Social Work

Social Work, Doctor of Philosophy

Doctoral | On Campus

Admission Criteria

Fall deadline: December 1

• An MSW or related master’s is required. Applicants without the MSW must take a minimum of 12 credit hours of MSW course work. This requirement may be waived for applicants with additional graduate work.
• Minimum of two years post-master’s practice experience encouraged
• TOEFL or IELTS required for applicants who’s second language is English

These criteria are used flexibly to assess the applicant’s potential for study and research in this program.

Minimum Language Requirements

Click here to view the minimum English language proficiency test scores

Required Application Materials

For the Graduate School

• Completed Graduate School online application
• Unofficial Transcripts- As part of the application submission process, all applicants are required to upload unofficial copies of all post-secondary transcripts to the online application. Official transcripts are only required if accepted by the academic program.
• Official Results of English Proficiency Exams (International applicants only)

For the Social Work Program (submitted via the Graduate School online application system)

• Three letters of recommendation: two letters from professors who have known the applicant in an academic capacity. Please do not include personal, pastoral and relative references.
• Current curriculum vita or resume. A minimum of two years’ postmasters practice experience is preferred.
• Writing proficiency sample (e.g., previous publication, book chapter, master’s thesis, unpublished research paper, etc.)
• Personal statement (see department instructions)
• A personal interview is required, and if possible, will be arranged at MU. A Skype interview may be utilized in some cases.

Social Work, Joint MSW-PhD Program

Doctoral, Master's | On Campus

Admission Criteria

• 3.0 or better GPA in the last 60 hours of baccalaureate coursework and a 3.0 (3.5 recommended) GPA in all graduate level coursework.
• A grade of B or higher in all research methods and statistics courses taken within the last 5 years.
• Statistics Prerequisite:
  • You must complete an approved college level statistics course with a grade of B or higher.
  • MU courses: SW 4310 is the recommended course for MU students, but Statistics 1200, Statistics 1300 and ECP 4170 are also approved courses.
  • Non-MU courses: If you completed a statistics courses at another institution, it may be approved, pending submission of your transcript and approval by the MSW Program Director.
  • We recommend you complete your statistics course before applying. If you are enrolled in a statistics course when you are accepted to the MSW program, your acceptance will be “pending successful completion of the approved statistics class.”
• A Master’s degree or a minimum of two years of work experience in the social work field.

Minimum Language Requirements

Click here to view the minimum English language proficiency test scores

Application Process

You must be admitted to both the MSW and PhD programs before you are accepted as a joint-degree student. You will apply to both programs at the same time through the Graduate School by submitting one application. That application will serve as your application for both the MSW and PhD programs, and the Graduate School.

First, create an account on the Graduate School application system. There, you will select either “Doctorate-On Campus” or “Master’s On-campus” from the drop-down menu under Degree/Delivery. Either of these options will allow you to select “Social Work/Joint MSW-PhD Program” from the drop-down menu under Academic Program.

Required Application Materials

For the Graduate School

• Completed Graduate School online application
• Unofficial Transcripts- As part of the application submission process, all applicants are required to upload unofficial copies of all post-secondary transcripts to the online application. Official transcripts are only required if accepted by the academic program.
• Official Results of English Proficiency Exams (International applicants only)

For the Social Work Program (submitted via the Graduate School online application system)

• Three letters of recommendation
• Resume or CV
• MSW program personal statement
• PhD program personal statement
• Writing sample
• English Proficiency Exam scores for international students (Click here to view the minimum test scores)

Click here to view detailed information about the required application materials.