Certificate Course

Yes. The University of Michigan will issue an e-certificate of completion for the Social Work Essentials Certificate via email. Print certificates will not be provided.

Students may reach out to [email protected] with any questions.

Students should plan to attend the required Live Session in Week 1 or visit the scheduled Office Hours session in Week 4 of the course. Following these options, students can email [email protected].

Students can enroll in any cohort, but should align the ending of their cohort with the start of the MSW program, if they are planning to pursue the full MSW degree following certificate completion. To inquire about this, email [email protected].

Students may enter a cohort up to 14 days following a published cohort start date.

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.

No. You would have a Social Work Essentials Certificate. The Social Work Essentials Certificate alone is a non-credit bearing credential.

You will receive the MSW degree only if you proceed into the MSW degree program after you complete the Social Work Essentials certificate courses. Note that a full MSW application is required for MSW program admission consideration.

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.

If a learner took Social Work Practice: Advocating Social Justice and Change on Coursera, and then enrolls in the Social Work Essentials Certificate, they will need to keep their certificate from Coursera to provide proof of completion at the end of the Social Work Essentials Certificate.