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Ready to find out what MSU Denver can do for you? We’ve got you covered.
Download our step-by-step walkthrough (PDF) or read the information below.
If you are looking for personal statement and/or case study instructions and prompts, those can be found under Step Three or you can download the MSW Application Personal Statement Instructions & Prompts (PDF) or the MSW Application Case Study Requirements & Prompts (PDF).
The MSW Regular Program (for students with an undergraduate degree not in social work) is fall-start only and the MSW Advanced Standing Program (for students with an undergraduate degree in social work) is summer-start only. Learn more about program eligibility on our main application page.
The MSW Program offers two course delivery options: fully online and mixed traditional (combination of on campus and online courses). You will select which course delivery you are applying for at the very beginning of your application. This cannot be changed after application submission, but can be changed after acceptance. Course delivery option does not impact your chance of admission.
To apply to the fully online course delivery option (all courses are taken online and students are guaranteed space in online sections of all required courses): select “Online Graduate Degree” as your program type and “Master of Social Work – Online” as your planned major or area of interest.
To apply to the mixed traditional course delivery option (courses can be taken in a combination of delivery methods including on campus, online, and/or hybrid): select “Graduate Degree” as your program type and “Master of Social Work” as your planned major or area of interest.
The MSW Program at MSU Denver has one admissions cycle annually. The application typically opens in early September, with a priority consideration deadline in early November and a final deadline in mid-January.
The application for a Summer/Fall 2024 start opened on September 5, 2023. The final application deadline was January 16, 2024 at 11:59 PM (Mountain Time). We are not able to accept late applications for either the fully online or mixed traditional course delivery option.
Details about the Summer/Fall 2024 application timeline will be available in late Summer 2024!
Note: Application processing and review takes 7-9 weeks after the deadline to complete (not from application submission), and applicants are notified of their decision via email. The Office of Social Work Student Services will stay in close contact with you throughout the entire process. If you have any questions as you navigate the application process, please contact us at [email protected].
Note: Application processing and review takes 7-9 weeks after the deadline to complete (not from application submission), and applicants are notified of their decision via email. The Office of Social Work Student Services will stay in close contact with you throughout the entire process. If you have any questions as you navigate the application process, please contact us at [email protected].
Applicants who submit all their materials by the priority consideration deadline will have their application reviewed during the fall and early winter by the MSW Admission Committee. Those ranked in the very top of the pool of applicants will receive their admissions decision early, granting them a head start on:
All other applicants who submit their application by this deadline will have their application rolled forward and will receive their admission decision after the final application deadline review period.
Although only a select few will receive priority admission, we encourage you to give it a try, submit your materials early, then sit back and relax.
Your entire MSW Program application will be completed through this application system. No materials will be submitted via other methods or platforms. Note: you do not have to complete the entire application in one sitting – you can save and come back at a later time. You will not be able to upload your admissions essay and/or case study until after submitting the graduate application.
To submit your graduate program application, you will need to:
In 2022, MSU Denver got rid of the application fee for undergraduate applications. Starting on October 1, 2023, the University also began piloting the removal of the application fee for domestic graduate applications. This is a one-year pilot, so any domestic graduate application submitted from October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024 will not have an application fee applied. The Department of Social Work will continue advocating for this change to be made permanent and for it to extend to our international applicants.
If you are submitting an international graduate application (meaning you are applying to study in the U.S. on an F-1 visa), the application fee will still be applied to your application. There are a couple ways to have this application fee waived as an international applicant, either by submitting your application on Colorado Free Application Day$ or by submitting an Application Fee Waiver Request Form.
This fall, Colorado Free Application Day$ is back! The sixth-annual state-wide initiative will be held from Tuesday, October 17 through Thursday, October 19, 2023. If you submit your graduate application on one of those three days, your application fee will be automatically waived – no fee waiver code required! Do not click the “Finalize Application and Pay” button until Free Application Days, otherwise an application fee will be placed on your account.
If you are not able to submit your application during Free Application Days and paying the $50 application fee is a financial hardship, you can fil out the MSW Program 2024 Application Fee Waiver Request Form. Due to a change in the fee waiver process, after submitting the form you should submit your application and allow the fee to be applied to your account. Once the form is submitted and you have a fee applied to your account, our team will manually waive the fee within 2-3 business days.
Three recommendations are required for application to the MSW Program at MSU Denver. Each recommendation is individually evaluated by the Admissions Committee. The committee can only evaluate three recommendations per application. Therefore, if you enter more than three recommenders into the system, it is your responsibility to exclude the recommendations you do not want reviewed by the committee prior to the deadline.
If you need assistance excluding recommendations, please email [email protected]. If you have not excluded any recommendations from review, our office will take the first three recommendations completed for review. You must have three completed recommendations by the application deadline for your application to be considered complete and eligible for review.
Recommenders should be professional and should not be family, friends, and/or personal therapists. Professional recommenders include faculty, employment/volunteer supervisors, and professional colleagues.
It is strongly recommended that at least one recommendation come from a faculty member (when possible – the committee understands that applicants who have been out of school for some time may not have faculty able to provide recommendations) and one letter from a supervisor (employment or volunteer based).
Professional colleagues may serve as adequate recommenders if need be but use caution that the Admissions Committee highly values faculty and supervisor letters.
Recommenders should be able to speak to your academic and/or professional abilities as well as comment on your potential to succeed in graduate school and/or the field of social work. When considering your recommenders, think about who can write a strong recommendation for you.
Advanced Standing Applicants ONLY: you are required to have at least one recommendation from someone associated with your undergraduate social work program. This could include, but is not limited to, a faculty member (i.e. a professor), a faculty advisor, field director, field instructor, field liaison, or program director.
As soon as you enter your recommenders into the system, they will receive an email with a unique link to complete their recommendation. Recommenders can start work on completing the recommendation as soon as they are entered in the system, even prior to you submitting your application!
Recommenders are asked to fill out two sections: a quantitative evaluation of the applicant’s strengths and then written short answer responses for their personal evaluation of the applicant. You can download an example of the recommendation form to share with your recommenders. Recommenders will not upload a written narrative or letter of recommendation.
We can accept both official and unofficial transcripts during the admission process. Applicants must submit a transcript (official or unofficial) from each college or university attended. All transcripts should be submitted using one of the options outlined below. Please do not submit any materials to the Office of Admissions at MSU Denver. Failure to submit using one of the options below may result in a delay in processing your application.
We require the submission of transcripts from all higher education institutions (colleges and universities) attended before we can review your application. Even if you later transferred the coursework to another school, we still need the transcript from the institution you originally took the courses at.
You do not need to submit high school transcripts as part of the MSW Program application process.
Unofficial transcripts can be uploaded to your admissions application either prior to submitting the application (on the Academic History page) or after submitting the application (via your Application Status/Checklist page)
Unofficial transcripts should show 1) credits received, 2) GPA, and 3) any degree awarded (including degree date). If you are currently enrolled in undergraduate studies, your current transcript does not need to show a degree awarded.
If you choose to upload unofficial transcripts and are accepted to the MSW Program, you will be accepted with the requirement that you submit official transcripts from all institutions attended prior to the start of MSW Program courses.
If you choose to submit official transcripts for admissions, please follow the instructions in the drop-downs below. Transcripts must be submitted directly by the college or university or dropped off in their original sealed envelope to be considered official. Once transcripts have been opened by a student, they are considered unofficial. For an electronic transcript to be considered official, it must be sent directly by the college or university. Any transcripts emailed or uploaded by an applicant are considered unofficial.
Note: Due to the volume of transcripts received by the Office of Graduate Studies, it can take up to 10 business days from when an official transcript is received to get it processed and marked received in your application checklist.
Request official transcripts be sent electronically to [email protected].
We can only accept electronic transcripts as official when they are sent directly by the college or university. Any electronic transcripts emailed by an applicant are considered unofficial.
Important Note About Ordering Transcripts:
If you are ordering your transcripts and select to send them to a school, you may be forced to choose from a list of schools and will not be able to enter the [email protected] email or mailing address. If this is the situation, do not select MSU Denver as this will have your materials sent to the MSU Denver Office of Admissions and will delay processing. Instead, you should select to send the transcripts to a third party at which point you should be able to directly enter our information. Sending to a third party and directly entering the email or physical address you want them sent to should be an option at all institutions. We have had transcripts from all schools in Colorado and from schools across the U.S. sent to us via the [email protected] account and Office of Graduate Studies mailing address.
Request official transcripts be sent by mail to:
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Office of Graduate Studies
PO Box 173362, Campus Box 48
Denver, CO 80217-3362
Important Note About Ordering Transcripts:
If you are ordering your transcripts and select to send them to a school, you may be forced to choose from a list of schools and will not be able to enter the [email protected] email or mailing address. If this is the situation, do not select MSU Denver as this will have your materials sent to the MSU Denver Office of Admissions and will delay processing. Instead, you should select to send the transcripts to a third party at which point you should be able to directly enter our information. Sending to a third party and directly entering the email or physical address you want them sent to should be an option at all institutions. We have had transcripts from all schools in Colorado and from schools across the U.S. sent to us via the [email protected] account and Office of Graduate Studies mailing address.
After submitting your MSU Denver Graduate Application, you can log into your application account at any time to check your application status page and upload any remaining required materials. Please note that you do not have to upload all materials at once.
For your application to be considered complete and eligible for review at the deadline, the following items must be marked as “received” or “received copy” in your application checklist:
To re-send notification emails to your recommenders, visit the recommendations page (linked below your application checklist), click “Edit”, and then click “Send Reminder”. This is also where you can exclude a recommender and/or enter a new recommender if needed.
If you are applying to the Advanced Standing Program and your undergraduate social work degree was awarded/conferred from December 2013 to November 2017, the Petition for Advanced Standing will be added to your checklist after verification of degree date. You must also complete this form prior to the deadline for your application to be considered complete and eligible for review.
Download the MSW Application Personal Statement Instructions & Prompts (PDF) or read the information below.
The Personal Statement must be written and saved to the applicant’s computer as a Word or PDF file prior to being uploaded to the application checklist.
The submission requirement is a series of short answers in a single document (Word or PDF) which helps the admissions committee to evaluate your readiness for graduate education and potential to succeed in advanced social work practice. We have provided a template you may use for crafting your submission that uses APA 7th edition formatting. When citing sources, please use APA 7th edition citation methods. All personal statement short answers should be contained within one document and should comply with the listed word limits. Your document should be saved as a Word (.doc) or PDF (.pdf) file prior to upload.
Download the personal statement template. Please make sure to save it as a new file with a unique document name and delete the template instructions prior to uploading your response. For more information about formatting in APA 7th edition, visit the Purdue Online Writing Lab and download their APA Sample Student Paper.
The personal statement is a critical part of your admissions application – this is how the admissions committee will get to know you and be able to evaluate your writing skills, your critical thinking, and your capacity for self-awareness, reflection, and growth. We strongly encourage applicants to thoroughly review and edit their statement prior to upload.
Be sure to fully answer each of the required prompts in your submission! While these are being submitted as short answers, we still expect full sentences and paragraphs, please do not use a bulleted list.
While some personal information is required in the essay (e.g. your past experiences), you should be judicious in the use of self-disclosure. You are not expected to disclose intimate details of your life; however, if you choose to do so, you should do so only briefly and make it clear how you are in a place to succeed in the program and the profession.
Personal Statement Prompts:
Please answer the following prompts:
Writing Center Support:
Due to the large number of applications the MSW Program receives, the Department of Social Work regrettably cannot provide feedback on your admissions essay prior to submission.
However, the MSU Denver Writing Center does provide support for MSW Program applicants – please visit their website for more information and to schedule an appointment. When looking at available appointments, make sure to limit to “MSW applications” to get paired with a team member who can assist with graduate-level writing. When scheduling, make sure to select the following options:
Download the MSW Application Case Study Requirements & Prompts (PDF) or read the information below.
The Case Study should be completed by Advanced Standing applicants and must be written and saved to the applicant’s computer as a Word or PDF file prior to being uploaded to the application checklist.
The case study is an important part of your application because it reflects your ability to think critically about a situation and indicates your level of knowledge about social work. The case study is assessed based upon its level and quality of comprehensiveness, appropriateness, clarity, and academic writing.
Your essay must incorporate the following:
Case Study Prompts:
Case:
Ab is a 94-year-old Hmong female living alone in a house she owns in Denver. Her son, Teeb, and his partner, Zoov, check in on her each day, give her medications and prepare her meals for the day. Each week, they come in to clean the house. Ab has dementia and takes medications for mood, mental functioning, and high blood pressure.
Ab has had a series of physical injuries stemming from falls over the past few months. Her son, Teeb, entered the house two weeks ago and found Ab laying on the floor. She had fallen out of bed and sustained a hip injury making her unable to get up and call for help. She had been on the floor for 20 hours.
Teeb called for an ambulance and Ab was eventually placed in a rehabilitative facility. At the facility, Ab refused to take her medication which triggered dementia related aggression. She was transferred to a local hospital where she was treated and stabilized.
When Ab is on her medication, she is calm and receptive to treatment. When Teeb’s partner, Zoov is around, he appears to have a calming influence on Ab and she more readily complies with taking medication.
At the hospital, Ab was assigned a room with a male nurse on duty. Ab indicated she needed to use the restroom; the nurse insisted, in accordance with hospital protocol due to the nature of Ab’s injuries, on physically assisting her to the bathroom. Ab became agitated and struck the nurse several times with her cane when he refused to “leave her alone.”
Ab stayed in the hospital for a few nights, was stabilized on her medication, and her medical team was ready to release her since she was able to walk 200 feet without assistance. The hospital staff told Teeb that although Ab is not fully recovered, she was fine to return home. You, the social worker, contacted the rehab facility and found out they would not accept Ab back due to her being labeled as aggressive.
Teeb and Zoov are concerned about Ab’s ability to be at home alone. Ab is insisting that she go home and she refuses to go to a nursing home. Teeb and Zoov live in a small one-bedroom house. They both work full time, have a modest income that covers their expenses and are unable to provide the level of care that Ab needs.
Ab has stated several times that she does not want to be a burden. She has threatened suicide in the past, but she also states that she would never fully go through with it as she is Catholic and that is against her religious beliefs.
The Petition for Advanced Standing is built into the application checklist and will be completed there if required.
This form is only required for individuals whose bachelors degree in social work is more than 6 years old.
The Advanced Standing Program is reserved for those who have earned a bachelors in social work form a Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accredited program within the last 6 years as of the start of MSW Program courses in June 2024. However, applicants with a degree older than 6 years, but still less than 10 years old as of June 2024, may petition the MSW Program to review their eligibility for Advanced Standing. Eligibility is determined upon the applicant’s extent and level of current professional activity and development in the field of social work. Applicants whose bachelors in social work degree is older than 10 years must apply to the Regular Program.
Applicants may upload supplemental items to their application checklist. This is not a required step in the application process. There is no guarantee that the Admissions Committee will review any uploaded supplemental materials. As such, if an uploaded document is a critical component, applicants are encouraged to refer to the document in their admissions essay. Items uploaded as supplemental items are not evaluated as part of the formal review, but may serve to answer some questions or paint a more comprehensive picture of the applicant.
Your application is considered complete and eligible for review if:
All four items listed above must be complete by the application deadline for your application to be eligible for review.
The only item on your list that can be incomplete at the deadline is the “UGD Degree Conferral” items if you submitted unofficial transcripts or if your undergraduate degree is still in progress (official transcripts will only be required if accepted). Even if your undergraduate degree shows as complete on your unofficial transcript, the “UGD Degree Conferral” item will remain incomplete until after we receive official transcripts showing its completion – this is fine and allowed at this point in the admission process!
Your application checklist will help you keep track of your journey to a complete application. We encourage you to check it whenever you have questions about your application status. If you are unsure of your status after reviewing your checklist, please email [email protected].
The Office of Social Work Student Services will complete an Undergraduate Prerequisite Review for all Regular Program applicants as applications are completed and transcripts received. The result of the review will be sent to the email used to create your application account. If you are missing any prerequisite requirements, you will be notified via email and provided with suggested completion options. Prerequisites do not need to be complete prior to applying or being accepted to the MSW Program, but they must be complete prior to starting MSW Program courses in the fall if accepted. Additionally, prerequisite status does not impact your chance of admission.
If you would like to request a prerequisite review prior to application submission, please email [email protected] with the following information:
We will email you back once your evaluation is complete. The prerequisite review process may take up to 3-5 weeks from when we receive your transcripts, depending on the current volume of requests.
Special Circumstances (international degrees, MSU Denver students and graduates, and previously submitted transcripts)
The Office of Social Work Student Services is here to support you on your journey!
Have a question or comment for us? Please fill out the form linked below and a member of our team will reply via email in 2-3 business days.
Contact FormOffice Location:
Central Classroom Building, Suite 201
Welcome Desk Phone:
303-615-0555
Email:
[email protected]
Mailing Address:
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Department of Social Work
PO Box 173362 CB 70
Denver, CO 80217-3362