduate GPA may be reviewed by the School as part of the admission decision process.  Applicants with a GPA ≥ 2.75 may be considered for conditional admission to the Regular (2-year) or Extended (3-year) programs. There is no conditional admission to the Advanced Standing program.
  • Personal statement (guidelines provided)
  • Social needs paper (guidelines provided)
  • Three professional references (academic, employer, supervisor) from persons able to assess the applicant’s current skills and characteristics as well as potential for success in graduate studies.  If applying to the Advanced Standing program, one reference must be a field instructor (agency supervisor) or field liaison (field seminar instructor).  Please note that non-professional references (friends, family members, ministers, counselors) will not be accepted. Reference names and contact information are submitted to the Graduate School as part of the Graduate School’s online application process.
  • Completion of a basic statistics course
  • Computer literacy demonstrated through prior coursework
  • Personal Interview may be required

Additional Requirements for Admission to the Advanced Standing Program

Applicants to the Advanced Standing program (on campus and online) must meet all the requirements for admission to the Master of Social Work degree program listed above. In addition, Advanced Standing applicants must have a bachelor’s degree in social work from a CSWE accredited program, or recognized through its International Social Work Degree Recognition and Evaluation Service, completed within the past 6 years.

Admissions Timeline

  • The Regular (2-Year) program admits students each fall.
  • The Advanced Standing program admits students each summer.
  • The Online Advanced Standing program will admit students inthefall for 2016 only. In 2017 and thereafter, the online program will admit each summer.
  • The Extended (3-year) program admits students in the fall, on odd years only (2017, 2019, etc.)
  • The MSW Program does not admit students in the spring.

Deadline for Submission of Applications

Applicants to the Regular (2-year), Extended (3-year), and Advanced Standing program must submit all application documents, as email attachments, to the School of Social Work at scsw@uark.edu . Please include the subject line “Your Name MSW Application”.  Complete applications must be received by midnight, December 15th, of the year prior to the year of enrollment.  Questions concerning submission of documents should be directed to Stephanie Kessler at sah16@uark.edu .

Applicants to the Online Advanced Standing program must submit all required documents, as email attachments, to the School of Social Work at swonline@uark.edu.  Complete applications, for enrollment in 2016, must be received by midnight, June 1, 2016.  The application deadline for subsequent years will be posted soon.  

Application Forms

PDF versions are fillable. To get the latest version of Adobe, please click here. 

Selection Criteria for Admission

The admissions process is competitive. Individuals selected for admission will possess the strongest qualifications in terms of the Graduate School admission criteria, grade point average, personal statement, professional references, social needs paper, and commitment to social work values. Volunteer activities, employment experience, and life experiences relevant to social work are considered in the admission process.

Applicants to the MSW program must hold an undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited college or university. International bachelor’s degrees are submitted to the Council on Social Work Education International Social Work Degree Recognition and Evaluation Service for a determination of equivalency. Transcripts of undergraduate work will be examined for evidence of course work in the liberal arts sufficient to provide an appropriate foundation for graduate social work study. The liberal arts perspective includes knowledge from the arts, natural sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and humanities.

A 3.0 GPA in undergraduate studies is expected. Applicants with ≥ 3.0 GPA for the last 60 credit hours leading up to their 1st bachelor’s degree are not required to complete the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or any other standardized test for admission. Applicants with a GPA ≤ 2.75 may be considered for conditional admission to the Regular (2-year) or Extended (3-year) programs. There is no conditional admission to the Advanced Standing program.

Applicants must possess the following personal qualifications (as demonstrated through the personal statement, references and personal interview, if requested):  intellectual maturity, emotional stability, the motivation and capacity to work with people from diverse backgrounds, and the ability to think clearly, critically, creatively, and independently.

Applicants must demonstrate superior oral and written communication skills (as demonstrated through the personal statement, social needs paper and references).

Competence in the use of basic statistical methods, as demonstrated through previous course work, is expected. Applicants who are unable to meet this requirement at the time of application will be asked to complete additional undergraduate coursework prior to enrollment.

The required personal statement includes an autobiographical sketch, history of work and volunteer activities, and a self-assessment of aptitude and motivation for an advanced career in social work. Guidelines are provided.

In the required social needs paper, applicants choose a current social need that is of concern and interest to them. The paper should be written using American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines. Position taken must be supported by appropriate citations from the literature. Guidelines are provided.

Three professional references are required (academic, employer, supervisor) from persons able to assess the applicant’s current skills and characteristics as well as potential for success in graduate studies.  If applying to the Advanced Standing program, one reference must be a field instructor (agency-based supervisor) or field liaison (seminar instructor).  Please note that non-professional references (friends, family members, ministers, counselors) will not be accepted. Reference names and contact information are submitted to the Graduate School as part of the Graduate School’s online application process. 

Applicants may be asked to interview with members of the MSW Admissions Committee. Interviews are conducted at the School of Social Work or using distance technology.

Admissions Process

  1. The Graduate School requires a separate application for admission to any graduate program.  Therefore, applicants must complete two separate and different applications. One application is submitted to the Graduate School and the other is submitted to the School of Social Work.
  2. The Graduate School evaluates applicant’s transcripts and GPA. Applicants are notified when their Graduate School application materials are forwarded to the School of Social Work. This notification is not a guarantee of admission to the School of Social Work.
  3. The School of Social Work reviews only complete application files. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all documents are submitted to the School of Social Work by the application deadline. The MSW Admissions Committee reviews the applications and notifies the MSW program director of admission status.
  4. The Committee submits a report to the MSW program director indicating their recommendations for unconditional admission, conditional admission, or denial of admission.
  5. The MSW program director sends written notification to applicants concerning their admission status.  Notification of conditional admission also includes information on the nature of the conditions and steps required  to satisfy those conditions.

Transfer Student Applications and Transfer of Credit

According to the Graduate Student Handbook “a maximum of 6 hours of course work may be transferred from another institution towards a master's degree at the University of Arkansas”. A form is required and may be obtained from the Graduate School website. An official transcript must be on file with the Graduate School.

Only applicants from CSWE-accredited graduate social work programs will be considered for admission as transfer students. See the Graduate Student Handbook for additional eligibility requirements to transfer credit.  Please be advised that it is the student’s responsibility to ensure that credit has been transferred. In addition, transfer credit is not depicted on student transcripts until after graduation. 

Avoiding Duplication in Undergraduate Coursework

BSW students entering the MSW program are not to repeat what has been mastered in their BSW programs.  If potential redundancy or duplication is found, the MSW Admissions Committee will note this and will investigate whether duplication or redundancy actually exists.  When the MSW Admissions Committee concludes that foundation area coursework has been completed previously, the student is granted credit for the coursework.  Students who believe they may have completed foundation area coursework, even when the Admissions Committee has not noted that possibility during the admissions process, may request a review of their transcript and prior coursework.  This includes providing course descriptions and course syllabi from the prior work for consideration by the committee.  If it is concluded that duplication or redundancy exists, the student will be exempted from the relevant foundation coursework.

MSW Course Waiver Policy

The School of Social Work and the Graduate School require that students in the Regular (2-year) and Extended (3-year) MSW programs must complete 63 hours of graduate credit to fulfill graduate requirements for the MSW degree. However, students who have taken the following courses at a CSWE-accredited social work program as an undergraduate student MAY be exempt from taking the following courses:

  • Human Behavior and Social Environment I (HBSE I)
  • Human Behavior and Social Environment II (HBSE II)
  • Social Welfare Policy

Non-matriculated graduate students who have taken the following courses at the UA School of Social Work MAY be exempt from taking the following courses while in the MSW Program:

  • Social Work Policy (SCWK 4153)
  • Human Behavior and Social Environment I (HBSE I)

In order for the above courses to be considered by the MSW Admission Committee for graduate credit, the following criteria need to be met:

  • Request must be submitted with MSW application (prior to acceptance into MSW program)
  • Courses must be completed within 2 years of admission to the UA School of Social Work from a CSWE-accredited social work program.
  • Student must have earned a “B” or better in the course.
  • For those who enrolled as an undergraduate student, appropriate graduate electives must be taken in place of the core required courses.

The Course Waiver Form is used to request exceptions to the graduate program curriculum.

Life/Work Experience Policy

The MSW Program does not grant social work course credit for life or previous work experience.

Applicants to the Online Advanced Standing program must submit all required documents to the School of Social Work at swonline@uark.edu.  Fully complete applications, for enrollment in fall 2016, must be received by midnight, June 1, 2016.  The application deadline for subsequent years will be posted at a later date.