4 answers
Staccy
Student
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
1
Question
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Translated from French .
Question sur la maîtrise
Mastery Question
I have just graduated and I want to continue my academic journey with a master's degree in social work. Am I eligible even if my baccalaureate is not in social work?
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4 answers
Angela Chan
Social services manager, Community advocate, Experienced in partnership and collaboration development
57
Answers
Sunnyvale, California
Updated
Angela’s Answer
Hi Staccy:
I'm based in the U.S. so I'm not familiar with the Canadian university system. In the U.S., the answer to your question is yes, absolutely. In my Masters of Social Work program at San Francisco State, most students' undergraduate degree was in a different area, not social work and they did great. Their different experiences and areas of studies enriched our classroom discussions (and sometimes debates) a lot and made my graduate experience well-rounded, challenging and fun.
Best,
angela
I'm based in the U.S. so I'm not familiar with the Canadian university system. In the U.S., the answer to your question is yes, absolutely. In my Masters of Social Work program at San Francisco State, most students' undergraduate degree was in a different area, not social work and they did great. Their different experiences and areas of studies enriched our classroom discussions (and sometimes debates) a lot and made my graduate experience well-rounded, challenging and fun.
Best,
angela
Thank you, Angela for the advice.
Staccy
Kristine Munholland, Ph.D., MSW
3
Answers
Portland, Oregon
Updated
Kristine’s Answer
Absolutely! If your BA/BS was in a completely unrelated field, it will probably be important to share your volunteer experience or other work you have done that reflects a commitment to helping others. If your BA/BS is in a related field, like Psychology, for example, you already have a good foundation for an MSW.
BSW's typically only have to do a year for their Masters; the rest of us did/do two.
Make sure to write a clear and compelling statement about your reason for pursuing the MSW. Goodness of fit between your intention and what the program offers are key.
Hope this helps!
BSW's typically only have to do a year for their Masters; the rest of us did/do two.
Make sure to write a clear and compelling statement about your reason for pursuing the MSW. Goodness of fit between your intention and what the program offers are key.
Hope this helps!
Thanks for the help.
Staccy
Alexandra Carpenter
CareerVillage.org TeamData Analyst at CareerVillage.org
15
Answers
Columbia, PA
Updated
Alexandra’s Answer, CareerVillage.org Team
Hi Staccy!
Generally speaking, yes, you can enter a Masters program in Social Work even if your bachelors is in something else. This is the case for many Masters programs across fields, actually, so you will definitely not be the only person whose undergraduate degree doesn’t “match”, per se. Especially in the liberal arts & social sciences, this is extremely common.
Just like with every school, you’ll want to go on the web page for that Masters in Social Work program and check out the requirements. It’s very unlikely that they will require a specific undergraduate degree, but they might list some related degrees that they feel would have prepared you for their program. I would recommend paying more attention to the COURSES they may require you to have taken as an undergrad — that’s typically what Masters programs will require, rather than the degree type. So it will come down to what you have on your transcript from college, and how you performed in the subjects that are relevant.
For example, I was a psychology major in college. Many psych undergrads pursue Social Work programs in grad school, as well as other fields that are not psychology (neuroscience, medicine, law, etc.). Although my psychology major did not require them, I took rigorous statistics courses, research, biology, as well as other challenging courses above and beyond the requirements for my degree. If I wanted to apply to a Masters program outside of psychology, I’d be qualified for things like data science, biology, criminal justice, etc. but could stay in psychology as well. Grad programs tend to be made up of students with pretty diverse academic backgrounds — some schools might even prefer applicants who come from a different field 😄
If you have work/internship experience from college, consider that as well. If it gave you relevant experience that relates to social work, it’s probably MORE valuable to graduate programs than what your degree was in. (The further you get into the “real” world, the more this is the case. What you’ve done starts to mean more than your letter grades and diplomas.)
Your letters of recommendation are also something that can help you demonstrate that you have experience outside of your degree topic, in the event that your coursework might not exactly match what they are looking for. If you have a supervisor who can speak to a relevant extracurricular experience that relates to social work, I highly recommend asking that person for a letter!
I hope this all helps! Best of luck as you apply to programs 🙂
Generally speaking, yes, you can enter a Masters program in Social Work even if your bachelors is in something else. This is the case for many Masters programs across fields, actually, so you will definitely not be the only person whose undergraduate degree doesn’t “match”, per se. Especially in the liberal arts & social sciences, this is extremely common.
Just like with every school, you’ll want to go on the web page for that Masters in Social Work program and check out the requirements. It’s very unlikely that they will require a specific undergraduate degree, but they might list some related degrees that they feel would have prepared you for their program. I would recommend paying more attention to the COURSES they may require you to have taken as an undergrad — that’s typically what Masters programs will require, rather than the degree type. So it will come down to what you have on your transcript from college, and how you performed in the subjects that are relevant.
For example, I was a psychology major in college. Many psych undergrads pursue Social Work programs in grad school, as well as other fields that are not psychology (neuroscience, medicine, law, etc.). Although my psychology major did not require them, I took rigorous statistics courses, research, biology, as well as other challenging courses above and beyond the requirements for my degree. If I wanted to apply to a Masters program outside of psychology, I’d be qualified for things like data science, biology, criminal justice, etc. but could stay in psychology as well. Grad programs tend to be made up of students with pretty diverse academic backgrounds — some schools might even prefer applicants who come from a different field 😄
If you have work/internship experience from college, consider that as well. If it gave you relevant experience that relates to social work, it’s probably MORE valuable to graduate programs than what your degree was in. (The further you get into the “real” world, the more this is the case. What you’ve done starts to mean more than your letter grades and diplomas.)
Your letters of recommendation are also something that can help you demonstrate that you have experience outside of your degree topic, in the event that your coursework might not exactly match what they are looking for. If you have a supervisor who can speak to a relevant extracurricular experience that relates to social work, I highly recommend asking that person for a letter!
I hope this all helps! Best of luck as you apply to programs 🙂
Theresa Olguin
DBT Therapist, Director of DBT Training and Certification
23
Answers
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Updated
Theresa’s Answer
Yes! I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and family studies and then attended a two year graduate program for social work. I received a master’s in social work. Best to you!
Thank you, this is really helpful.
Staccy