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Department of Social Work Education

ABOUT OUR MSW PROGRAM

MSW Applications for Fall 2025 are open in CalState Apply. The application deadline is January 23, 2025.

MSW handbook

NO GRE REQUIRED FOR MSW ADMISSIONS 

Master of Social Work

The profession of social work and the Department of Social Work Education are dedicated to meeting the diverse social service needs of special populations of individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities. Because we are a practice-oriented profession, the graduates of our program deal with social concerns that range from societal oppression to people's emotional/behavioral problems. The social work practitioner who is educated in our program is taught to help at-risk populations which typically include the poor and homeless, abused/neglected children and adults, people of color, women, recent refugees, chronically mentally ill, developmentally disabled, physically ill or disabled, substance abusers, criminal offenders and the aged. In focusing on disadvantaged groups, the student is trained to use a range of traditional and non-traditional methods to promote well-being, personal growth, and social justice, e.g., individual client and large system policy advocating, brokering, consulting, individual, family and group counseling/psychotherapy, mediating, researching, supervising and teaching.

Mission of the MSW Program

Grounded in the liberal arts and guided by a person-in-environment framework, we prepare diverse MSW students for culturally responsive, advanced multisystemic practice and leadership in the Central Valley, the state, and globally, enabling them to ethically, proactively, and effectively dismantle systemic oppression through service, relationship building, dialogue, advocacy, critical knowledge, diversity, and empowered collective action

                                                                         

The MSW Program Has The Following Requirements:

A bachelor's degree in a non-professional field, from a regionally accredited institution, earned before the start of the graduate program is acceptable.

  • Applicants who have a cumulative GPA of less than 3.0 must provide a statement in the appropriate area of the Cal State Application in which they explain the circumstances that affected their cumulative GPA, and evidence to demonstrate their potential to successfully complete graduate level course work (e.g., grades received in upper division or graduate level coursework taken since receiving the BA/BS degree).
  • Additional consideration would be demonstrated commitment to the profession as evidenced by a significant number of years (e.g., over 6 years) of employment as a human services professional.
  • For applicants with cumulative GPA less than 2.5, your application will not be reviewed or considered.

Your undergraduate education must have breadth, i.e., include courses in the sciences, arts and humanities, and social sciences. General education patterns often provide much of this breadth. (This expectation does not require a major in Liberal Studies.)

Prerequisite Courses

Required for all NON SOCIAL WORK majors

Prerequisite course work must be taken for letter grades (or document that CR means a “C” or better); you must earn a minimum grade of “C” in each course – there are 3 course prerequisites:

  1. Research Methods/Data Analysis
  2. Human Biological Development
  3. Cultural Diversity (Must be an upper division course) 

NOTE: Three prerequisites (research methods/data analysis, human development over the life span, and cultural diversity) are required for non-social worker majors.

Please visit our prerequisites web page for more information. You will need to submit a MSW course substitution form (link on page) separately from the MSW application. The submission instructions are on the form, and can be sent in year-round.

 
 

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Questions about the MSW program?

 

 

 

MSW Information Session

 

Title IV-E Information

 

BHIP Experience

Graduate Admissions

 

 

For More Information Contact:

Pa Nhia Xiong, Ed.D., MSW
MSW Program Coordinator
pa.xiong@csufresno.edu
559.278.2764

Jose Torres
MSW Program Administrative Assistant
torresj@csufresno.edu
559.278.7614

Regular Semester Office Hours
M-F 8:00am-5:00pm
Office staff are not available from 12:00-1:00pm for lunch.

Summer Office Hours
M-F 7:00am-3:30pm
Office staff are not available from 12:00-12:30pm for lunch.