CRITERIA FOR ADMISSION AND OTHER POLICY INFORMATION Criteria for Admission | Prior Felony Convictions | Updating a Previous Application
Transfer Credits | Applicants with International Credentials | Offers and Reservations of Admission
Accomodations for Students with Disabilities
Determination of admission is made by the School’s Admissions Review Board. Minimum requirements for consideration for admission to the Master of Social Work program are:
• A baccalaureate from a regionally accredited college or university. • A minimum of 24 credit hours in the liberal arts. • For full-status admission to the regular MSW program, a minimum 3.0 grade point average on the last 60 credits leading to the baccalaureate. Applicants with less than a 3.0 with an otherwise strong application are considered for provisional admission. • Advanced Standing status is available to students who have completed, within five years prior to their enrollment in the School, an undergraduate program in social work accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. These students must have earned a minimum 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale on the last 120 credits that appear on their bachelor’s degree transcript, as well as a 3.0 on the last 60 credits. (Applicants with a “C” grade in a Practice class are ineligible for Advanced Standing.) Applicants must also be recommended for Advanced Standing by their department chair. Full-time Advanced Standing students will typically complete 6 credits in the summer before the start of the advanced field instruction or in the summer following advanced field instruction and complete 30 credits in the fall and spring semesters. Those who qualify may receive up to 24 semester hours of credit toward the MSW degree.
Advanced Standing students must earn the MSW within two years of their initial registration at the School of Social Work. Advanced Standing students may complete the MSW in one year of full-time study or two years of part-time study, provided that the degree is awarded within seven years of the baccalaureate graduation. • Prerequisite coursework in human growth and development throughout the lifespan and introductory statistics is required. These undergraduate prerequisite requirements may be taken at any accredited college or university, including community colleges. It is acceptable for applicants to be enrolled in these courses while applications are being evaluated; however, both requirements must be successfully completed before the first day of the first semester. All offers of admission are conditional upon the completion of these prerequisites.' • The human growth and development prerequisite requires the study of the entire lifespan. The requirement may be met with a single course or a combination of courses. Nearly all community colleges and universities in Maryland have a single-semester course in human growth and development (sometimes referred to as developmental psychology), usually taught in the psychology department, but sometimes taught in a related department, such as education. Courses in child development, adult development, and aging may be combined to fulfill the lifespan component of the prerequisite. The statistics prerequisite refers to the portion of the research process that involves the quantitative manipulation and analysis of data. The course should cover both descriptive and inferential statistics. Courses in research methods and tests and measurements usually will not fulfill the statistics prerequisite. For applicants who have knowledge of human growth and development and/or statistics without formal coursework, exemption exams are offered in late spring as a way to demonstrate competence. Another option is School of Social Work-sponsored, noncredit workshops in human growth and development and statistics. Each workshop meets two evenings per week during the summer session. Additional information about the prerequisite workshops is sent with offers of admission. • You must own a computer and have access to the Internet when you enroll in the program. The following computing skills are necessary for entry into this program:Word Processing–You should be comfortable enough with a word processing package to create a properly formatted document conforming to the guidelines of the latest edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Applicants whose grade point average is 2.5 or below on their last 60 credits must submit official Graduate Record Examination or Miller Analogies Test scores to us via mail. Applicants whose records meet one or more of the following criteria may elect to submit official Graduate Record Examination or Miller Analogies Test scores to the Admissions Committee: • Applicants whose undergraduate work was completed outside of the United States • Applicants who attended an undergraduate institution that used a nontraditional grading scale • Applicants who have earned a substantial number of credits on a pass/fail basis • Applicants whose grade point average on the last 60 hours of academic work leading to the award of the bachelor’s degree is below a 3.0 (excluding grades for field instruction, if applicable) • Applicants who feel, for any reason, that their formal academic record is not an accurate, or the best, predictor of their ability succeed in graduate school
Note: Test scores are considered only if they enhance the academic performance rating. You must allow sufficient time for the exam to be graded and for the official score report to be received by the deadline. Score reports must be sent directly from the testing agency to the School of Social Work. For more information about these tests, write or call:
Graduate Record Examination Educational Testing Services
P.O. Box 6000
Princeton, NJ 08541-6000
609-771-7670
800-GRE-CALL
www.gre.org
Institution code: 5848
Department code: 5001
Miller Analogies Test Psychological Corp.
555 Academic Court
San Antonio, TX 78204-2498
800-622-3231
milleranalogies.com
Institution code: 2340
Advanced Standing applicants must also submit the following: • Recommendation for Advanced Standing form, (available online after submitting your application) completed and signed by the undergraduate social work department chairperson. The Recommendation for Advanced Standing form requires specific consideration of your readiness for the Advanced field experience. • Advanced standing students who graduated four to five years ago must submit a letter of reference (one of the letters of reference required for admissions) from an employer or supervisor who is familiar with his or her post-BSW social work practice. Transfer applicants who are currently or were previously enrolled in another accredited master’s-level social work degree program are required to submit the following additional materials: • A copy of their practicum/field work evaluation(s), if applicable (send with deposit). • One of the recommendations must be from the applicant’s current/former faculty advisor and must address his or her academic standing in that program.
Keep copies of all documents you submit and askyour references to retain a copy of their letters of recommendation as well. SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES Prior Felony Convictions
Applicants who indicate on their application that they have a prior felony conviction will be asked to supply documentation on the nature of the offense and the disposition. If admitted to the program, conditions may be placed upon them such as restrictions on choice of area of study and field instruction related to the nature of the felony conviction. Certain agencies require a criminal background check as well. Potential applicants are also advised that the Professional Standards Committee of the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners may refuse to issue a license or certificate of registration to any person who has been convicted in this or any other state of any crime that is a felony in this state. Students may be automatically denied admission, or if enrolled, terminated from the program, if they have not been truthful or have provided inaccurate information in the application concerning felony convictions.' Updating a Previous Application
If you submitted a complete application for fall 2008, your application will be processed with all materials that were retained in your 2008 file. We cannot provide copies of any previously submitted materials. For spring or fall 2009 applications, you must submit: • The completed online application form (four pages) • A $55 nonrefundable fee via mail along with the signature page [$75 for a mailed-in paper application] • Final undergraduate transcript (if not already sent) • One or more current references • A revised personal statement (optional) • Graduate Record Examination or Miller Analogies Test scores (if applicable) must be received by Nov. 15, 2008, for spring, and by March 2, 2009, for fall 2009
TRANSFER CREDITS
Under certain circumstances, students may receive a maximum of 30 semester hours for work completed not more than five years prior to first registration (at UMBMSW) from a CSWE-accredited graduate school of social work, and for which a grade of at least a “B” was received. The entire MSW program, including transfer credits and UMB-MSW coursework, must be completed within six years. Students must complete a minimum of 30 credits at the University of Maryland School of Social Work to be eligible for the master’s degree. Students currently or previously enrolled in another accredited master’s-level social work degree program who are seeking admission as transfer students are required to submit the following additional materials: 1) a brief written statement describing why they are requesting a transfer; 2) a copy of their practicum/field work evaluation(s), if applicable; and 3) one of the recommendations must be from the applicant’s current/ former faculty advisor and must address the applicant’s academic standing in the program.
Under certain circumstances, a student may receive a maximum of 6 transfer (elective) credits for a course that has earned a grade of “A” or “B” in another discipline, within four years prior to enrollment here; each course will be individually assessed for social work relevancy. Official determination of allowable credit for work completed elsewhere will be made at the time of admission, but an unofficial evaluation is available on request. No credit will be allowed after the student’s initial registration at the School. A course that is considered to have content equivalent to the required course, but has only 2 credits, may be accepted for transfer. The student will be exempt from taking that course, but must take the additional credit in the specific sequence. Students transferring courses from a quarterly system must also make up the difference in credits. Any student registered in the program who wants to take a course at another university and transfer credit toward the University of Maryland’s master of social work degree (i.e., a summer course) must receive approval from the Associate Dean for the Master's Program in advance. This transfer course is handled by the Office of the Associate Dean for Administration. APPLICANTS WITH INTERNATIONAL CREDENTIALS
An applicant with international educational credentials must provide the Office of Admissions with a document that translates the credentials into English, evaluates the degree for equivalency to degrees awarded in the United States, and provides information to enable the interpretation of grades. Respected sources for the required documentation include: World Education Services
P.O. Box 745, Old Chelsea Station
New York, NY 10113-0745
212-966-6311
800-937-3895
info@wes.org The Knowledge Company
13022 Monroe Manor Dr., First Floor
Herndon, VA 20171
www.knowledgecompany.com Educational Credential Evaluators
P.O. Box 514070
Milwaukee, WI 53203-3470
414-289-3400
414-289-3411
faxeval@ece.org
www.ece.org
Evaluating international credentials can take up to two months. International applicants for fall 2007 must submit credentials for evaluation and take the TOEFL in time to have the results reach us by the March 1, 2007, deadline. An applicant with international educational credentials in social work may also provide the Office of Admissions an equivalency determination document from: Foreign Equivalency Determination Service
Council on Social Work Education
1600 Duke St.
Alexandria, VA 22314-3457
703-683-8080
www.cswe.org
English Proficiency
To demonstrate English proficiency, a minimum TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 550/213 is required of applicants for whom English is not their native language. TOEFL scores must be sent directly from the Educational Testing Service to the School. At the discretion of the assistant dean for admissions, the TOEFL requirement may be waived for applicants who have earned acceptable grades from another U.S. college or university. For more information about the TOEFL exam, contact: Test of English as a Foreign Language
Educational Testing Service
Rosedale Rd.
Princeton, NJ 08541-6151
609-771-7100
www.toefl.org
Institution code: 5848
Department code: 95
OFFERS AND RESERVATIONS OF ADMISSION
The School strives to officially notify all applicants of the Admissions Committee’s decision by U.S. mail within six to eight weeks of the submission of a complete application packet. To reserve your space in class, we must receive your confirmation and a $300 nonrefundable tuition deposit by the deadline indicated in your offer-of-admission letter. Applicants must respond to a written offer of admission for a specific semester. To accept or decline the offer of admission, applicants must notify the Office of Admissions in writing. Failure to do so may result in the cancellation of admission. Admitted students may not change from full-time to part-time status, or vice versa, without the approval of the assistant dean for admissions. Once the incoming class has been admitted, applicants who desire a change in status may be wait-listed. Provided that the confirmation deposit has been paid, a request for a change in status does not jeopardize the original offer of admission; however, no guarantees can be made as to availability. Offers of admission to currently enrolled undergraduates are made pending receipt of final transcripts showing the award of a bachelor’s degree. All official awards of Advanced Standing are made pending receipt of the final transcript showing the award of the bachelor’s of social work degree and evidence that all other criteria have been met. Accommodations for Students With Disabilities
Do you have a disability? If you would like to request classroom and/or field accommodations for a disability, please contact UMB’s Office of Student Services at 410-706-7117, or the SSW Office of Student Affairs at 410-706-5100, for additional information. The process will be explained and required documentation will be specified. Accommodations will not be made retroactively. top | 
