School of Social Work

Diane Hodge, Director
Philip Mongan, Graduate Program Coordinator
Graduate Faculty

Master of Social Work Degree

This degree is structured to meet the needs of full-time students and those who wish to study on a part-time basis. The goal of the degree program is to prepare advanced, autonomous social work practitioners with expertise in community-based social work practice with families. The Radford campus offers full and part-time programs and the Roanoke campus offers a part-time option that can be completed in three years. An Advanced Standing Program is available to students who meet grade point and other standards and who are graduates of CSWE-accredited B.S.W. programs. The MSW program is fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. This is a year-round program, including summers. The Standard program can be completed in two years (full-time) or in three of four years (part-time). The Advanced Standing program can be completed in one year and one semester (full-time) or two years (part-time). The Roanoke campus offers classes on Saturdays and uses a hybrid model for course delivery, alternating classes on-site and on-line.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must meet the following criteria for admission to the master’s degree in Social Work Program at Radford University:

(a) Hold a bachelor’s degree from an institution accredited by a recognized regional accrediting agency in the United States (degrees from institutions outside the United States will be evaluated on an equivalency basis); and
(b) Indicate that such bachelor’s degree provided an adequate liberal arts background. Liberal arts coursework must include the following: the humanities (9 hours); human biology content (3 hours); and the social sciences (15 hours); It is expected that an applicant’s academic background will indicate broad-based exposure to liberal studies. Coursework in introductory statistics is recommended;
Have at least a 2.75 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) for all undergraduate coursework and a 3.0 for the last 60 hours of upper division coursework. Advanced Standing applicants must have a GPA of at least 2.75 overall and 3.0 for all undergraduate social work coursework;
Demonstrate motivation and potential for a career in social work, including suitability for the profession;
Demonstrate interest and ability to participate in the field of human services, preferably through previous professional, volunteer, or field placement experience.

Conditional Admission may be granted with the requirement that the student make up any deficiencies with a grade point average of 3.0 or better within the first semester of enrollment.

The application deadlines for Advanced Standing and for the Standard program are posted to the School of Social Work web-site under Application materials.

The School of Social Work follows the Council on Social Work Education’s guideline that no academic credit is given for life experience or previous work experience.