MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK
Mission and Goals
The Master of Social Work program strives to prepare students for social work leadership roles in the effort to solve, in partnerships with others, the existing and developing challenges that confront communities in the United States and internationally. Community partnerships, based on a generalist practice model, is the sole focus of the MSW program. Students in the Community Partnerships specialization are educated to advance the needs and capacities of the total community by promoting social and economic justice and maximizing human potential. They are educated to commit themselves to addressing the life circumstances, such as poverty, violence, discrimination, and disparities in social and economic justice that fall disproportionately on vulnerable groups and challenge the spirit of the entire community. This unique focus provides students with the opportunity to learn about social issues facing urban communities through a social and economic justice framework. Our graduates have become leaders in various service delivery sectors including health care, public child welfare services, non profit management, and numerous other contexts.
To accomplish the mission of the MSW program, the School of Social Work has set forth these goals: (1) students will be able to think critically and communicate effectively in the application of social work knowledge, skills, and values to community partnerships practice; and (2) students will be able to engage as social work leaders to build and strengthen communities.
MSW Competencies
The following competencies provide the structure for the graduate social work curriculum:
Contact an Admissions Advisor
General Questions
Office of Academic Assistance
Phone: (404) 413-0021
Email: AYSEnroll@gsu.edu
Program-specific Questions
Robert McCloud
Director of Student, Program and Community Services
Phone: 404-413-1394
Office: 55 Park Place, 5th Floor
Twitter: @GSUsocialwork | Facebook: www.facebook.com/GSUsocialwork
The Council on Social Work Education requires that current students show competency measures as part of their curriculum.
Click here for information on MSW 1st year Competencies.
Program Degree Requirements
Specialization: Community Partnerships (24 Hours)
- SW 8100 – Skills and Techniques of Community Partnerships (3)
- SW 8200 – Skills and Techniques of Community Partnerships II (3)
- SW 8300 – Leadership and Management (3)
- SW 8500 – Community Field Education I (6)
- SW 8800 – Community Project (3)
- SW 8900 – Community Field Education II (6)
Social Work Generalist Practice (30 Hours)
- SW 7100 – Foundations of Community Partnerships (3)
- SW 7200 – Human Development Through the Life Course (3)
- SW 7300 – Methods of Community Research (3)
- SW 7400 – Social Work Practice I (3)
- SW 7500 – Foundation Field Education I (5)
- SW 7501 – Diversity and Social Justice (1)
- SW 7600 – Social Welfare Policy (3)
- SW 7800 – Social Work Practice II (3)
- SW 7900 – Foundation Field Education II (6)
Social Work Electives
- SW 8450 – Child Maltreatment Practice, Policy, and Research
- SW 8460 – Aging Practice, Policy, and Research
- SW 8470 – Substance Abuse Practice, Policy, and Research
- SW 8490 – Child Welfare Practice, Policy, and Research
- SW 8310 – Group Facilitation
- SW 8315 – Social Media Tools for Community Partnerships Practice
- SW 8320 – Grant Writing
- SW 8330 – Health Challenges
- SW 8340 – Social Work and the Law
- SW 8350 – Economics of Poverty and Public Policy
- SW 8360 – Forensic Social Work
- SW 8370 – Psychopathology
- SW 8480 – Disabilities Practice, Policy, and Research
- SW 7950 – Selected Topics
- SW 7990 – Directed Individual Study
Advanced Standing Status
The Advanced Standing, Master of Social Work program is available only to applicants possessing a Bachelor of Social Work from a Council on Social Work Education accredited program awarded in the last five years. Advanced Standing applicants must have earned a grade of “C” or better, or be in the process of completing: Social Welfare Policy, Research Methods, Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Social Work Practice and Field Education. The application should include a copy of the final field evaluation. The Advanced Standing student will enroll for 9 semester hours in the summer session, and will be expected to fulfill the second year curriculum as noted in the full-time program.
Students who are admitted to and enter the Master of Social Work program as advanced standing students have met the 30 credit hours of Social Work Foundation course work as a result of their bachelor’s degree in social work from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. The students will be expected to take nine semester hours of bridge course work in the summer prior to beginning the specialization year course work. The nine semester hours will consist of:
- SW 7100 – Foundations of Community Partnerships, (3)
- SW 7501 – Diversity and Social Justice (1)
- SW 7700 – Community Foundation Integrative Seminar (2)
- SW Elective (3)
Given the nature of the knowledge and skills expected of advanced standing students, the purpose of the bridge course work is to provide students with the foundation content that is essential for entering the community partnership specialization year.
Full-Time Study
Students who are admitted to and enter the Master of Social Work program in full-time study can expect to complete their program of study in two years. All classes are held Georgia State University’s downtown campus Monday-Friday. Field placements are also held during the working hours of 9:00am-5:00pm. The full time program operates as a cohort model where all students will be admitted every fall semester.
Total Degree hours: 60 semester hours for full-time students
Part-Time Study
Students who are admitted to and enter the Master of Social Work program in part-time study can expect to complete their program of study in three years. The part time program operates as a cohort model where all students will be admitted every fall semester. Each course is offered through a blended model with online delivery and face to face learning once a month. Classes are offered one Friday a month and students can expect to meet from 9am- 4:30pm. This structure ensures that the classes that part time students need are offered in a way for continued progress to graduation.
Total degree hours: 60 semester hours for full-time and part-time students; 39 semester hours for advanced standing students.
MSW Part-Time Program of Study
Mindy Wertheimer, PhD, LCSW
MSW Program Director
mwertheimer@gsu.edu
(404) 413 1058
For additional information about the MSW program, please contact:
Mindy Wertheimer, PhD, LCSW
MSW Program Director
mwertheimer@gsu.edu
404-413-1057
Application Deadlines*
| Fall Semester | Summer Semester – Advanced standing only |
| Priority Deadline – February 1 | Priority Deadline – February 1 |
| Regular Deadline – April 1 | Regular Deadline – April1 |
*Online applications must be submitted and all materials received by the deadline to be reviewed for admission.
Application Submission Instructions
- Create an account.
- Start a new application.
- Select application type: “Graduate Programs”
- Click “Create application”
- Click “Open Application” to begin your application
- On the “Program Selection” page:
- Select College: “Andrew Young School of Policy Studies”
- Select Program: “Social Work; Master of Social Work” or “Social Work – Advanced Standing; Master of Social Work”
Application Requirements
A completed application includes:
- Submitted Online Application. All online applications and materials must be received by the deadline. Paper applications are not available.
- Application fee: A nonrefundable fee of $50 is required for each application. This fee must be paid online by credit card.
- Statement of Purpose: See the Statement of Purpose Guidelines and supplemental questions to be answered in the “Admissions” tab of the MSW page here.
- Official GRE (Graduate Record Examination) scores: Official scores must be reported to institution code 5251. More information can be found at our Admissions FAQ page or, to schedule the test, at www.gre.org.
- Master of Social Work applicants: To be considered for a GRE waiver, complete this online form.
- Master of Social Work – Advanced Standing applicants: *Please note that Advanced Standing students do not have to submit GRE scores if they have a BSW from an accredited institution.
- TOEFL or IELTS Academic scores (International applicants only): All international applicants are required to submit official TOEFL or IELTS Academic scores.
- Three letters of recommendation: All letters should be submitted through the online application.
- Upload Transcripts from each post-secondary college/university attended:
- Upload each transcript to the Academic History section of the online application before submitting your application -or- upload to your application status page under the Upload Materials section if your application has been submitted.
- Review all requirements for submitting transcripts here.
- Failure to follow these requirements will delay your application processing.
If you need assistance with the application process, contact the Office of Admissions – Graduate Programs.If you want to learn more about our programs, contact the Office of Academic Assistance for the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at AYSEnroll@gsu.edu.
Statement of Purpose Guidelines
In order for the School of Social Work to obtain a clear picture of who you are, why you have chosen to enter the social work profession, your readiness for graduate education, and what motivates you to apply to Georgia State University’s Master of Social Work program, we ask you to write a statement of purpose and submit it with your application. This statement, which is an important part of your overall application, should NOT include a detailed description of your entire life; it should briefly cover important experiences, interests, and abilities as they relate to your seeking professional training in the School of Social Work. You should use the following statements to discuss your personal background, career objectives and personal evaluation. The Statement of Purpose should be no more than six typed, double-spaced pages and answer the following questions.
- Understanding that there are many helping professions, we are interested in knowing why you want to be a social worker. Describe the factors that have led to your decision to enter the social work profession. Discuss life experiences, other people, or educational, employment or volunteer experiences that have contributed to your decision. Discuss your understanding of the social work profession.
- Having read the School’s mission statement and description of specialization, discuss how your particular interests fit with our specialization in Community Partnerships.
- Discuss the personal qualities that equip you for the social work profession. Include any experiences in which you have exercised leadership, responsibility, and/or judgment. Discuss also what areas of your professional development you would like to strengthen.
- Discuss experiences you have had which make you believe that you can work effectively with people from diverse populations reflecting religious, racial, ethnic, handicapped status, socio-economic, gender, and sexual orientation differences.
- Discuss any extenuating circumstances which may have affected past academic performance.
ADVANCED STANDING APPLICANTS ARE ASKED TO ANSWER THE ABOVE QUESTIONS AND THE ONE BELOW.
- Having earned a Bachelor of Social Work degree, we would like for you to analyze a social work experience, using your practicum or employment (pick the most significant).
- What social work theory or theories did you find to be the most valuable in the experience?
- What did you learn from the experience?
- How will a Master of Social Work degree with a specialization in Community Partnerships help strengthen you as a social work practitioner? In the spirit of confidentiality we ask that you do not reveal names or organizations or individual people.
Field education at Georgia State is organized and implemented as a partnership between the educational community and the practice community in training future social work practitioners. Within this partnership, there are three key people to the success of the field education experience: the student, field supervisor, and faculty liaison. First is the student, who possesses the willingness and desire to observe, learn, take action, and reflect. The student’s professional development is guided and nurtured by the field supervisor whose role as teacher is pivotal in the student’s evaluation of self as an emerging professional social worker. The faculty liaison’s role is to provide ongoing support and information to the student and the field supervisor. Communication among all parties is critical in meeting the objectives of field education and maintaining a healthy partnership. Ongoing feedback is welcomed from all parties.
MSW students may choose to pursue one of the following certificate programs:
- Gerontology (Gerontology Institute)
- Nonprofit Management & Social Enterprise (Department of Public Administration)
- Geographic Information System (GIS) (Department of Anthropology & Geography)
- Public Health (Institute of Public Health)
What are the suggested prerequisites for the program?
Will there be a minimum GPA and GRE score required for admission?
There is no minimum GRE requirement for consideration to our graduate programs; however, the average score of a competitive applicant to our master’s programs would be a cumulative 800 points (pre-2011 testing) on the verbal and quantitative sections of the test and a cumulative 295-300 (post- August 2011 testing) on the verbal and quantitative sections of the test.
Can the GRE be waived?
- Applicants to the Master of Social Work program may be considered for a waiver of the GRE with departmental approval. MSW applicants should complete the following form for consideration: https://aysps.wufoo.com/forms/social-work-gre-waiver-request-form/.
- Master of Social Work – Advanced Standing applicants are not required to take the GRE if they have a BSW from an accredited institution. Contact Robert McCloud, Director of Student, Program & Community Services at 404-413-1394 or rmccloud@gsu.edu for details.
What is Advanced Standing, and am I eligible?
Where and when are classes held?
What is the policy for Transfer Admissions?
Who should I ask to provide recommendations?
How will I know if my application materials have been received?
When will I be notified regarding my admission status?
When is the priority deadline for filing M.S.W. applications?
How much does Full-Time Tuition cost and how can I check on my Financial Aid process?
What if I have more questions?
Mission and Goals
The Master of Social Work program strives to prepare students for social work leadership roles in the effort to solve, in partnerships with others, the existing and developing challenges that confront communities in the United States and internationally. Community partnerships, based on a generalist practice model, is the sole focus of the MSW program. Students in the Community Partnerships specialization are educated to advance the needs and capacities of the total community by promoting social and economic justice and maximizing human potential. They are educated to commit themselves to addressing the life circumstances, such as poverty, violence, discrimination, and disparities in social and economic justice that fall disproportionately on vulnerable groups and challenge the spirit of the entire community. This unique focus provides students with the opportunity to learn about social issues facing urban communities through a social and economic justice framework. Our graduates have become leaders in various service delivery sectors including health care, public child welfare services, non profit management, and numerous other contexts.
To accomplish the mission of the MSW program, the School of Social Work has set forth these goals: (1) students will be able to think critically and communicate effectively in the application of social work knowledge, skills, and values to community partnerships practice; and (2) students will be able to engage as social work leaders to build and strengthen communities.
MSW Competencies
The following competencies provide the structure for the graduate social work curriculum:
Contact an Admissions Advisor
General Questions
Office of Academic Assistance
Phone: (404) 413-0021
Email: gradays@gsu.edu
Program-specific Questions
Robert McCloud
Director of Student, Program and Community Services
Email: rmccloud@gsu.edu
Phone: 404-413-1394
Office: 55 Park Place, 5th Floor
Twitter: @GSUsocialwork | Facebook: www.facebook.com/GSUsocialwork
The Council on Social Work Education requires that current students show competency measures as part of their curriculum.
Click here for information on MSW 1st year.
Program Degree Requirements
Specialization: Community Partnerships (24 Hours)
- SW 8100 – Skills and Techniques of Community Partnerships (3)
- SW 8200 – Skills and Techniques of Community Partnerships II (3)
- SW 8300 – Leadership and Management (3)
- SW 8500 – Community Field Education I (6)
- SW 8800 – Community Project (3)
- SW 8900 – Community Field Education II (6)
Social Work Generalist Practice (30 Hours)
- SW 7100 – Foundations of Community Partnerships (3)
- SW 7200 – Human Development Through the Life Course (3)
- SW 7300 – Methods of Community Research (3)
- SW 7400 – Social Work Practice I (3)
- SW 7500 – Foundation Field Education I (5)
- SW 7501 – Diversity and Social Justice (1)
- SW 7600 – Social Welfare Policy (3)
- SW 7800 – Social Work Practice II (3)
- SW 7900 – Foundation Field Education II (6)
Social Work Electives
- SW 8450 – Child Maltreatment Practice, Policy, and Research
- SW 8460 – Aging Practice, Policy, and Research
- SW 8470 – Substance Abuse Practice, Policy, and Research
- SW 8490 – Child Welfare Practice, Policy, and Research
- SW 8310 – Group Facilitation
- SW 8315 – Social Media Tools for Community Partnerships Practice
- SW 8320 – Grant Writing
- SW 8330 – Health Challenges
- SW 8340 – Social Work and the Law
- SW 8350 – Economics of Poverty and Public Policy
- SW 8360 – Forensic Social Work
- SW 8370 – Psychopathology
- SW 8480 – Disabilities Practice, Policy, and Research
- SW 7950 – Selected Topics
- SW 7990 – Directed Individual Study
Advanced Standing Status
The Advanced Standing, Master of Social Work program is available only to applicants possessing a Bachelor of Social Work from a Council on Social Work Education accredited program awarded in the last five years. Advanced Standing applicants must have earned a grade of “C” or better, or be in the process of completing: Social Welfare Policy, Research Methods, Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Social Work Practice and Field Education. The application should include a copy of the final field evaluation. The Advanced Standing student will enroll for 9 semester hours in the summer session, and will be expected to fulfill the second year curriculum as noted in the full-time program.
Students who are admitted to and enter the Master of Social Work program as advanced standing students have met the 30 credit hours of Social Work Foundation course work as a result of their bachelor’s degree in social work from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. The students will be expected to take nine semester hours of bridge course work in the summer prior to beginning the specialization year course work. The nine semester hours will consist of:
- SW 7100 – Foundations of Community Partnerships, (3)
- SW 7501 – Diversity and Social Justice (1)
- SW 7700 – Community Foundation Integrative Seminar (2)
- SW Elective (3)
Given the nature of the knowledge and skills expected of advanced standing students, the purpose of the bridge course work is to provide students with the foundation content that is essential for entering the community partnership specialization year.
Full-Time Study
Students who are admitted to and enter the Master of Social Work program in full-time study can expect to complete their program of study in two years. All classes are held Georgia State University’s downtown campus Monday-Friday. Field placements are also held during the working hours of 9:00am-5:00pm. The full time program operates as a cohort model where all students will be admitted every fall semester.
Total Degree hours: 60 semester hours for full-time students
Part-Time Study
Students who are admitted to and enter the Master of Social Work program in part-time study can expect to complete their program of study in three years. The part time program operates as a cohort model where all students will be admitted every fall semester. Each course is offered through a blended model with online delivery and face to face learning once a month. Classes are offered one Friday a month and students can expect to meet from 9am- 4:30pm. This structure ensures that the classes that part time students need are offered in a way for continued progress to graduation.
Total degree hours: 60 semester hours for full-time and part-time students; 39 semester hours for advanced standing students.
Mindy Wertheimer, PhD, LCSW
MSW Program Director
mwertheimer@gsu.edu
(404) 413 1058
For additional information about the MSW program, please contact:
Robert McCloud
Director of Student, Program and Community Services
404-413-1394
Application Deadlines*
| Fall Semester | Summer Semester – Advanced standing only |
| Priority Deadline – February 1 | Priority Deadline – February 1 |
| Regular Deadline – April 1 | Regular Deadline – April1 |
*Online applications must be submitted and all materials received by the deadline to be reviewed for admission.
Application Submission Instructions
- Create an account.
- Start a new application.
- Select application type: “2018 Graduate Programs”
- Click “Create an application”
- Click “Open Application” to begin your application
- On the “Program Selection” page:
- Select College: “Andrew Young School of Policy Studies”
- Select Program: “Social Work; Master of Social Work” or “Social Work – Advanced Standing; Master of Social Work”
Application Requirements
A completed application includes:
- Submitted Online Application. All online applications must be submitted by the deadline. Paper applications are not available.
- Application fee: A nonrefundable fee of $50 is required for each application. This fee must be paid online by credit card.
- Statement of Purpose: See the Statement of Purpose Guidelines and supplemental questions to be answered in the “Admissions” tab of the MSW page here.
- Official GRE (Graduate Record Examination) scores: Official scores must be reported to institution code 5251. More information can be found at our Admissions FAQ page or, to schedule the test, at www.gre.org. ** Please note that Advanced Standing applicants are not required to submit GRE scores if they have a BSW from an accredited institution.
- TOEFL or IELTS Academic scores (International applicants only): All international applicants are required to submit official TOEFL or IELTS Academic scores.
- Three letters of recommendation: All letters should be submitted through the online application. If not submitted online, letters must be in sealed envelopes from recommender and sent to the Admissions Office address.
- Copies of Official Transcripts from each post-secondary college/university attended:
-
- Official transcripts are not required at this stage of application review.** Do not send paper copies unless instructed to do so.
- Transcripts should be uploaded to the Educational Information section of the online application and must be copies of university transcripts. This can either be an official electronic transcript, or a paper copy that you have scanned and uploaded.
- Copy of transcript must have one or more of the following features: registrar’s seal, registrar signature, or watermark of the institution.
- Documents such as self-printed academic histories, web-based academic evaluations, and anything hand-written are not acceptable for review process and should not be uploaded. Doing so will significantly delay the review of your application.
- Submit one copy of transcript for each post-secondary institution attended, regardless of length of time you attended, your status, whether grades are listed, or where your final degree(s) were received. This would include community colleges, study abroad programs and AP credit. If you received college level credit, a transcript should be submitted for review.
**Official transcripts will only be required if an applicant is admitted to the program.
If you issues with your online application, please email GradAYS@gsu.edu.
-
Statement of Purpose Guidelines
In order for the School of Social Work to obtain a clear picture of who you are, why you have chosen to enter the social work profession, your readiness for graduate education, and what motivates you to apply to Georgia State University’s Master of Social Work program, we ask you to write a statement of purpose and submit it with your application. This statement, which is an important part of your overall application, should NOT include a detailed description of your entire life; it should briefly cover important experiences, interests, and abilities as they relate to your seeking professional training in the School of Social Work. You should use the following statements to discuss your personal background, career objectives and personal evaluation. The Statement of Purpose should be no more than six typed, double-spaced pages and answer the following questions.
- Understanding that there are many helping professions, we are interested in knowing why you want to be a social worker. Describe the factors that have led to your decision to enter the social work profession. Discuss life experiences, other people, or educational, employment or volunteer experiences that have contributed to your decision. Discuss your understanding of the social work profession.
- Having read the School’s mission statement and description of specialization, discuss how your particular interests fit with our specialization in Community Partnerships.
- Discuss the personal qualities that equip you for the social work profession. Include any experiences in which you have exercised leadership, responsibility, and/or judgment. Discuss also what areas of your professional development you would like to strengthen.
- Discuss experiences you have had which make you believe that you can work effectively with people from diverse populations reflecting religious, racial, ethnic, handicapped status, socio-economic, gender, and sexual orientation differences.
- Discuss any extenuating circumstances which may have affected past academic performance.
ADVANCED STANDING APPLICANTS ARE ASKED TO ANSWER THE ABOVE QUESTIONS AND THE ONE BELOW.
- Having earned a Bachelor of Social Work degree, we would like for you to analyze a social work experience, using your practicum or employment (pick the most significant).
- What social work theory or theories did you find to be the most valuable in the experience?
- What did you learn from the experience?
- How will a Master of Social Work degree with a specialization in Community Partnerships help strengthen you as a social work practitioner? In the spirit of confidentiality we ask that you do not reveal names or organizations or individual people.
Field education at Georgia State is organized and implemented as a partnership between the educational community and the practice community in training future social work practitioners. Within this partnership, there are three key people to the success of the field education experience: the student, field supervisor, and faculty liaison. First is the student, who possesses the willingness and desire to observe, learn, take action, and reflect. The student’s professional development is guided and nurtured by the field supervisor whose role as teacher is pivotal in the student’s evaluation of self as an emerging professional social worker. The faculty liaison’s role is to provide ongoing support and information to the student and the field supervisor. Communication among all parties is critical in meeting the objectives of field education and maintaining a healthy partnership. Ongoing feedback is welcomed from all parties.
MSW students may choose to pursue one of the following certificate programs:
- Gerontology (Gerontology Institute)
- Nonprofit Management & Social Enterprise (Department of Public Administration)
- Geographic Information System (GIS) (Department of Anthropology & Geography)
- Public Health (Institute of Public Health)
What are the suggested prerequisites for the program?
Will there be a minimum GPA and GRE score required for admission?
There is no minimum GRE requirement for consideration to our graduate programs; however, the average score of a competitive applicant to our master’s programs would be a cumulative 800 points (pre-2011 testing) on the verbal and quantitative sections of the test and a cumulative 295-300 (post- August 2011 testing) on the verbal and quantitative sections of the test.
Can the GRE be waived?
- Applicants to the Master of Social Work program may be considered for a waiver of the GRE with departmental approval. MSW applicants should complete the following form for consideration: https://aysps.wufoo.com/forms/social-work-gre-waiver-request-form/.
- Master of Social Work – Advanced Standing applicants are not required to take the GRE if they have a BSW from an accredited institution. Contact Robert McCloud, Director of Student, Program & Community Services at 404-413-1394 or rmccloud@gsu.edu for details.