School of Social Work Kuali PDF Assoc Prog

Personnel

Dean: Laura Racovita

MSW Program Director: Stephanie Guster

Director of Field Education: Candy Dolcy

Graduate Enrollment Counselor: Tricia Foster

Faculty: Evie Nogales Baker, Lunelle Bertresse, Candy Dolcy, Stephanie Guster, Nina Nelson, Laura Racovita, Cornel Rusu, Kristie Wilder

Mission Statement

The mission of Southern Adventist University's Master of Social Work (MSW) program is to prepare advanced generalist practitioners within a Christian learning environment for service and excellence in evidence-based social work practice.

Degrees Offered

The School of Social Work offers a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree. The following emphases are offered each year, based on adequate levels of student interest:

• Mental Health and Practice in Social Work
• School Social Work
• Crisis and Emergency Management

Admission

MSW Admission Levels

The MSW program provides two levels of admission: Foundation Placement and Advanced Placement. Students who are accepted into Foundation Placement (61 credits) may complete the program with full-time enrollment over two years, or part-time over four years. Admission to the Advanced Placement level is available only to individuals who have completed an undergraduate social work degree (BSW) from a CSWE (Council on Social Work Education) accredited school. Students who are accepted into Advanced Placement (33 credits) complete the program in three semesters over 12 months with full-time enrollment, or in 24 months on a part-time basis.

Foundation Placement Admission Requirements

Applicants seeking admission to the Foundation Placement level of the MSW program must meet the requirements stipulated by the School of Social Work as follows:

1. Application: Complete the university's graduate application.
2. Prerequisite undergraduate degree: Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
3. Transcript(s): Provide official transcript(s) demonstrating coursework with a strong liberal arts background.
4. GPA Requirement: Possess a preferred GPA of at least 2.75 (on a 4.00 scale) for the last 60 college credits earned at the baccalaureate level. Any lower GPA will result in the applicant being considered for provisional admission, which will require an interview with members of the MSW Leadership Team.
5. Professional References: Submit two professional recommendations from a college professor or work supervisor. Should the MSW Leadership Team have further questions about the applicant's aptitude for a career in social work, they may request a personal interview, third reference and/or additional information.
6. Personal Statement: Submit a personal statement describing the applicant's motivation for graduate school in the field of social work. Guidelines for the personal statement are located on the School of Social Work and Graduate Studies websites.
7. Résumé: Submit a professional resume.
8. International students must:
   1. submit official transcripts along with an evaluation by an accredited evaluation service.
   2. achieve a TOEFL score of 82-86 (Internet-based) or DuoLingo of 115 within the past year (OR the previous 12 months) prior to application.” 

Exceptions may be made for persons who do not meet GPA requirements if they are strong candidates on the basis of other criteria. Applicants are notified of their acceptance status via email 3-6 weeks after all application materials are submitted to the School of Social Work

Advanced Placement Admission Requirements

Admission to the Advanced Placement level is available only to individuals who have completed an undergraduate social work degree (BSW) from a CSWE (Council on Social Work Education) accredited school, or applicants who have successfully completed the Foundation year of education at a CSWE accredited Masters of Social Work program.

1. Application: Complete the university's graduate application.
2. Prerequisite undergraduate degree: Bachelor's degree in social work from a recognized college or university program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, or proof of successful completion of the foundation year of education at a CSWE accreditated Masters of Social Work program.
3. Transcript(s): Provide official transcript(s) demonstrating coursework with a strong liberal arts background.
4. GPA Requirement: Possess a preferred GPA of at least 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) in social work courses. Any lower GPA will result in the applicant being considered for provisional admission, which will require an interview with members of the MSW Leadership Team. In connection with the GPA requirement, applicants may have no more than one grade of C in core social work course. However, if an applicant has one additional grade of C in a lower division social work course, they may be considered for provision admission.
5. Professional References: Submit two professional recommendations from a college professor, work supervisor, or a field instructor. Should the MSW Leadership Team have further questions about the applicant's aptitude for a career in social work, they may request a personal interview and/or a third reference reflecting past satisfactory practice experience from the applicant's field placement faculty liaison, field instructor, or current human services job supervisor.
6. Personal Statement: Submit a professional statement describing the applicant's motivation for graduate school in the field of social work. Guidelines for the personal statement are located on the School of Social Work and Graduate Studies websites.
7. Résumé: Submit a professional resume.
8. International students must:
   1. submit official transcripts along with an evaluation by an accredited evaluation service.
   2. achieve a TOEFL score of 82-86 (Internet-based) or DuoLingo of 115 within the past year (OR the previous 12 months) prior to application.” 

Exceptions may be made for persons who do not meet GPA requirements if they are strong candidates on the basis of other criteria. Applicants are notified of their acceptance status via email 3-6 weeks after all application materials are submitted to the School of Social Work.

Reapplication

In the event an applicant is not granted admission to the program, he/she may reapply for the following academic year. Applicants are encouraged to meet with the MSW program director to explore remedial options before reapplying.

Admission Cycle

The MSW program uses a rolling admission process until a cohort of up to 25 graduate students in each admission level has been selected out of the pool of applicants each academic year.

Transfer Students

Students/applicants wishing to transfer to Southern Adventist University's MSW program from another accredited college or university must follow the same application procedure for program acceptance as other students. Transferring graduate students must complete at least 75% of the Advanced Placement requirements at Southern. Transfer grades must be B or higher. Southern does not transfer P grades. If the student would like to transfer credit for a core social work course, it must be from a CSWE accredited graduate program in order to be considered.

Progression

Completion of summer orientation modules are required of all students upon enrollment into either the Foundation or Advanced Placement. Foundation students must satisfactorily complete all Foundation-level courses, including the foundation field practicum, before progressing to Advanced Placement. Students are required to maintain both academic and non-academic standards to remain in the MSW program. First, the university's academic standards for retention must be met and sustained. However, even if a student's academic performance is satisfactory, it may become necessary, due to unsatisfactory professional performance, to advise a student to reconsider his/her goodness-of-fit to the field of social work. Failure to maintain academic and non-academic standards may result in termination from the MSW program. General procedures regarding MSW program progression and retention are as follows:

1. Students in the MSW program are responsible for taking full ownership of meeting all academic and non-academic retention requirements.
2. University academic standards for retention must be met and sustained, as follows:
   1. Students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0, earning a grade below B- in no more than two courses.
   2. Courses with an earned grade of C- or below will not be counted for credit toward the master's degree.
3. The MSW Leadership Team will evaluate students' grades and GPA at the end of each semester. If a student's academic performance does not meet the university's standards, the student will be notified via email that the MSW Leadership Team will be doing a review of his/her status in order to determine whether extenuating circumstances are present. Decisions about student retention in such instances will be made by the MSW Leadership Team on a case-by-case basis
4. A student may be asked to withdraw from the MSW program for any of the following non-academic reasons:
   1. Academic honesty breaches.
   2. Failing the field practicum.
   3. Failing to abide by professional values and work ethics, as outlined by the NASW Code of Ethics.
5. When there is evidence that a student is not meeting the professionalism standards outlined in the MSW program policy, the student will be notified via email that the MSW Leadership Team will be doing a review of his/her status in order to determine whether the student may be retained in the program. Decisions about student retention in such instances will be made by the MSW Leadership Team on a case-by-case basis.

Graduation Requirements

1. Students must complete and submit a Graduation Contract, with Graduate and Professional Studies , a minimum of two months prior to the expected graduation date. The form is located on Southern's Records webpage: southern.edu/records.
2. Students must complete all coursework with a minimum grade point average of 3.00, including no more than two classes with a grade below B-. Classes with a grade of C- or below will not be counted for credit toward the master's degree.
3. Successfully defend the portfolio capstone.

Additional Information

Academic Credit for Life Experience

Field experience courses are required of every social work student and no academic credit is given for life experience or previous work experience. No course credit in the professional foundation or advanced curriculum is waived because of previous employment and/or past experiences.

Associated Programs