Regular and Advanced Standing

The School of Social Work offers a regular program of study for applicants not having a baccalaureate degree in social work. In addition to the regular program, the School of Social Work offers an advanced standing program. Advanced standing applicants have already earned an undergraduate degree in social work from an accredited Council on Social Work program. Because of this, students given advanced standing complete fewer credit hours to earn the MSW than students without advanced standing.

Full- and Part-Time Enrollment Options

The MSW curriculum is highly structured. All courses in either the full-time or part-time regular or advanced standing program must be taken in exact sequence and in the semester in which they are offered as specified in the Master of Social Work course of study plan. Most MSW courses also have specified prerequisites and/or corequisites that must be adhered to before enrolling in subsequent coursework or before entering practicum placement. Most courses are only offered once a year. It is the student’s responsibility to follow precisely the course of study plan. Enrolling in courses outside of the sequence or failure to enroll in corequisite courses has an impact on practicum placements and will, at the very least, delay a student’s progress toward graduation and may be grounds for termination from the program. No course may be taken outside the student’s program plan of study.

Transfer of Academic Credit

Upon admission to the MSW program, requests for transfer of academic credits from another CSWE accredited MSW program will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Only courses taken in a CSWE accredited Master of Social Work program will be eligible for transfer of credits at the time of admission to the MSW program. No more than 12 total credit hours of graduate social work course credit will be accepted for transfer for either regular or advanced standing applicants. Only foundation level courses such as Micro and Macro Human Behavior in the Social Environment, Social Welfare Policy and Analysis, Fundamentals of Social Work Research and no more than six graduate social work electives, if applicable to WSU’s advanced generalist MSW program, will be considered for transfer credit. No transfer credit will be granted for hours completed as part of a practicum or internship placement. Applicants requesting transfers of credit upon admission to the MSW program must have received a grade of B or better in the course(s) being considered for transfer, and the course must have been successfully completed within the previous six years prior to the student’s enrollment in the MSW program. Pass/fail courses will not be accepted for transfer. See MSW Program Policy and Student Manual for specific guidelines related to transfer of elective credit after full admission to the MSW program.

Life Experience

In accordance with Council on Social Work Education accreditation requirements, academic credit will not be given for life experience or work experience in coursework or field practicum. There will be no credit towards the social work degree for prior life or work experiences.

Admission

Admission to the MSW program requires that the applicant:

1. Have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited four-year institution(s) acceptable to the Graduate School;
2. Have a grade point average of at least 2.750; and
3. Submit a complete application to the Graduate School no later than the second Friday in January, at 5 p.m. A complete application includes:
   1. Unofficial transcripts from all colleges/universities. 
   2. The names and emails of three references.
      1. All applicants must include at least one academic reference and at least one professional reference. 
      2. If applying for the Advanced Standing Program, one reference must be a licensed social worker. 
   3. The applicant's personal statement.
   4. The applicant's resume.

Nonacademic Factors for Admission

Nonacademic considerations include experiences in providing social services, references and personal narratives. Measures of volunteer as well as paid experience in social services contribute to candidate rankings. References are primarily asked to provide an indication of the applicant’s suitability for entrance into the profession. Indicators of readiness for graduate studies and of suitability for the profession are drawn from descriptions of life experience, motivation, career goals and values as described in the applicant’s personal statement and references.

Admission Procedure

Applications are reviewed when all materials have been received, and incomplete applications are not reviewed. Applicants are notified of their admission status by the Graduate School. At the time of admission, applicants must designate their choice to be admitted into either the full-time or the part-time track.

Program Requirements

The curriculum for the regular MSW program consists of 55 credit hours — 39 credit hours of classroom work and 16 credit hours of supervised practicum. The curriculum for the advanced standing program consists of 32 credit hours — 24 credit hours of classroom work and 8 credit hours of supervised practicum. The 55 credit hours for regular standing students and the 32 credit hours for advanced standing students includes 9 credit hours of graduate-level electives. Students must maintain a 3.000 grade point average. A grade of 2.000 is the minimum passing grade and therefore, students must earn a C or better in all courses.

All students, regular and advanced standing, are required to take SCWK 816 in the summer semester. All other required courses are taken in the fall and spring semesters. Social work graduate elective courses are offered in the summer, spring and fall semesters of each year. The sample plans of study below are for students enrolled full-time. These plans can be modified for part-time study, prioritizing completion of 700 or 800 level coursework prior to practicums. 

Advanced Standing Program

Regular Program

¹

The Practicum courses require the following supervised hours in a social work setting:
SCWK 720: 200 hrs (~15 hrs a week over 16 weeks)
SCWK 721: 200 hrs (~15 hrs a week over 16 weeks)

²

The Practicum courses require the following supervised hours in a social work setting:
SCWK 822: 300 hrs (~20 hrs a week over 16 weeks)
SCWK 823: 300 hrs (~20 hrs a week over 16 weeks)

Practicum Requirements

Students enrolled in the regular standing MSW program (55 credit hours) will be required to complete a total of 1,000 agency-based clock hours in Practicum placement during their course of study. For their foundation year practicum, 200 hours per semester or 400 total hours of experience are required; for the advanced generalist year practicum, 300 hours per semester or 600 total hours are required. Students enrolled in the advanced standing MSW program (32 credits) will complete the advanced generalist year practicum only, 300 agency-based clock hours per semester and 600 total hours. Admission to social work practice and practicum classes is restricted to social work students who have been formally admitted to the MSW program.

Thesis Option

Students are not required to complete a thesis, but do have the option of completing a thesis as part of their MSW degree. The thesis option requires a total of 3 credit hours of thesis coursework ( SCWK 800). Students must be enrolled in at least 1 credit hour of thesis during the semester of graduation. Thesis hours can count toward the required 9 credit hours of electives. Students who are interested in the thesis option should discuss their interest with the MSW program director prior to enrolling in the advanced (800-level or higher) curriculum.

Applied Learning

MSW Regular Program (first year): Students in the MSW regular program are required to complete an applied learning or research experience to graduate from the program. The requirement can be met by completing a practicum experience in SCWK 720 and SCWK 721.

These classes have both an on-campus seminar that reflects on experiences in the 400 hours combined of required supervised placement in a social service agency in the Wichita community, or the student's own community if possible. Each student must meet with a field instructor at the agency for supervision and attend a university class with a field liaison that provides the reflective feedback for the educational tie to the Council on Social Work Education's — Education Policy and Accreditation Standards.

MSW Advanced Standing Program and Regular Program (second year): Students in the MSW advanced standing program and the regular program (second year) are required to complete an applied learning or research experience to graduate from the program. The requirement can be met by completing a practicum experience in SCWK 822 and SCWK 823.

These classes have both an on-campus seminar that reflects on experiences in the 600 hours combined of required supervised placement in a social service agency in the Wichita community, or the student's own community if possible. Each student must meet with a field instructor at the agency for supervision and attend a university class with a field liaison that provides the reflective feedback for the educational tie to the Council on Social Work Education's — Education Policy and Accreditation Standards.