Master of Social Work

BSW Entry – full-time, one-year professional graduate degree program offered to students with a first level social work degree from a university program accredited by the Canadian Association for Social Work Education (CASWE).

Applicants must satisfy the following minimum requirements:

1. A Bachelor of Social Work degree from a recognized university with a minimum GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.3 scale). Students in their final year of a BSW program are eligible to apply and may be given provisional acceptance pending completion of degree requirements by May 30 of the year of entry to the MSW program. Applicants who do not satisfy these minimum requirements are not considered further in the selection process.
   
   
2. A minimum of 1500 hours or one-year, full-time equivalent of social work-related work experience. This may be paid or volunteer work, but must not include field placement, practicums, co-op, or internship work. Experience must be clearly demonstrated through the submission of a curriculum vitae.

Applicants will be assessed on academic and professional readiness. Satisfying the minimum requirements will not guarantee admission.

The application deadline is January 30. All application materials and supporting documents must be received by the Admissions Office on or before the deadline.

Admission Criteria

Note:  The School of Social Work reserves the right to interview an applicant should it be necessary to evaluate professional readiness for the program.

Non-BSW Entry – full-time, two-year graduate degree program offered to students with a complete undergraduate degree program (120 credit hours) from a recognized university and in the social sciences.

Applicants must satisfy the following minimum requirements:

1. A completed undergraduate university degree (120 credit hours) in the social sciences from a recognized university with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better on the most recent 60 undergraduate credit hours is required.
   
   
2. Successful completion of two introductory social work courses, SCWK 2013 Introduction to Social Welfare and SCWK 2023 Introduction to Social Work, or evidence of completing equivalent course work.

Applicants who do not satisfy these minimum requirements are not considered further in the selection process.

3. Preference will be given to applicants with a minimum of 1500 hours of one-year, full-time equivalent of social work-related work experience. This may be paid or volunteer work, but must not include field placement, practicums, co-op, or internship work. Experience must be clearly demonstrated through the submission of a curriculum vitae.

Applicants will be assessed on academic and professional readiness. Satisfying the minimum requirements will not guarantee admission.

Students in the first year of the program must successfully complete all course work with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 to be able to progress to the second year.

The application deadline is January 30. All application materials and supporting documents must be received by the Admissions Office on or before the deadline.

Admission Criteria

Note: The School of Social Work reserves the right to interview an applicant should it be necessary to evaluate professional readiness for the program.

Application Procedures

International applicants:  a WES evaluation of your previous university-level studies completed outside of Canada.  Applicants whose primary language is not English must submit an official English language proficiency score. For minimum score requirements for this program, please contact the Admissions Office at admissions@stu.ca.

Registration

Following acceptance to the program, MSW students must register for the program by the deadline specified in their letter of offer. Any student not registering by the registration deadline will be required to re-apply for admission. To register, follow the steps below.

1. Contact your assigned faculty advisor to discuss and review your program of study.
   
   
2. Obtain written approval of your program of study from your faculty advisor well in advance of registration.

Educational Equity Admissions Policy 

The School of Social Work recognizes that some applicants may experience structural barriers to education opportunities due to identification with a specific group, including stereotypical assumptions and structural disadvantages that privilege some groups over others. St. Thomas University and the School of Social Work are committed to the principles and practices supporting educational equity. The School affirms the principle that individuals from all marginalized groups should have the opportunity to learn and contribute to  a more inclusive profession of social work that better reflects the diversity of Canadian society.

For the purpose of this policy, persons eligible to apply using the Equity Policy include:

• Canadian Indigenous Peoples including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit.
• Visible minority persons other than Canadian Indigenous Peoples, who because of their colour are a visible minority in Canada.
•  Immigrants who are Permanent Residents and who do not record Canadian Citizenship by birth.
• Refugees that have been accepted for residence in Canada, and that left their country of origin because of persecution for belonging in a particular social, cultural, religious and/or national group or for holding particular political beliefs.
• Persons with disabilities who consider themselves as disadvantaged by reason of any physical, mental, intellectual, sensory or learning impairment.
• 2SLGBTQ+ persons that self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transexual, two-spirited, queer or intersex. 

Applicants must meet the minimum academic requirements and self-identify in the online application. Each applicant is considered individually on the basis of their qualifications, rather than in relation to other applicants.

Guidelines for Personal Statement

Your personal statement should be no more than 1,500 words, double-spaced, and in 12-point font. Please respond to the following:

A. Describe the experiences, skills, qualities, and/or personal identities (e.g., disability status, racialized identity, gender, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, etc. ) that you bring that would be helpful in working with diverse populations.

B. Drawing from your work experience, indicate with examples what interests you about structural approaches to social work. How do you expect to learn and achieve your career goals within the context of the MSW program at St. Thomas University?

C. Indicate your current scholarly and professional interests and how the MSW program at St. Thomas University will help you achieve these. This information will be used to inform advance practicum and thesis options.

D. Clearly indicate whether you are applying to the thesis or advanced practicum option.