Master of Social Work at San Francisco State University

Applicants must first meet the general university requirements pertaining to the admission of graduate students. In addition, applicants must demonstrate an academic and professional commitment to Social Work and the values and philosophical foundations of the School's mission. To be considered for admission into the MSW Program, prospective students must apply and be admitted to both Graduate Studies and the School of Social Work. Admission to the MSW Program is highly competitive. To apply, visit www2.calstate.edu/apply where the two-step application is available. Step One: Complete the SF State Graduate Studies application. Step Two: Complete the School of Social Work MSW application. For additional information about the application process, please visit the School of Social Work website, MSW Admissions page. Applications for the Title IV–E Child Welfare Training Program are also available on the website. 

School admission decisions are based on several criteria, including but not limited to, potential for professional practice as demonstrated by previous employment/volunteer experiences; value congruence to the School's mission; knowledge, experience, and relationship of the applicant to oppressed, underserved and underrepresented individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities; and previous academic performance. To qualify for admission to the MSW program, applicants must have attained a GPA of at least 3.0 in a baccalaureate degree or a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 in their last 60 units. The significance of a baccalaureate degree from a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program in Social Work is recognized, yet SF State University School of Social Work does not have an advanced standing program. In the event that a student with a BASW degree from a CSWE-accredited institution is admitted into the MSW program, a thorough transcript review will take place and a determination made about if and which course(s) may be waived. In the event that a course is waived, credits must be obtained in elective courses to meet graduation requirements and to ensure an adequate number of credits are met to graduate. 

1. Education: Learn from and apply the rigorous SFSU social work education that achieves the nine Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) curricular competencies at the graduate (MSW) level. Utilize education and research to inform and effectively engage in practice at micro (individuals, families, and groups), mezzo (organizations, institutions, and communities) and macro (societies and international arenas) levels.
2. Application: Use knowledge and skills to affect all practice areas (direct and indirect). Know and understand multiple forms of power, and their forms, uses, and implications. Be skilled at giving, engaging and sharing power and instilling shared, delegated, and/or "other person" responsibilities in decision making and problem solving.
3. Diverse Learners: Expect, accept, and appreciate human differences in all areas, including diversity of ethnicities, cultures, values, backgrounds, learning styles, problem solving approaches, and more. Promote diversity to enrich environments, thought processes, experiences, and more.
4. Collaboration and Participation: Respect, value and honor one another's personal and professional experiences, knowledge, skills, and values. Seek, receive, and utilize inputs from diverse persons, groups, and communities and make diversity- sensitive and appropriate decisions. Engage and utilize the voices of many through participatory means.
5. Ethical Foundations and Leadership: Engage in professional practices that are ethically sound and appropriate, consistent with the National Association of Social Workers' (NASW) Code of Ethics. Create ideas and action plans from research and interdisciplinary knowledge; instill visions among team members; and enact innovative actions having substantial impact on individuals, groups, organizations, communities, and societies.
6. Progressive Development: Expand and enhance cognitive and affective abilities through continuous development of knowledge, values, skills, and practices. Utilize research to develop best practices to improve human conditions and generate research agendas through practice experiences.
7. Advocacy and Activism for Progressive Change: Know multiple forms and purposes of advocacy, and engage in change plans and efforts to achieve progressive change at micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Utilize evidence to set agendas, establish goals, create action plans, and move forward with efforts to enhance human conditions, including political, economic, legal, social, cultural, and physical environments.
8. Equity and Social Justice: Identify, understand, and evaluate multiple forms of justice (e.g. social, economic, environmental, political, and legal justice) and rights (human and civil). Promote and achieve fairness, equality, and human/civil rights.
9. Professional Versatility: Be equipped to work in a variety of settings, in a range of fields and forms of practice, and with diverse persons from multiple backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, nationalities, ages, genders, experiences, abilities, orientations, classes, religions, and more. Be effective in systems processes through engagement, assessment, intervention, evaluation, and self-awareness.
10. Cultural Humility: Appreciate the fact that cultures and values evolve and change, and that one never "arrives" with respect to knowledge, skills, and practices related to diversity. Identify and analyze the intersectionality of forces that impinge on lives.