Master of Social Work, M.S.W.

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Overview

The MSW program, established in 1974 and the oldest graduate social work program in the state of Mississippi, is a 60-credit-hour master’s program. A 34-credit-hour advanced standing MSW degree program is available to highly qualified students who meet eligibility requirements.

Career Opportunities

Career opportunities for well-prepared master’s-level social workers are extensive. Social workers provide social services to more people in Mississippi and across the United States than any other professional group. Social work professionals use a wide variety of empirically based methods to help individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities solve a broad range of problems. Social work professionals are in demand in many human service arenas, including

	Home Health and Hospice	Public Health
	Child and Family Welfare	School Systems
	Mental Health	Early Childhood
	Substance Abuse	Youth Services
	Family Violence	Armed Forces
	Vocational Rehabilitation	Gerontology
	Public Welfare	Hospitals
	Corrections and Court Systems	Employee Assistance
		Public Policy

Field Instruction

Quality hands-on field instruction experiences (practica) are vital to graduate social work education. Students in the 60-credit-hour MSW program complete a minimum of 900 hours of field instruction. Students admitted to the advanced standing program complete a minimum of 600 hours of field instruction. Field placements are available to students in more than 130 social service agencies, located primarily in South Mississippi. While in field placement, students receive direct guidance and supervision from experienced field instructors who hold the MSW degree. Field placement courses include a required weekly seminar, and are graded on a pass/fail basis.

Special Program Requirements

Program Options. The school offers a number of MSW program models for qualified applicants: 1) a five semester model, 2) an eight semester extended model, 3) a three semester advanced standing model.

Semester of Admission. Hattiesburg and Gulf Coast applicants are admitted in the fall semester.

Application Deadline. Applications are accepted at any time. Students are encouraged to complete all admission requirements by March 15 to ensure consideration for the following fall semester.

Admission Criteria

Applicants to the School of Social Work are evaluated and admitted without discrimination on the basis of age, gender, race, religion, color, creed, ethnic or national origin, disability, political, or sexual orientation.

All applicants to the MSW program are evaluated and admitted on the basis of the following criteria:

a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university
a minimum of 12 semester hours of liberal arts coursework
the grade point average (GPA) on the last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework required by the Graduate School
official scores of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores (all sections)
a written personal statement
a written response to a case situation
three letters of recommendation from persons qualified to assess the applicant’s readiness for graduate study
International applicants must submit official TOEFL or IELTS scores.

Applications to the advanced standing program are evaluated on the basis of the additional criteria below:

Advanced Standing. Qualified applicants to the MSW program who hold a BSW from an accredited program, or who have completed equivalent foundation curriculum coursework at an accredited school of social work, may be exempted from up to 26 credit hours of MSW foundation coursework.

Applicants holding the BSW degree and applying for advanced standing must meet the following criteria:

accepted by the MSW Admissions Committee to the MSW program
BSW degree from a CSWE accredited program. (less than five years since graduation)
minimum GPA of 3.0 in the last 60 hours of baccalaureate education
minimum GPA of 3.5 in the undergraduate social work program overall, with a grade of B or better in all required social work courses
GRE scores
a passing score on a comprehensive examination given by the School of Social Work

Grade Point Average. For applicants to either the 60-credit-hour full-time or extended MSW programs, the GPA on the last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework must be at least 3.0. For applicants to the 34-credit-hour advanced standing program, the GPA on the last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework must be at least 3.0 and the GPA for the undergraduate social work program must be at least 3.5.

Graduate Record Examination. The official scores of the GRE are required for admission. Applicants should schedule the exam so as to allow sufficient time for submission of exam scores by the priority deadline of March 15; call 1-(800)-473-2255, or access the GRE Web site at http://www.gre.org for details.

Conditional Admission. The school adheres to university policies with regard to admission of graduate students on a conditional basis. The university regulations concerning conditional admission for full-time or part-time students are stated in this Bulletin under Admission Requirements and Procedures .

Continuous Enrollment Requirement: Students must meet the requirement specified in the front section of this Bulletin.

Plan of Study. Students must submit their signed, official Plan of Study Form to the Graduate School by the end of the second semester they are enrolled. The Plan of Study Forms are available at www.usm.edu/graduateschool/planofstudy.php - click on the “Plan of Study” link.

Research and Scholarly Integrity Education

All faculty holding Regular or Associate graduate faculty status, must complete CITI training modules required by the Graduate School and their departments. All graduate students must complete the CITI training modules required by the Graduate School and their departments the first semester they are enrolled in graduate school. The RSIE policy and training information are found on the Graduate School web page –www.usm.edu/graduate-school. Contact the Dean of the Graduate School if you have any questions regarding the policy of training information.

Degree Progression Requirements

There are two basic curriculum models available to students matriculated in the graduate social work program. Courses included as part of any of the following curriculum models must be taken in accordance with respective progression plans. The MSW degree can be earned through a 60 or 34-hour model. New cohorts of students begin every fall at the Hattiesburg campus and every three years at the Coast campus. All students must complete a comprehensive exam and have a 3.0 GPA to graduate.

The 60-Hour Model is the traditional graduate social work degree. This model requires students to complete the degree requirements in either a full time or extended model. The full time model is generally a five- semester program. The extended model is an eight semester program in which students enroll for two or three courses each semester.

60- Hour MSW Program

(Regular Full and Extended Models)

SWK 600 - Human Rights & Social Justice in a Diverse Society 3 hrs.
SWK 603 - Professional Social Work Development I 1 hr.
SWK 604 - Professional Social Work Development II 1 hr.
SWK 607 - Systems and the Human Life Course 3 hrs.
SWK 611 - Problem Solving with Individuals 3 hrs.
SWK 613 - Problem-Solving with Groups 3 hrs.
SWK 614 - Social Work Integrative Seminar I 2 hrs.
SWK 616 - Social Work Integrative Seminar III 2 hrs.
SWK 615 - Social Work Integrative Seminar II 2 hrs.
SWK 618 - Social Welfare Policy and Context 3 hrs.
SWK 619 - Evidence Based Practice in Social Work 3 hrs.
SWK 626 - Social Work Part-Time Field Education I 1 hr. *
SWK 627 - Social Work Part-Time Field Education II 1 hr. *
SWK 629 - Problem Solving with Families 3 hrs.
SWK 641 - Social Work Part-Time Field Education III 2 hrs.
SWK 642 - Social Work Part-Time Field Education IV 2 hrs.
SWK 643 - Advanced Social Work Practice I 3hrs.
SWK 644 - Advanced Social Work Practice II 3 hrs.
SWK 645 - Management, Supervision and Leadership in Social Work 3 hrs.
SWK 646 - Program and Community Development 3 hrs.
SWK 647 - Social Work Integrative Seminar IV 2 hrs.
SWK 651 - Time-Limited Intervention 3 hrs.
SWK 659 - Social Work Full-Time Field Education I 2 hrs.
SWK 661 - Social Work Full-Time Field Education II 2 hrs.
SWK 662 - Social Work Full-Time Field Education III 2 hrs.
SWK 692 - Special Problems 1-6 hrs.
SWK courses to be determined by the School of Social Work 8 hrs.

Note:

* Prerequisite: USM GPA of 3.0 or higher required.

34- Hour Model

The 34- Hour Model is considered the Advanced Standing program. (See admission criteria on the previous page under “Advanced Standing.”)

Students accepted into the Advanced Standing program can elect to be a part of the full time or extended models.

34- Hour MSW Program (Advanced Standing Full and Extended Models)

Specific Social Work courses will be determined by the School of Social Work for students entering the 34-hour Advanced Standing MSW program.

Either curriculum plan requires students to successfully complete field internships. Students enrolled in the 60-Hour Model are required to complete 900 hours at two different supervised internships. The internships are completed as a concurrent (2-3 days per week) experience. The prerequisite to all field courses (SWK 626 , SWK 627 , SWK 641 ,
SWK 642 , SWK 659 , SWK 661 , SWK 662 , SWK 673 ) requires a USM GPA of 3.0 or higher. The 34-Hour Model (Advanced Standing) requires students to complete two 300-hour concurrent internships. All field experiences must be coordinated through the School’s Coordinator of Field Education to assure compliance with School and CSWE standards.