Mar 28, 2024  
Graduate Catalog 2009-10 
    
Graduate Catalog 2009-10 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Master of Social Work


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Director of Admissions and Student Services
Nancy McFadden
Room 4424, CHHS Building (Oakland Campus)
(269) 387-3201

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 welfare.  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.

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:   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 to prepare students for entry into the concentrations.

There are two concentrations in the graduate program:  1. Interpersonal Practice and 2. Policy, Planning, and Administration.  These concentrations build on the foundation curriculum and are the vehicles through which students learn the specific advanced skills of their chosen area of concentration.

The Interpersonal Practice 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 interpersonal practice.  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.

The Policy, Planning, and Administration concentration has four essential components:   Organizational leadership and management, program planning, analytic tools and technology, and policy practice.  The desired outcome of the Policy, Planning, and Administration concentration is the empowerment of practitioners to facilitate changes in organizational, community, and societal structures and processes that contribute to a just distribution of opportunities and resources.

In addition, graduate social work students have an opportunity to participate in social work-related graduate certificate programs.  Included are Alcohol and Drug Abuse (SPADA), Holistic Health Care, Nonprofit Leadership and Administration, and School of Social work.

Admission Requirements

Applicants for graduate study in social work must complete two applications—one for the WMU Office of Admissions (the Graduate Self-Managed Application) and one for the School of Social Work.  Both applications can be obtained from the School of Social Work on the main campus and the Southwest and Grand Rapids regional sites. Admission is granted for the Summer I session only for applicants to the Kalamazoo full-time advanced standing program; for Summer II session only for applicants to the Grand Rapids part-time advanced standing program; and for the Fall semester only for applicants to the full-time and extended study programs. The deadline for filing applications is January 15 for advanced standing and March 15 for full-time or extended-study programs each year.  In addition to the University’s requirements for admission to a master’s degree program, the following criteria will be considered:

  1. Evidence of adequate academic preparation for graduate study in social work.  This includes consideration of both undergraduate performance and area of study, liberal arts academic background, and proficiency in professional writing. 
  2. Evidence of personal qualifications considered desirable for successful social work practice.  These include motivation for a human service profession, social work related volunteer or employment experience, personal maturity, and leadership ability.
  3. Students who have earned a Bachelor of Social Work from a CSWE accredited program within six years of application may apply to the 39-hour, 12-month Advanced Standing Program. Applicants must meet the following criteria:   
    • B.S.W. degree from a CSWE accredited program that is not more than six years old
    • Overall grade point average of 3.0
    • No more than one B.S.W. course below a “B.” Any B.S.W. course below a “B” will require retaking an equivalent course in the M.S.W. curriculum
    • One year of full-time post-B.S.W. human service work experience is recommended
    • One of the three letters of recommendation must be from the applicants B.S.W. program field instructor or faculty liaison.

Students will be admitted each spring into the Interpersonal Practice concentration and the Policy, Planning, and Administration concentration. Applicants may seek admission to either the campus program or the Grand Rapids Regional Site (off-campus) program. The application deadline for the Kalamazoo full-time, advanced standing program and the part-time Grand Rapids program is January 15. Kalamazoo advanced-standing students begin their program in the Summer I session and proceed for one full year. Grand Rapids advanced-standing students begin their program in the Summer II session and proceed for two calendar years. All classes at the Grand Rapids campus convene during evening hours. Due to the rigorous demands of this program, those who plan to be employed full-time should apply to the Grand Rapids part-time advanced standing program.

Program Requirements


  1. The successful completion of 60 hours of credit is required for the conventional master’s degree in social work.  The degree program includes the following course credits:
    • Required Foundation Courses in the School of Social Work (21 hours)
    • Required Concentration Courses in the School of Social Work (15 hours)
    • Elective Courses in Social Work or in other University departments (6 to 9 hours)
    • Advanced Social Work Research (SWRK 6420 for 3 hours or SWRK 6860 for 6 hours)
    • Field Education (12 hours:  6 in the Foundation and 6 in the Concentration)
  2. Students admitted to the advanced-standing program complete a minimum of 39 credit hours of required graduate courses.
  3. Field Education:   Graduate field education is an essential component of social work education and provides students with an opportunity to integrate classroom learning with practice in the field. All full-time and extended-study students are required to complete two field placements for a total of 900 hours over a two-year period during the fall and spring semesters. All advanced-standing students are required to complete one field placement for a total of 596 hours starting in the summer II session and continuing through the fall and spring semesters. The field placement is considered a required course and is taken concurrently with required course work according to the advanced-standing, full-time or extended plan of study. Students are also encouraged to explore the certificate programs, some of which have concurrent field placement requirements.
  4. First-year students with a B.S.W. may elect to take proficiency exams in SWRK 6100, 6300, 6310, 6330 and 6400 during the summer prior to the start of the graduate program.  Students have the option of receiving full credit for those courses in which proficiency exams are passed. To obtain information regarding exam eligibility criteria, contact the Director of Admissions and Student Services in the School of Social Work.
  5. One academic year of full-time study (up to 30 credit hours), including first-year field education, may be accepted for transfer from other accredited graduate schools of social work if the credits were earned with degree status. Anyone seeking admission as a second-year student should request an application packet and complete all application procedures. Transfer credit and equivalency will be reviewed by the student’s advisor and the School’s curriculum committee upon the student’s request.
  6. Students may take up to 9 hours of credit under Non-degree status before admission is offered.  An additional 3 hours of credit under Non-degree status (up to a maximum total of 12 Non-degree hours) may be taken and transferred in after the student receives an offer of admission.  Please contact the Director of Admissions and Student Services in the School of Social Work for information regarding available classes for Guest Students.

Financial aid is available to a limited number of qualified students.  Information regarding the various types of available assistance may be obtained by contacting the Office of Student Financial Aid or the Director of Admissions and Student Services in the School of Social Work.

Program Options


Kalamazoo Full-time and Tri-county (Grand Rapids) Part-time Advanced-Standing Program


Students who have earned a bachelor of social work degree from a CSWE accredited program within six years of application may apply to the 30-credit hour, 12-month full-time or 24-month part-time Advanced-Standing program.

The full-time advanced-standing program was established in 1996 and the part-time advanced-standing in 2006. Both programs consist of 39 credit hours. In the advanced-standing programs, all foundation courses are waived. However, students take two specially designed bridge courses that prepare them for entry into the advanced concentrations. They also take an advanced-standing field education course consisting of 96 practicum hours during the Summer II session.

Kalamazoo Full-time Program


The 60-credit hour graduate program requires 20 months of study. Depending on the concentration chosen, students take 12 - 15 credit hours during each semester and six credit hours in the Summer I session. Due to the rigorous demands of this program, those who plan to be employed full time should apply to the Extended- study program.

Sequentially ordered, the courses are scheduled to complement and build upon field education experiences. Students must follow the program schedule as written by the School of Social Work. Variations are possible only with advisor approval.

Kalamazoo Extended-study Program


Financial and other considerations may make full-time study difficult for some students. To meet this need, the School of Social Work offers an Extended-study program whereby students may complete the M.S.W. degree with course work in 32-34 months. Students attend evening classes and are expected to meet the same course and degree requirements as full-time students. Applicants may seek admission to either the Kalamazoo campus or the Tri-county Regional Site program.

Field education takes place Fall and Spring semesters in the second and third years of the program. For those employed in a human service agency, it may be possible to arrange for a work-study field practicum in the location that would satisfy one of the two required placements.

Tri-county (Grand Rapids) Extended-study Program


Classes at this location, offered in the evening, are primarily Foundation and Interpersonal Practice courses. Grand Rapids students who wish to pursue a Policy, Planning and Administration concentration must travel to the Kalamazoo campus for the five concentration classes. Field placements are available in the Grand Rapids area.

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