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.

From online application system, click “Social Work (Twin Cities)” link toward the bottom of the left-hand column on your screen and complete form.  Some questions will be required and, therefore, won’t allow you to submit an application without indicating an answer. 

In addition, the form will ask you to upload electronic copies of your transcripts. The School of Social Work requires copies of all transcripts in addition to those required by the Graduate School.  This includes all colleges/universities you’ve attended.  The copy can be of an official transcript or an unofficial grade report simply downloaded from a college website. Degree audit forms are not acceptable. It is preferred that just one electronic document be submitted and contain the images of all your transcripts. However, if this isn’t possible, you can submit multiple transcript documents.  Make sure that you use an appropriate scanning resolution -- the scanned files should be legible on screen and on a printer, but can't be too big (500 KB max) and should be in the format of .doc, .xls, .pdf, .wpt, or .txt.   You should prioritize uploading the transcript of the most recently attained degree, or if no degree has been attained, the most recently attended institution.

If electronic copies are illegible or if you do not have access to uploading electronic copies, please mail official or unofficial copies of your transcripts to:
School of Social Work Admissions Office
105 Peters Hall, 1404 Gortner Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55108
by the application deadline. This is in addition to the official copies that need to be sent to the Graduate School.

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 consists of two sections to be answered in one document:

Section 1: Research Interests: It is very important that the admissions committee understands your interest in research in social work. Discuss the specific social work and social welfare problems or questions that you are interested in researching and explain how such research might contribute to knowledge in the field of social work/social welfare. The committee welcomes a broad variety of research problems or questions including those geared to helping the profession better meet the needs of a diverse society. In addition, please describe your past or present research training or experience and how you see research as part of your future career goals. Feel free to discuss any other aspects of your research interests that you would like the admissions committee to know about.

Section 2: Career Goals: The admissions committee is also interested in more general information about your career goals. In this section, please address the reasons for your interest in doctoral study, your overall career goals, how doctoral work relates to your future career goals, how research and teaching fit with your goals, and any additional information that you would like the admissions committee to consider when reviewing your application.

Please submit samples of scholarly writing (e.g., sole-authored publications, manuscripts, presentations prepared for professional conferences, course papers, etc.) that provide evidence of your ability to conceptualize effectively and communicate complex ideas and which demonstrate clarity, organization and the appropriate use of grammar and style. If co-authored materials are submitted, please attach a statement specifically describing your contributions to the work. Informal examples of writing such as newsletter articles or power point presentations are not acceptable writing samples.

For each experience, include the following information in the order listed:

• Agency name or professional affiliation
• Agency address and phone
• Your position or role
• Supervisor’s name and title
• Status of the position as: paid, volunteer, internship, consultant and number of hours per week
• Start and end dates and total time in years and months
• Description of principal duties and responsibilities

In your resume you should also list publications, presentations, teaching experience, research experience, and any honors or awards.

Three (3) letters of recommendation are required. Please select references who are able to comment on your potential for research and scholarly activity as well as the quality of your professional practice. Letters of recommendation from personal friends with whom you have not had a professional working/academic relationship carry little weight. At least one, if not two, of your letters should be from a former professor who is able to comment on your academic and research potential.

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 academic and professional characteristics and those in greatest need of development, applicant’s demonstration of creativity in work and independence in thinking, demonstrated written and oral communication skills, ability to work with and/or lead others, ability and sensitivity to work with diverse populations, ability to contribute to the knowledge base of social work through original research, and any other factors reviewers should consider. 

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

All applicants are required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). You must submit official scores from the GRE taken within the past five years. For further information on the GRE contact:

• Educational Testing Service, 609-771-7670 or www.gre.org
• Thompson Prometric GRE Registration Center, 1-800-473-2255 or www.2test.com

International applicants for whom English is not the native language must submit official TOEFL scores. 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