Traditional Program Admissions

The traditional MSW@USC is a 60-credit program that can be completed on a full-time (four semesters) or part-time (six semesters) basis. Learn more about the curriculum for the traditional program here.

The admissions standards for the traditional online MSW are the same as those for our on-campus program, and we seek applicants who are motivated to succeed in a challenging master’s degree program.

We offer start dates throughout the year. Please refer to application deadlines below.

May 2020

May 2020 Admissions Deadlines
Deadline	Date
Classes Begin	May 18, 2020

September 2020

September 2020 Admissions Deadlines
Deadline	Date
Early Action Deadline	May 5, 2020
Priority Deadline	June 2, 2020
Final Deadline	June 23, 2020
Classes Begin	August 24, 2020

The campus-based MSW program has one application deadline per academic year. If you are applying for admission to the campus-based program, please refer to its individual schedule of application deadlines and start dates.

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Application Requirements

You must complete the online application and submit all supporting documentation by the deadline in order to be considered for admission. You can see the application requirements here.

Eligibility

Eligibility requirements for the traditional MSW@USC program are:

Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) from a regionally accredited college or university, with a minimum of 18 units of interdisciplinary liberal arts coursework, spanning both social and biological sciences
Minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 2.8 (based on a 4.0 grading scale) for the full-time, 4-semester program. Prospective students with a cumulative undergraduate GPA below 2.7 will not be considered
Strong academic promise to perform successfully at the graduate level
Experience in providing service to people preferred
Potential for professional competence; strong interest and motivation; and commitment to social work values such as the appreciation for cultural and ethnic diversity, belief in the dignity and freedom of every individual, promotion of social justice and equal access to resources, and institutional responsiveness to human needs and social change
Personal attributes such as sensitivity and responsiveness in relationships, capacity for self-awareness, concern for the needs of others as well as strong abilities in abstract reasoning, conceptual thinking and interpersonal communication


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