A complete application means that you have submitted your application form to the Graduate School online application system and they have received all required transcripts, applicable test scores and fees. The Graduate School, when indicating the application process is complete, does not assess whether applicants have submitted the appropriate program supplementary statements. It is the applicant’s responsibility to be sure all required items (listed below) are submitted. Be careful, the application cannot be edited or changed once submitted. Note that you are not required to upload documents into the “Statement #2”, “Extenuating Circumstances,” “Graduate Program Additional Application,” “Description of Research or Work Experience,” “Other Credentials,” “Upload 1” or “Upload 2” sections of the Graduate School application.

In the Applicant Statement section of the Graduate School online system, applicants have the opportunity to upload two documents referred to as Statement #1 and Statement #2. School of Social work applicants, however, need only complete the required Personal Statement that is described below. Applicants will then upload that entire document into the Graduate School application system in place of Statement #1 and ignore Statement #2.  Applicants should not respond to the questions provided by the Graduate School, but rather to the questions outlined below.

The School of Social Work Personal Statement is a series of three questions to be answered in one document. Your answers should help the reviewer know you as an individual and should explain your experiences and the qualities that distinguish you and contribute to your interest in and preparation for the field of social work. All three questions must be addressed, either individually or combined, for a total of approximately 2,000 words.

QUESTION 1: What is your understanding of social work as a profession and its role in creating a just society?

QUESTION 2: What has contributed to your interest in a career in social work?
Please give us a candid evaluation of yourself. Describe specific life experiences that have shaped your interest in social work, including personal, professional and related experiences. Discuss your abilities and strengths relative to professional social work, and include a discussion of areas you would like to strengthen or develop more fully. What professional and career goals have you established for the next five years, and how will the M.S.W. help you reach these goals?

QUESTION 3: What experiences (both personal and professional) have helped you to prepare for working in a multicultural environment? What challenges will you face in preparing for this work?
Describe your experiences to date, as well as your goals for further developing your skills for culturally competent professional social work practice through the M.S.W. program.  
 

Successful applicants are able to conceptualize, articulate and organize complex ideas in writing and draw upon, integrate and reference the ideas of others in order to arrive at their own position.

Include a sample of your writing that demonstrates skill in academic research and writing and addresses the following in approximately 1,500 words:
Present and discuss a current debate or issue in social welfare at the city, state, provincial, or national level as it is being discussed by scholars, policymakers and/or current stakeholders. Use this discussion to illustrate your perspective on social welfare and society, and to discuss the role society might play in providing for the social and/or economic needs of its citizens.

DO NOT SUBMIT materials such as case notes, grant proposals, legal briefs, newsletters, articles, personal narratives, poetry, drama, works of fiction, or PowerPoint presentations. Academic work prepared for other purposes is acceptable if it addresses the above criteria; however, we ask that you submit clean copies (no instructor comments or grades).
 

Submit three (3) letters of recommendation. We recommend that at least two be from professionals who are familiar with the field of social work and have supervised or observed your work in human services. Please use the online system through the Graduate School application to identify your recommenders. We prefer that recommenders submit online, but they also have the option of mailing the recommendation to the School of Social Work by placing the letter in an envelope with a completed Applicant Recommendation Form (accessed by clicking “Downloadable Forms” within the Graduate School application). Send to: M.S.W. Admissions Office, 105 Peters Hall, 1404 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul MN 55108   Recommenders are asked to use the following special instructions when completing their letter: Please comment on the applicant’s most outstanding characteristics and those in greatest need of development, applicant’s demonstration of creativity in work and independence in thinking, ability to work with and/or lead others, ability and sensitivity to work with diverse populations, potential to be an effective advocate for oppressed populations, and any other factors reviewers should consider.  Please state whether applicant is prepared to engage in supervised professional practice in a social work field setting.

In addition to the transcripts required by the School of Social Work (described above), the Graduate School will ask for official transcripts of each college/university you’ve attended.  These must be received by the application deadline in order for your application to be complete.

Official transcript required from each college/university attended (sent directly from institution). Send to:
Graduate School Admissions Office
321 Johnston Hall
101 Pleasant St. SE
Minneapolis MN 55455

Most applicants are not required to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Official GRE scores less than five years old are required if undergraduate grades were non-traditional or more than 1/3 of credits were taken pass/fail.

International applicants for whom English is not the native language must submit official TOEFL scores to the Graduate School. Scores must be less than two years old. The minimum scores required are:

• 550 on paper test
• 79 on internet based test (iBT) plus section scores of at least 21 on the writing section and 19 on the reading section

If your undergraduate GPA is less than 3.0, include a short statement (less than 250 words) explaining the factors that influenced your undergraduate studies. In addition, please describe your potential for successful graduate studies.