Social Work, M.S.W.

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Standard students must complete a two-semester generalist field practicum with a total of 410 clock hours, 205 per semester, plus 36 seminar hours. Both Standard and Advanced Standing students must complete a two-semester specialization field practicum with a total of 600 clock hours, 300 per semester, plus 36 seminar hours. Students wishing to seek clinical licensure in Virginia must complete at least 600 hours in a clinical field practicum under the supervision of a field instructor with a minimum of three years of experience post-MSW degree; licensure requirements may vary in other states. Field practica are an integral part of the educational program and are expected to be completed concurrently with classroom courses. Students develop plans for their field practicum in consultation with the field coordinators and must receive permission from a field coordinator before contacting any agencies about field practicum arrangements.

Requirements for field practicum include: approved field application (available on the School of Social Work website), successful interviews with field coordinator and proposed field site; good academic standing; and proof of liability insurance meeting specified requirements. More specific information may be obtained from the Field Director.

Students are required to complete all field practicums with a grade of B- or better (SOWK 641 , SOWK 642 , SOWK 791 , SOWK 792 ). If a student earns a C, and this is the first unsatisfactory grade earned in the program, the remediation plan will minimally include repeating the course.

Standard Program Requirements 61 hrs.

Elective Emphasis Areas (6)

Students select elective courses according to their interests and abilities. All electives outside the department must be approved by the student’s advisor and the MSW Coordinator; however, any social work elective at the 600 level or higher will count toward degree completion (but may not count towards an emphasis area). Students may select one of the elective emphasis areas described below, or they may individualize their program of study through their choice of electives. The following elective emphasis areas represent cohesive programs in one of three areas of practice: mental health, school social work, or social work with military populations. The elective emphasis areas available include:

Mental Health: Two clinical electives and a behavioral health focused field placement are required (see MSW Student Handbook for more specific information).
School Social Work (not available for advanced standing): Two electives, SOWK 720 & EDSP 651 , are required, plus one field placement in a public or accredited private primary or secondary school.
Social Work with Military Populations: Students who are interested in specializing in social work with military populations in rural areas are required to: complete the military social work elective (SOWK 695 ), plus another relevant clinical elective, and complete a specialization field placement with the military population.

Advanced Standing Status

Students who are admitted with Advanced Standing status begin the program in the summer, when SOWK 679 is required. Following successful completion of SOWK 679 , Advanced Standing students follow the same curriculum as offered to all specialization-level students in the full-time or part-time program. Advanced Standing students will need to complete 9 credit hours of electives, and should plan on taking at least 3 credits in the same summer as SOWK 679 is taken.

Retention in the Program

A graduate student shall be terminated from the M.S.W. program if any of the following occurs:

Receipt of a grade of C or lower in any two courses post matriculation to the Graduate College;
Receipt of a grade below a C in any single graduate course;
Failure to adhere to the Radford University Honor Code, the Radford University Standards of Student Conduct, or the Waldron College Standards for Professional Practice Education; or
Failure to adhere to the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers.

Comprehensive Examination

Students are required to complete a comprehensive exam. The exam is included as part of the Integrative Seminar course (SOWK 785 ) which is taken at the end of the program of study for the MSW degree. Students are eligible to take the course in the semester they complete all degree requirements or with only elective credits (i.e., no required courses) remaining for degree completion. The exam allows each student to focus on a chosen topic in order to demonstrate an integration of the academic curriculum and the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities of an autonomous practitioner of social work. More specific information may be accessed in the MSW Program Student Manual.

Field Practicum

Standard students must complete a two-semester generalist field placement with a total of 410 clock hours. Both Standard and Advanced Standing students must complete a specialization field placement, consisting of two consecutive semesters of 300 clock hours each. Students wishing to seek licensure in Virginia must complete at least 600 hours in a clinical field placement; licensure requirements may vary in other states. The field practicum is an integral part of the educational program and field placements are expected to be completed concurrently with classroom courses. Requirements for field placement include: approved field application (available on the School of Social Work’s website), interview with field coordinator(s) and proposed field site; student is in good academic standing; student obtains individual liability insurance meeting specified requirements; student registers for LiveText. Students develop plans for their field placement in consultation with the field coordinators and must receive permission from a field coordinator before contacting any agencies about field placement arrangements. More information is available from the field coordinators.