Social Work, Master of Social Work (MSW)
The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a professional degree offered in the EWU School of Social Work (SSW) accredited social work program. The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) sets the national standards for social work education included in the 2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards.
In the standard MSW Program (full-time or part-time), students are required to complete 90 credits of required and elective coursework. A portion of those credits include practicum experience in government agencies, non-profit/profit agencies, and community organizations. The required coursework is delivered fully in-person for the full-time program and in a hybrid format for the part-time programs (partial online and partial in-person). Locations and methods of coursework delivery are outlined in MSW Program Options in the catalog under Social Work-Graduate.
The course of study is a prescriptive outline of courses for each program option to be completed by students. Successful completion of each quarter is required to move to the next quarter with limited exceptions due to the prerequisite status for social work core courses including practicum and practicum seminar. The core Generalist and Specialized courses listed below are only open to EWU enrolled graduate social work students. The EWU graduate courses have the 500- and 600-level course numbers. Undergraduate courses are not typically counted towards a graduate degree.
Grade Requirements: must maintain a cumulative GPA ≥3.0.
| Generalist Curriculum | ||
| SOWK 525 | RESEARCH METHODS FOR PROGRAM AND PRACTICE EVALUATION | 4 |
| SOWK 530 | ORGANIZATIONAL AND COMMUNITY PRACTICE | 4 |
| SOWK 531 | INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WELFARE AND POLICY | 4 |
| SOWK 532 | FOUNDATIONS OF PROFESSIONAL SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE | 4 |
| SOWK 533 | SOCIAL WORK ASSESSMENT AND PRACTICE WITH INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES | 4 |
| SOWK 540 | HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN CONTEMPORARY ENVIRONMENTS | 4 |
| SOWK 541 | SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE IN A DIVERSE SOCIETY | 4 |
| SOWK 550 | SOCIAL WORK WITH GROUPS | 4 |
| SOWK 553 | SOCIAL WORK INTERVENTION AND EVALUATION WITH INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES | 4 |
| SOWK 571 | FOUNDATION PRACTICUM/SEMINAR | 4 |
| SOWK 580 | FIELD PREPARATION | 1 |
| Specialized Curriculum | ||
| SOWK 526 | RESEARCH METHODS II | 4 |
| SOWK 568 | PROSEMINARS IN SOCIAL WELFARE POLICIES AND PROGRAMS | 4 |
| SOWK 602 | CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS AND EVIDENCE BASED TREATMENT | 4 |
| SOWK 603 | LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT IN HUMAN SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS | 4 |
| SOWK 671 | ADVANCED PRACTICUM/SEMINAR | 17 |
| Electives | 16 | |
| Total Credits | 90 | |
Plan of Study
MSW Full-Time Program
| First Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| SOWK 525 | 4 | SOWK 540 | 4 | SOWK 530 | 4 |
| SOWK 531 | 4 | SOWK 541 | 4 | SOWK 550 | 4 |
| SOWK 532 | 4 | SOWK 553 | 4 | SOWK 571 | 2 |
| SOWK 533 | 4 | SOWK 571 | 2 | Social Work Elective1 | 4 |
| SOWK 580 | 1 | ||||
| 17 | 14 | 14 | |||
| Second Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| SOWK 526 | 4 | SOWK 568 | 4 | SOWK 603 | 4 |
| SOWK 602 | 4 | SOWK 671 | 6 | SOWK 671 | 6 |
| SOWK 671 | 5 | Social Work Elective1 | 4 | Social Work Elective1 | 4 |
| Social Work Elective1 | 4 | ||||
| 17 | 14 | 14 | |||
| Total Credits 90 | |||||
MSW Part-Time Program
| First Year | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer Quarter | Credits | Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| SOWK 525 | 4 | SOWK 531 | 4 | SOWK 541 | 4 | SOWK 553 | 4 |
| SOWK 532 | 4 | SOWK 533 | 4 | SOWK 550 | 4 | Social Work Elective1 | 4 |
| SOWK 580 | 1 | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | ||||
| Second Year | |||||||
| Summer Quarter | Credits | Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| SOWK 540 | 4 | SOWK 530 | 4 | SOWK 602 | 4 | SOWK 568 | 4 |
| SOWK 571 | 1 | SOWK 571 | 1 | SOWK 571 | 2 | SOWK 671 | 3 |
| Social Work Elective1 | 4 | ||||||
| 9 | 5 | 6 | 7 | ||||
| Third Year | |||||||
| Summer Quarter | Credits | Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| SOWK 671 | 4 | SOWK 526 | 4 | SOWK 603 | 4 | SOWK 671 | 4 |
| Social Work Elective1 | 4 | SOWK 671 | 3 | SOWK 671 | 3 | Social Work Elective1 | 4 |
| 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | ||||
| Total Credits 90 | |||||||
- 1
Electives - Required 16 elective credits, 4 of which must be in SOWK except when student is earning a graduate certificate or dual degree, then 16 credits can be from other approved programs.
Students who earn an MSW from EWU should be able to:
- Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior.
- Advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
- Engage anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) in practice.
- Engage in practice-informed research and research-informed practice.
- Engage in policy practice.
- Engage with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
- Assess individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
- Intervene with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
- Evaluate practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
(Council on Social Work Education, 2022)