Department of Social Work
MSW Program Application Process
The 2021 MSW Program Admissions Cycle is Now Open!
The Office of Social Work Student Services encourages you to read through all the steps below to gain a full understanding of the application requirements and process before beginning Step One.
If you are looking for admissions essay and/or case study instructions and prompts, these can be found under Step Two.
For information about program eligibility please visit our Regular Program application page and our Advanced Standing Program application page.
The final application deadline for the 2021 Admissions Cycle is January 14, 2021 at 11:59 PM. All required materials must be submitted by this date and time for an application to be considered complete and eligible for review.
To be considered for priority admission, applicants must have all required application materials submitted by October 29, 2020 at 11:59 PM.
Please note: Application processing takes 10-12 weeks from the deadline (not from the submission of the application) to complete. The Office of Social Work Student Services will stay in close contact with you throughout the entire process. If you have questions as you navigate through the application process, please contact the Office of Social Work Student Services via phone at 303-615-0555 or via email at socialwork@msudenver.edu
Step One:
Create an account and complete the MSU Denver Graduate Application online.
Your entire MSW Program application will be completed through this application system. No materials will be submitted via other methods or platforms. Please note that you do not have to complete the entire graduate application in one sitting. You can save and come back at a later time.
Important Note Regarding Course Delivery:
- If you are planning on applying to the fully online course delivery method (all courses are taken online and students are guaranteed space in online sections of all required courses), make sure to select "Online Graduate Degree" as your program type and "Master of Social Work - Online" as your planned major or area of interest.
- If you are planning on applying to the mixed traditional course delivery option (courses can be taken in a mix of delivery methods including on campus, online, and/or in the hybrid format), make sure to select "Graduate Degree" as your program type and "Master of Social Work" as your planned major or area of interest.
In order to submit your graduate program application, you will need to:
- Fill out all required information;
- Enter your professional and volunteer history in the Professional History Form;
- A resume is not required - instead, all applicants fill out the professional history form as part of their application.
- The committee will assess both length/quantity of time and the type of experience to determine its relevance.
- Enter 3 references for your Letters of Recommendation;
- You will not be able to submit you application until you have entered all three recommenders into the system.
- Your Letters of Recommendation will all be completed through this online system. You should not collect or submit any physical letters of recommendation. If you or any of your references have questions about this process, please email socialwork@msudenver.edu
- More information on the recommendation process can be found in the drop down below.
- Pay the $50 graduate application fee
- If paying the application fee is a financial hardship, please see the drop down below regarding Colorado Free Application Day and the Application Fee Waiver Request Form.
Step Two:
Upload Application Materials on the Application Status page
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 your 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" in your application checklist:
- Essay/Personal Statement (prompt and requirements below)
- Case Study (Advanced Standing applicants ONLY) (prompt and requirements below)
- 3 Letters of Recommendation
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 if needed and/or enter a new recommender.
If you are applying to the Advanced Standing Program and your undergraduate social work degree was awarded/conferred:
- December 2014 to present - the Petition for Advanced Standing will be waived from your application checklist as we process your application
- December 2010 and November 2014 - you must submit the Petition for Advanced Standing for your application to be considered complete
- November 2010 or earlier - you are no longer eligible for Advanced Standing and must apply to the Regular Program
Step Three:
Submit Transcripts from all colleges and universities attended
COVID-19 NOTE: Physical mail may be delayed due to the status of campus amid the COVID-19 global pandemic impacting higher education in Colorado. MSU Denver strongly encourages applicants to submit all materials electronically whenever possible at this point in time.
Starting with the 2021 Admissions Cycle, we can now accept unofficial transcripts for admission to the MSW Program. Applicants must submit a transcript (official or unofficial) from each college or university attended. All transcripts should be submitted by choosing one of the options 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.
Unofficial Transcripts
Unofficial transcripts can be uploaded to your admissions application via your Application Status/Checklist page. The degree obtained and degree date must be reflected on the unofficial transcript from your degree granting institution unless you are currently enrolled in undergraduate studies.
If you choose to upload unofficial transcripts and are accepted to the MSW Program, you will be accepted with stipulations and be required to submit official transcripts from all institutions attended prior to the start of MSW Program courses.
Official Transcripts
If you choose to submit official transcripts for admissions, please follow the instructions below. Note: transcripts need to be submitted directly to our office by the college or university or dropped off by a student still in a sealed envelope to be considered official. Once transcripts have been opened by a student they are no longer considered official. For electronic transcripts to be considered official, they must be sent directly to our office by the college or university. Electronic transcripts emailed to us by students are considered unofficial.
Please note: due to the volume of transcripts we receive, it can take us 2-3 weeks from when an official transcript is received by our office or you submit your MSU Denver Graduate Application (whichever occurs second) to get your transcript(s) marked as received in your application checklist. However, we can review applications without transcripts as long as all other materials are submitted, although we cannot release your admissions decision until we receive your transcript(s).
Special Circumstances (international degrees, MSU Denver graduates, and previously submitted official transcripts)
- If you attended a college or university outside of the United States (not study abroad), you must have your transcripts evaluated by either Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) or World Education Services (WES). We cannot accept un-evaluated transcripts for review or for admission to the MSW Program. Once your transcripts have been evaluated, you will have the official evaluation submitted directly from ECE or WES to the Office of Social Work Student Services. We do require that you submit a course-by-course evaluation. If you only attended a college or university outside of the United States for a study abroad experience, an ECE or WES evaluation is not required.
- If you obtained an undergraduate degree from MSU Denver, please email socialwork@msudenver.edu with your full legal name and 900# (Student ID Number) and we can pull your official transcripts for you.
- If you have previously submitted official transcripts to MSU Denver, please email socialwork@msudenver.edu with your full legal name, any former names, 900# (if known), and date of birth, and we will pull your transcripts from our internal system.
Step Four:
Undergraduate Prerequisite Review (Regular Program ONLY)
The Office of Social Work Student Services will complete an Undergraduate Prerequisite Review for Regular Program applicants as transcripts are received. After submitting your transcripts, please email socialwork@msudenver.edu requesting a transcript evaluation for MSW Program prerequisites so that we have a way to contact you once the review is complete. Make sure to include your full name and any former names as well as the institutions you submitted transcripts from in your email. We will send you your review via email once it is complete.
If any prerequisites have not been completed, you will be notified in your review email and provided with suggested completion options. Prerequisites do not need to be completed prior to applying or being accepted to the MSW program, but they must be complete prior to starting MSW coursework. That means if accepted you would have until the start of the fall 2021 semester to complete any missing requirements.
Contact Information
Main Office Phone:
303-615-0555
Location:
Main Office
Central Classroom Suite 201
Office of Field Education
Central Classroom Suite 202
Office of Social Work Student Services
Central Classroom Suite 206
Mailing Address:
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Department of Social Work
PO Box 173362 CB 70
Denver, CO 80217-3362
Accreditation
Our MSW and BSSW Programs are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education - the sole accrediting body for social work education.