Social Work M.S.W.

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Social Work M.S.W.

 Credit Hours: 62

 Program Length: 28 months

 Cost: $770 / $845 per credit

UNH's online Master of Social Work program educates social work professionals to work effectively with diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities to optimize human potential for productive participation in society. Our Advanced Generalist Curriculum prepares students for effective advanced intervention with client systems of various sizes and to work in any setting where social workers are employed.

What is social work?

Social work is a field dedicated to helping others and empowering people, families and groups to effect positive change in their lives and communities. Our master’s in social work program offers flexible options tailored toward your needs. You’ll develop your professional knowledge and skills to work in fields such as healthcare, education, substance abuse, child welfare, employee assistance programs, the military and other human services disciplines.

Why study social work at UNH?

Studying social work at UNH, you’ll earn a Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accredited MSW from an outstanding New England University. You’ll learn from full-time faculty who are passionate about social justice and experts in their field of practice. Our advanced generalist curriculum offers a wide range of elective courses, and you’ll be able to specialize in areas including disabilities; health and mental health; addictions and substance abuse; and children, youth and families. You’ll also gain hands-on experience while making a difference in your community through two local field internships.  

Potential careers

  • Child welfare case worker
  • Community health worker
  • Community outreach organizer
  • Juvenile/adult criminal justice social worker
  • Medical social worker
  • Mental health social worker
  • Public health administrator
  • Public policy analyst
  • Research assistant
  • School social worker
  • Substance abuse counselor

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Application Requirements & Deadlines

Curriculum & Requirements

The M.S.W. program features an advanced generalist concentration, which is the most common concentration in social work. It is very well suited for practice in rural, suburban, and urban settings and is viable for career positions where a CSWE-accredited degree is required. Completion of the M.S.W. program provides the foundation for license eligibility. 

MSW students will be able to select three electives in one or more fields of practice:

  1. Health and mental health;
  2. Addictions and substance abuse;
  3. Children, youth, and families,
  4. Disabilities; or a self-designed field of practice.

M.S.W. Degree Requirements

An M.S.W. candidate must complete 62 credit hours of 800- or 900-level courses including two, two-semester field internships, comprising a total of 1,240 hours in the field. Grades below the B­ level in a graded course or a "fail" in a credit/fail course are considered failing grades for the purposes of determining academic standing. Repeating a course does not remove the original failing grade from the record. Graduate students receiving failing grades in 9 or more credits, received either in three courses or in any combination of courses taken twice, will be dismissed from the M.S.W. program.

Although a significant portion of the curriculum is required, students will be able to complete three elective courses. At least one of these must be taken from among Department of Social Work course offerings.

Core MSW Program Advanced Generalist Courses

Core courses
SW 820Social Welfare Policy I3
SW 830Social Work Practice I3
SW 840Implications of Race, Culture, and Oppression for Social Work Practice3
SW 850Human Behavior and the Social Environment I (HBSE I)3
SW 880Field Internship I 13
SW 860Research Methods in Social Work3
SW 831Social Work Practice II: Practice in Small Groups and Community Organizations3
SW 851Human Behavior and the Social Environment II (HBSE II)3
SW 926Social Welfare Policy II3
SW 881Field Internship II 23
SW 930Advanced General Practice III: Clinical Assessment and Intervention3
SW 952Human Behavior and the Social Environment III3
SW 962Data Analysis and Statistics3
SW 982Field Internship III 34
SW 931Advanced Generalist Practice IV: Community and Administrative Practice3
SW 965Program and Practice Evaluation3
SW 983Field Internship IV 44
Electives
Select three 3-credit elective courses of social work (other graduate programs with permission):9
SW 801
Women and Aging
SW 805
Child and Adolescent Risks and Resiliency: Program, Policy and Practice
SW 806
Social Action in the Dominican Republic
SW 812
Understanding Developmental Disabilities
SW 813
School Social Work
SW 814
Introduction to Addiction: Assessment and Intervention
SW 815
Practice with Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People
SW 816
Addiction: Myth, Science and Policy
SW 819
Addiction Recovery
SW 865
Adventure Therapy: Facillitation and Processing of the Experience
SW 870
Intimate Partner Violence
SW 897
Special Topics in Social Work and Social Welfare
SW 957
Fund Development and Grantwriting
SW 973
Interventions with Groups
SW 974
Social Work Supervision
SW 975
Theory and Practice of Family Therapy
SW 979
Social Work and the Law
Total Credits62

Deadlines

Applications must be completed by the following deadlines in order to be reviewed for admission:

  • Fall: June 1
  • Spring: November 1
  • Summer: March 1

Application fee: $65

Campus: Online

New England Regional: No

Accelerated Masters Eligible: No

New Hampshire Residents

Students claiming in-state residency must also submit a Proof of Residence form. This form is not required to complete your application, but you will need to submit it after you are offered admission or you will not be able to register for classes.

Transcripts

If you attended UNH after September 1, 1991, and have indicated so on your online application, we will retrieve your transcript internally; this includes UNH-Durham, UNH-Manchester and UNH Non-Degree work. 

If you did not attend UNH, or attended prior to September 1, 1991, then you must request one official transcript be sent directly to our office from the Registrar's Office of each college/university attended. International transcripts must be translated into English. We accept transcripts both electronically and in hard copy:

  • Electronic Transcripts: Please have your institution send the transcript directly to grad.school@unh.edu. Please note that we can only accept copies sent directly from the institution.
  • Paper Transcripts: Please send hard copies of transcripts to: UNH Graduate School, Thompson Hall- 105 Main Street, Durham, NH 03824. You may request transcripts be sent to us directly from the institution or you may send them yourself as long as they remain sealed in the original university envelope.

Letters of recommendation: 3 required

Recommendation letters submitted by relatives or friends, as well as letters older than one year, will not be accepted.

At least one letter must attest to observed skills in a volunteer or employment setting that would be indicative of success in the social service field.

Personal Statement/Essay Questions

Applicants must provide a well-constructed double-spaced essay of 4-5 pages. Please respond to the questions below:

  1. How did you become interested in social work?
  2. What personal, academic, organizational, volunteer and/or paid work experiences have influenced your choice of social work as a profession?
  3. Being in an online program requires you to be able to use a variety of technologies. Can you describe (in one paragraph) your experience with the use of technology and your comfort and ability to learn new technologies and software?
  4. Briefly discuss a current social issue of great concern or interest to you.
  5. Describe some intellectual and personal attributes that you believe make you particularly suited for the profession of social work.

Statements must be included with your submitted application.

Resume

A current resume is required with your submitted application.

Additional Department Requirements

Significant volunteer and/or work experience in the field is strongly recommended. Graduation from an accredited undergraduate institution with a broad liberal arts background is required.

International Applicants

Prospective international students are strongly encouraged to complete our international pre-application process and are required to submit TOEFL, IELTS, or equivalent examination scores. Please note that English Language Exams may be waived if English is your first language. If you wish to request a waiver, then please visit our Test Scores webpage for more information.

Questions

For program-specific application questions, please contact the UNH Online Student Success Coaches: unh.online@unh.edu or 855.250.6699

Explore Program Details

Your field education, internship, is about applying and doing, the opportunity for you to connect the theoretical and conceptual contribution of the classroom with the practical world of the practice setting.  Classroom and field each contribute to the development of a students’ competencies of professional practice.  Graduate school is a rare opportunity to have so many people; your field supervisor, faculty and other students, supporting your professional development. 

How Field Education Works:                     

Students are required to complete two field internships at a program or agency in their local community and work with Social Work Department field office to identify acceptable field sites. The most important objective of the field internships is to prepare students for competent social work practice. Internships enhance learning by providing students with opportunities to integrate and apply theories, research, values, methods and practice skills acquired throughout the curriculum to the reality of work with individuals, families, groups, and communities. Both the internships and concomitant seminars stress the importance of learning to recognize and respect the dignity and worth of diverse client systems regardless of race, color, gender, age, creed, ethnic or national origin, ability, political, or sexual orientation. Below is some important information about the field experience.

  • Field instruction is concurrent with coursework; students are required to take co-requisite Social Work Practice and Field Seminar courses at the same time while interning.
  • During the first field internship students spend two days per week (16hrs) in the field for four e-terms.
  • In the second field internship students spend three days each week (24hrs) in the field for four e-terms.
  • Based on student and agency need, some flexibility in the day and time may be possible; however, there are no placements on the weekend. 
  • Students in their first internship are placed in settings that enable them to obtain generalist practice skills, while second field internships are in agencies that offer opportunities to learn Advanced Generalist skills.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR FIELD

MSW FIELD MANUAL

Tuition & Fees:

Tuition for 2018-19 Academic Year:

  • $770 per credit for New Hampshire (NH) residents
  • $845 per credit for non-NH residents                                                                  

Program Total Number of Credits: 62

Technology Fee per Semester:

  • 1-4 credits $26.00
  • 5-8 credits $51.25
  • 9-16 credits $102.50

ADDITIONAL TUITION & FEES INFORMATION 

Financial Aid

Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loans is the form of federal financial aid available to Graduate Students. To apply, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The UNH priority deadline is March 1. This is the date by which the FAFSA must be received by the federal processor, however, if your application is received after March 1st you will still be considered for the Federal Direct Loan, which is not subject to the priority deadline.

The basic eligibility requirements to be considered for Financial Aid include:

  • Attend classes at least half-time (5 or more credits per semester).
  • Enrollment in a degree program.
  • Documentation of United States citizenship or eligible non-citizen status.
  • Must maintain satisfactory academic progress.

ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL AID INFORMATION

Scholarship Opportunities

Although the Social Work Department has no direct departmental aid for online students, there are other ways to make your education affordable:

Learn more about the Child Welfare and Partnerships Training

View additional Scholarship Opportunities

Loan Forgiveness Programs

Under some circumstances, you can have your federal student loan forgiven, canceled, or discharged. Explore the links below to learn some of the ways through which federal loans can be fulfilled.

Our online Master of Social Work courses are taught by the same full-time faculty who also teach our on-campus courses. This means you are getting the same education online as you would on campus.

View UNH Social Work Faculty

Our program has five 8-week e-terms per academic calendar year. Students who successfully complete two courses per e-term, as outlined below, earn their degrees in 28 months. Taking fewer courses per term will extend the completion timeframe.

Sample Schedule - Starting in Fall/August

Sample Schedule - Starting in Spring/January

Sample Schedule - Starting in Summer/May