Course Expectations

There is no limit to the number of students who can join the Social Work Essentials Certificate cohort.

This is designed to be a 4 month, cohorted program. You should sign up and pay for all of the courses within the 4 month window. Because the program is designed to be cohorted, and things like peer grading all happen within your cohort window. If a learner cannot complete their courses in 4 months, they may stay enrolled for the duration of 2 years after their original start date.

Note: If you are intending to enter the MSW program, this may delay your MSW program start date.

No. The Social Work Essentials Certificate (SWEC) was designed to be completed over a 4 month period (taking 3 classes at a time). It is strongly discouraged for students to take more than 3 classes at a time, unless they are working on SWEC full time. Each course is approximately 8 weeks long. If a learner cannot complete their courses in 4 months, they may stay enrolled for the duration of 2 years after their original start date.

Note: If you are intending to enter the MSW program, failure to complete the courses during your original cohort may delay your MSW program start date.

All courses must be completed within 2 years of first enrollment of the certificate. If courses are not completed within this timeframe, a learner would need to pay again and begin the courses all over to pursue the certificate.

No, the certificate program does not require a field placement (practicum). Students will be required to engage in a field placement once enrolled in the MSW degree program and the Office of Field Education will assist in setting up a placement.

Our Research Methods course is the only course that would include some statistical content. Once you are in the MSW program, depending upon your chosen pathway, there could be additional statistics courses required.

Each course has a number of projects and assignments that learners will complete. They are very aligned with skills that social workers use in professional practice. Assignments include short writing activities, discussion boards, quizzes, and simulations of clinical scenarios. Some courses end with longer milestone assignments, where learners submit papers and participate in a peer-review process.

Social Work Essentials Certificate course are designed to take 3–4 hours per module. Because everyone has different learning styles and paces, some learners report spending more time per module.

Keep in mind that since many learners are participating in 3 SWEC courses simultaneously during an 8-week period, a learner would be expected to complete 1 module per week per course, resulting in a total workload of 9–12 hours or more.