Overview
The justice-informed MSW advanced standing program builds on CSWE's nine core generalist competencies and prepares graduate students for advanced, justice-informed, ethical, and professional social work practice and licensure while emphasizing the commitment to the values of social work practice. With its emphasis on clinical practice, the justice-informed curriculum is based on nine specialized competencies and meets the Minnesota Board of Social Work's requirements for the 360- hours of clinical content required to sit for the ASWB clinical licensure exam including differential diagnosis, clinical treatment planning, clinical intervention methods, evaluation methodologies, social work values/ethics, and culturally specific assessment and intervention. For additional details, please refer to the Minnesota Board of Social Work website.
In the context of a liberal arts environment and with an ecosystems perspective, students learn how to apply advanced critical thinking skills at micro, mezzo, and macro levels while pursuing human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice in local and global contexts. The program fosters an emergent social imaginary that engages clients and constituencies as experts in their own experiences and builds upon the strengths and resiliency of all human beings. The integration and exploration of elements of diversity and the theology of justice allow students to learn how to practice advanced justice-informed social work through scholarship, service, justice, and leadership. Graduates of the justice-informed MSW program are also well-equipped to practice systems-level work across multiple contexts.
Admission Requirements
The Master of Social Work: Advanced Standing Program will consider applicants who:
- Meet the general requirements for admission to the Graduate School.
- Submit an official transcript (U.S. schools) or NACES or AICE evaluation (international schools) showing an earned baccalaureate or higher degree and official transcripts or NACES or AICE evaluations from all graduate schools attended.
- Have earned a baccalaureate degree in Social Work from a CSWE accredited institution.
- Submit three current professional Admission References.
- Submit a written Statement of Purpose.
- Submit a current resume.
- Interview with the program director or enrollment counselor if requested.
Students who have not achieved the minimum GPA, grade standards, or other assessment criteria may still apply to be considered for provisional acceptance. See Admission Categories.
Degree Requirements
Master of Social Work (MSW): Advanced Standing
The required curriculum for the Master of Social Work comprises a 36 semester credit sequence of courses.
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
SOWK 703 | Introduction to Advanced Justice-Informed Social Work Practice | 2 |
SOWK 707 | Justice-Informed Clinical Intervention and Mental Health Diagnosis | 4 |
SOWK 709 | Justice-Informed Clinical Practice in Response to Crisis, Trauma, and Marginalization | 4 |
SOWK 713 | Researching Evidence-Based Models for Practice Intervention | 4 |
SOWK 717 | Theodicy, Theologies of Liberation, and Social Work Praxis | 4 |
SOWK 725 | Advanced Field Seminar III * | 2 |
SOWK 733 | Advanced Social Policy, Community Health, and Environmental Justice | 4 |
SOWK 735 | Advanced Field Seminar IV * | 2 |
SOWK 737 | Advanced Clinical Practice and Evidence-Based Interventions | 4 |
SOWK 743 | Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Social Work Supervision | 2 |
SOWK 791 | Capstone Integrative Seminar | 4 |
Total Credits | 36 |
- *
Course must be taken for credit at Bethel.