Certificate Course

Yes. The University of Michigan will issue an e-certificate of completion for the Social Work Essentials Certificate via email.

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

Students should first post their questions in the course Discussion Forum. They can also plan to visit the scheduled Office Hours session (beginning in 4th module) for 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 be able to enter a cohort up to 10 days following a published cohort start date.

If a learner took the free version of Social Work Practice: Advocating Social Justice and Change on the Coursera website and then enrolls in the Social Work Essentials Certificate through the U-M School of Social Work, they will need to purchase the the course a part of the Social Work Essential Certificate and fully complete the entire course and it's assignments in order successfully complete the certificate.

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 you are unable to complete all of your certificate courses within your 4 month cohort window, we can move your remaining courses into the next cohort. Students who need to do this should email [email protected] for assistance.

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

No. The Social Work Essentials certificate 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 the SW Essentials certificate full time. Each course is approximately 8-weeks long. If a student cannot complete their courses in 4 months, they are able to extend their time in the class but they would need to be administratively moved to another section. Students who need to do this should email [email protected] for assistance.

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.

MasterTrack courses have a fixed schedule, which means you need to complete all your coursework during a specific time period. Courses have hard deadlines which you can't reset. You may be able to switch sessions if you fall behind.

Peer Reviews Deadlines

You'll need to get all required peer reviews for your assignments before the end of the course. If you don't have enough peer reviews (2) on an assignment, you can post in the forums asking your peers to review your submission. Completing the peer review at least a week prior to course deadline is recommended. It may take 7-10 days to