The Master of Social Work program, which is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, provides students with specific knowledge and skill for advanced clinical or managerial practice of social work. The graduate will be prepared for leadership roles in either clinical social work practice, or management, policy and program planning. Graduates will be qualified for employment by both public and private agencies on local, state and national levels. The curriculum is designed to encourage innovative responses to human and social need.

The MSW curriculum is a sixty-credit program. Students elect either a clinical practice concentration or a management concentration. The first year is structured to provide the student with a generalist base of practice. The student is required to demonstrate beginning skills and competence in the foundations of social work practice with individuals, families, small groups, communities, and organizations.

The second year is structured around the student's area of specialization in one of the following fields of practice: Elders and Families; Children and Families; Community Mental Health/Substance Abuse; and Health Care Systems. Two, three and four year plans are available, but students must complete the program within four years.

ADMISSIONS PROCEDURES
Applicants for the MSW program need to complete all admissions materials required by the School of Graduate Studies and the Social Work Department. All applications for students that are not applying for the Advanced Standing Program are due on February 16. All applications for Advanced Standing students are due February 1.

Applicants should call the Social Work Admissions Office (392-6624) for admission materials. Applicants are responsible for insuring that application files are complete.

It is understood that student continuance in the social work program is contingent upon positive on-going faculty evaluation of academic performance in real and/or simulated professional training situations, and on the appropriateness of responses, attitudes, and behaviors consistent with the NASW Code of Ethics and with the standards of acceptable social work practice.

PLAN OF STUDY
The program is designed to be completed in two years of full time study. However, students needing more time are encouraged to select a three or four year plan of study. The extended study student must meet the same admission requirements as the full-time student. The student follows the same curriculum structure and course sequence, but takes fewer courses per semester. Students are required to be enrolled as a full-time student for one academic year during the period of extended study.

ADVANCED STANDING POLICY
An applicant who is a graduate of an accredited B.S.W. Program is eligible for advanced standing. If approved for advanced standing, the following courses upon evaluation may be waived: SWK 510, 550, 532, 533, 534, 570, and 571.