Admission Criteria

Prerequisites for Admission

A bachelor's degrees from a regionally accredited college or university. The bachelor's degree should include a solid background in the liberal arts, as evidenced on the transcript by courses in the arts, humanities, and behavioral and social sciences. Applicants should have knowledge about diverse cultures, social problems, social conditions, and the social, psychological, and biological determinants of human behavior. Applicants with undergraduate degree majors in social work or a related field or discipline will be given preference over applicants with other majors.
Completion of a least 18 semester credits (or 27 quarter credits) in two or more social science disciplines, such as sociology, psychology, economics, anthropology, or political science.
Strong academic preparation as demonstrated by undergraduate GPA.
Potential to contribute to the social work profession. Preference is given to applicants with professional experience in social work/human service settings, particularly when this experience involves working with under-represented and protected classes. Volunteer experience can also strengthen the application.

Enrollment Prerequisites

Admitted applicants must complete a college-level course in biology with content on human anatomical and physiological development and a college-level class in statistics. The biology course must be completed before registering for the first semester in the MSW program, and the statistics course must be completed before registering for the first research course. Interested persons can apply and be admitted before completing the enrollment prerequisites, and not having completed the prerequisites does not influence the review of your application.

Advanced Standing

Applicants with a Bachelor of Social Work degree from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education may apply for admission to the advanced standing program. All other applicants are ineligible for this program.

UMD Department of Social Work Commitment to Diversity

Recruiting and maintaining a diverse student body has special meaning for Social Work education. One of the central missions of Social Work is a commitment to social and economic justice for all members of our society. In order to fulfill this mission it is critical that we attract diverse students into social work education programs and ultimately into Social Work as a profession. The Department of Social Work at the University of Minnesota Duluth has a special focus on the recruitment and retention of american Indian students, as part of an overall priority to address the needs of American Indian communities.

Language Requirement - None The GRE and MAT are not required.

Admissions Review Process

MSW Program faculty review each application to determine the degree to which admissions criteria are met, as described below:

The bachelor's degree, major, and coursework are determined from the official transcript(s), and item #1 on the MSW Program Application Form;
Academic preparation is examined from the transcript and academic reference, and only a small percentage of applicants with less than a 3.00 undergraduate grade point average can be admitted (special circumstances are reviewed from item #5 on the MSW Program Application Form, along with your academic references);
Potential to contribute to the social work profession is assessed by the personal statement, reference letters, and completed courses listed on the transcript;
Professional experience is examined primarily from responses to the item #4 on the MSW Program Application Form;
Experience working with under-represented and protected classes and potential to contribute to the diversity of the MSW program is determined from item #6 on the MSW Program Application Form

Updated 7-12-04