Master of Social Work Overview

Clinical social workers help solve urgent problems faced by so many people — children and adolescents, people suffering from substance abuse, veterans, people with medical conditions, older adults, hospice patients and many other members of our communities. Master of Social Work colleges prepare you to meet these challenges. If you have the drive to help individuals and families, enroll in the University of Southern Indiana’s Master of Social Work degree to get started.

Our Master of Arts in Social Work allows you to concentrate on your area of interest while gaining a broad view of the profession in the core Master of Social Work courses. Wherever your passion lies, you can follow it by choosing one of the specialties identified by the Council on Social Work Education.

The challenges are real, and social workers help people survive and thrive, whatever life brings. Whether you have an undergraduate degree in social work or another field, we’ve designed our Master of Social Work degree program to accommodate your learning needs. As one of the most affordable Master of Social Work colleges in Indiana, we provide the education to prepare you to empower the people in your community.

USI's program prepares students with the knowledge, skills and values for clinical social work practice based on the Nine Competencies of Social Work Practice. The Social Work Department continuously evaluates student development of these competences through measured practice behaviors.

The USI Master of Social Work program can be completed in one or two years, dependent on whether or not the student has a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree and is a full-time or part-time student.

Information for Out-of-State Students

The USI Master of Social Work program can be completed in one or two years, dependent on whether or not the student has a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree. The Full-Time (Day) Track is the only option, at this time, for students with degrees in psychology, sociology, philosophy or other disciplines.

	Full-Time (Day) Track	Full-Time (Day) Advanced Standing Track	Part-Time (Evening) Advanced Standing Track
Bachelor of Social Work?	No	Yes	Yes
Number of Credit Hours	54	31	31
Years to Completion	2	1	2
Enrollment Status	Full-time	Full-time	Part-Time
Graduation	May	May	May

The Master of Social Work program also can be completed concurrently with the Master of Public Administration program.

Dual Master of Social Work (MSW) / Master of Public Administration (MPA)

Global Social Work Elective Option

The Social Work Department has partnered with International Orphanage Relief to offer an outstanding service-learning opportunity in Jamaica. Graduate students may participate, earning either one or three credits to qualify as one of the two required MSW electives, for details see the USI Global Social Work website.

Course Modality

The Master's of Social Work curriculum is offered in both fully on-campus and fully online tracks.

Online Learning

USI faculty and staff are dedicated to giving you the support you need no matter the modality for which you're taking classes. Check out our robust resources for online students including what online learning is, technology requirements and frequently asked questions.

Online Student Resources

Credits Breakdowns

Credit Hours

54
Credits

Total Credits

54
Credits

The Master of Social Work program requires applicants have a bachelor's degree from a regionally or comparably accredited institution. Applicants with an undergraduate degree other than a Bachelor of Social Work should apply to the two-year full-time track.

Admission to the Master of Social Work program requires:

Admission to Graduate Studies;
Earned bachelor degree from an accredited college/university before starting the program;
A cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for all undergraduate course work attempted or a 3.0 GPA for the last 60 semester hours;
Evidence of writing skills compatible with graduate-level standards;
Evidence of potential to develop into a solid graduate-level professional social worker. A personal interview and/or additional evaluative data may be required of applicants;
Prerequisites: Applicants must complete prerequisite courses with a grade of C or better. Minimum of 24 hours (eight courses) of social/behavioral sciences:

Introduction to psychology course or its equivalent;
Introduction to sociology course or its equivalent
Social work, psychology, sociology or other social science research methods course;
Social work, psychology, sociology or other social science statistics course;
Four courses from any of the following disciplines: social work, psychology, anthropology, sociology, criminal justice, gender studies, political science or economics.

Prerequisite course content older than 10 years may be considered upon review.

Students transferring from other graduate programs must submit an Evidence of Good Standing Verification Form, available from the Social Work Department. Students may transfer, with approval, up to 12 graduate credit hours.

The MSW Program does not grant academic credit for life or work experience in lieu of social work course or field content.
International students are required to have a score of 550 on the paper-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or 79 on the Internet-based TOEFL or 6 on the IELTS (International Language Testing System).

To get started, complete the following four steps:

1.) A completed USI Application for Graduate Study and $40 application fee.

2.) Upload the following to your application account.

Resume/CV
As part of the application, you will be required to upload your resume/CV as a PDF file. The resume/CV file name should be Lastname-firstname-resume.pdf (ex. Smith-Joe-resume.pdf).Your resume/cv should include the following information:

All college/universities attended, starting with the most recent, and include the name of the institution, dates attended, and degree(s) awarded. If no degree was awarded, please state such.
Employment history, starting with the most recent, and include name of organization, location (city and state), a brief description of duties and dates of employment.
Field/Internship experiences, starting with the most recent, and include name of organization, location (city and state), a brief description of duties and dates of employment.
Relevant volunteer activities, starting with the most recent, and include name of organization, location (city and state), a brief description of duties and dates of employment.
As part of the application, you will be required to upload your resume/CV as a PDF file. The resume/CV file name should be Lastname-firstname-resume.pdf (ex. Smith-Joe-resume.pdf)

Personal Statement/Narrative
Answer the following questions as an opportunity to describe yourself, and the qualities beyond academic grades that make you ideally suited to be a Clinical Social Worker. Responses should be thoughtful, honest, yet professional, and should demonstrate excellent writing skills, critical thinking, insightfulness, and self-awareness. Be comprehensive, yet succinct in your response and use examples from your life experiences.

Life Experience - Describe events and life experiences that have informed your choice to pursue a Master of Social Work degree and a career in Social Work.
Values - Describe the ways that your personal values, beliefs, and interests are congruent with the mission and philosophy of social work.
Diversity - Think about situation(s) when you had to deal with differences in age, race, disability, ethnicity, gender, religious and/or sexual orientation. Based on your experience, how do you plan to work with diverse and vulnerable people?
Additional Experiences - What experiences have allowed you to develop the skills necessary to be an effective social worker?
Summary - Provide a final summary of your statement, highlighting what you consider to be the most important points for the admission committee to know about your application to the MSW Program.

Professional References
- You will be required to provide three professional references including name, email and phone number. An email will be sent to each of these individuals upon submission of this application requesting a reference.

3.) Submit official transcripts to Graduate Studies.

Official electronic transcripts are preferred and can be emailed from the previous institution to Graduate.Studies@usi.edu
Mailed transcripts can be sent to this address:
Graduate Studies
University of Southern Indiana
8600 University Blvd.
Evansville, IN 47712

4.) International students may be required to provide additional information.

Admission Policy

It is the applicant's responsibility to provide all required materials to the Social Work Department by the application deadline. Applications are reviewed when all materials have been received by the Social Work Department MSW Admissions Committee.

Admission decisions for the Master of Social Work (MSW) Program are based upon:

A review of past academic performance;
Relevant work and/or volunteer experience;
Letters of recommendation;
A personal statement;
An admission interview (when required).

Indiana Public Law 11-1994 and MSW Admission

In order to fully comply with Indiana Public Law 11-1994 (conviction of sexual offenses against children), the Social Work Department will conduct a criminal history check of students requesting admission to the Master of Social Work program. This check will be conducted at the point of admission and upon entering the field placement. A student who has been convicted of sex offenses against children as identified in P.L. 11-1994 will not be granted admission to or allowed to continue in the Master of Social Work program.

Individuals who were convicted of such crimes outside of the state of Indiana are required to report their intent to reside more than seven days in the area within Indiana to local law enforcement authorities having jurisdiction in the area of intended residence.

Career Outlook

Evansville Regional Data National Data

There are a wide variety of career/practice areas for Bachelor's of Social Work (BSW) and Master's of Social Work (MSW) degree graduates. The Occupational Outlook Handbook lists social work as having faster than average job growth. Professional social workers work to assist clients in solving human problems.

Graduates work in a variety of settings including social services agencies and programs, health care institutions and services, communities, correctional systems, schools and government (at all levels).

Social workers work with different populations (children, adolescents, adults, elderly), social problems (substance abuse, mental and emotional problems, corrections, child maltreatment), and levels of practice (individuals, families, communities).

Many agencies, programs and health care institutions require licensed professional social workers due to accreditation, licensing, certification and governmental requirements. Detailed information is available in the Social Work Department or by going to the National Association of Social Workers website.

Evansville Regional Data National Data

Top Regional Occupations by Income

*income information provided by O*NET Online. Occupation opportunities vary by region and experience.