Transfer Credit & Exemptions

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 UMB) 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 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 with strong backgrounds in policy, research, and human behavior, wishing to take more advanced elective credits, are STRONGLY encouraged to take the exemption exam(s). Those who pass the exemption exam(s) must still complete 60 credits to earn the MSW degree. What changes by the successful exemption is the distribution of credits, enabling students to increase the number of elective credits. Students who are exempted from courses should consult the academic advisor for special assistance in program planning.

All entering students are eligible to take exemption examinations for three foundation courses:

• SOWK 600—Social Welfare and Social Policy [3 credits]
• SOWK 645—Human Behavior and the Social Environment [3 credits]
• SOWK 670—Social Work Research [3 credits]

The exemption exams offer the opportunity for enrolling students who believe they have already covered foundation content in these courses to place-out of one or more of them.

For more information, contact Prism Shilling, prism.shilling@ssw.umaryland.edu