MSW Student Guide
Section 2.02.00: Master of Social Work Degree Requirements
In order to graduate the student must fulfill the following requirements:
1. Maintain good academic standing. That is, a grade average of B (GPA 3.0) must be achieved and overall performance must be satisfactory in classroom-based and field education courses.
2. MSW degree students must complete all requirements for the degree within four (4) years of first enrollment as a degree candidate in the University of Michigan School of Social Work. If that time limit is exceeded, the student, with the approval of the faculty advisor, must petition the associate dean for educational programs for an extension, giving reasons for the request, justifying the contemporary relevance of any work taken more than six years prior to the expected degree date, and submitting a plan for the completion of the remaining work. The student may be required to take additional examinations and/or an additional amount of coursework.
3. Satisfactorily complete 60 credit hours, unless advanced standing has been granted, are part of either the UM-Dearborn Human Services & SW or U-M Sociology & SW programs, or MasterTrack MSW status has been approved, in which case credits may be reduced to 45 hours. The distribution of required courses varies according to the choice of pathway.
Note that under no circumstances can a student complete the MSW program with fewer than 30 University of Michigan School of Social Work credit hours. In rare cases, a student may have a maximum of 30 graduate social work credits that are eligible for transfer from another accredited graduate social work school. For additional information on transfer credits, students can refer to the appropriate section in this guide.
In order for the Office of the Registrar to evaluate whether a student has met the requirements for the MSW degree, the student is required to submit a degree/diploma application. The application is submitted online through Wolverine Access and must be submitted before any degree can be awarded.
It is the Office of the Registrar's responsibility to confirm that a student's academic record reflects that all degree requirements have been met. This does not necessarily include informing students if they are not, as that responsibility lies with the student. However, as a courtesy, the registrar does reach out to students when potential problems in meeting requirements are evident. This contact is almost always via the student's University of Michigan e-mail account.
Submission of the degree/diploma application (done online via Wolverine Access) by the following dates will permit the Registrar, as a courtesy to the student, to perform an audit of the student's graduation requirements prior to the end of the drop/add period for the final term in which the student expects to be enrolled. Meeting these deadlines will also help to ensure inclusion in the University Commencement Program publication. The deadline dates are as follows:
• December graduation: August 1;
• May graduation: November 1;
• August graduation: February 15
Degree/diploma applications submitted after these dates may affect student's early registration appointment times for upcoming terms, may result in a late audit of degree requirements and if a problem arises at a late date, may delay the award of the degree, and can delay the receipt of the diploma. It is the student's responsibility to submit a degree/diploma application; to be aware of what their degree requirements are, and to fulfill them in a timely manner. The appropriate Course Planning Worksheet and this Student Guide are the resources the student should utilize for this purpose. They may be found at https://ssw.umich.edu/assets/course-planning-workseets and https://ssw.umich.edu/msw-student-guide .
1. Maintain good academic standing. That is, a grade average of B (GPA 3.0) must be achieved and overall performance must be satisfactory in classroom-based and field education courses.
2. MSW degree students must complete all requirements for the degree within four (4) years of first enrollment as a degree candidate in the University of Michigan School of Social Work. If that time limit is exceeded, the student, with the approval of the faculty advisor, must petition the associate dean for educational programs for an extension, giving reasons for the request, justifying the contemporary relevance of any work taken more than six years prior to the expected degree date, and submitting a plan for the completion of the remaining work. The student may be required to take additional examinations and/or an additional amount of coursework.
3. Satisfactorily complete 60 credit hours, unless advanced standing has been granted, are part of either the UM-Dearborn Human Services & SW or U-M Sociology & SW programs, or MasterTrack MSW status has been approved, in which case credits may be reduced to 45 hours. The distribution of required courses varies according to the choice of pathway.
Note that under no circumstances can a student complete the MSW program with fewer than 30 University of Michigan School of Social Work credit hours. In rare cases, a student may have a maximum of 30 graduate social work credits that are eligible for transfer from another accredited graduate social work school. For additional information on transfer credits, students can refer to the appropriate section in this guide.
In order for the Office of the Registrar to evaluate whether a student has met the requirements for the MSW degree, the student is required to submit a degree/diploma application. The application is submitted online through Wolverine Access and must be submitted before any degree can be awarded.
It is the Office of the Registrar's responsibility to confirm that a student's academic record reflects that all degree requirements have been met. This does not necessarily include informing students if they are not, as that responsibility lies with the student. However, as a courtesy, the registrar does reach out to students when potential problems in meeting requirements are evident. This contact is almost always via the student's University of Michigan e-mail account.
Submission of the degree/diploma application (done online via Wolverine Access) by the following dates will permit the Registrar, as a courtesy to the student, to perform an audit of the student's graduation requirements prior to the end of the drop/add period for the final term in which the student expects to be enrolled. Meeting these deadlines will also help to ensure inclusion in the University Commencement Program publication. The deadline dates are as follows:
• December graduation: August 1;
• May graduation: November 1;
• August graduation: February 15
Degree/diploma applications submitted after these dates may affect student's early registration appointment times for upcoming terms, may result in a late audit of degree requirements and if a problem arises at a late date, may delay the award of the degree, and can delay the receipt of the diploma. It is the student's responsibility to submit a degree/diploma application; to be aware of what their degree requirements are, and to fulfill them in a timely manner. The appropriate Course Planning Worksheet and this Student Guide are the resources the student should utilize for this purpose. They may be found at https://ssw.umich.edu/assets/course-planning-workseets and https://ssw.umich.edu/msw-student-guide .