Admissions

Hold a Bachelor’s degree with a liberal arts foundation from an accredited college or university. Advanced Standing Applicants must possess an undergraduate degree in Social Work earned within 5 years of admission.

Applicants must have earned a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0. 

Additionally, applicants with a GPA between 2.85 and 2.99 of a completed baccalaureate degree may be considered for conditional admission with Graduate Admissions.

Applicants must complete a statistics course with a grade of C or better. Examples include SDSU courses such as STATS 119, STATS 250, SOC 201, and PSY 280; however, equivalent statistics courses completed at other accredited institutions, including community colleges, are also acceptable. This requirement may be completed after submitting your application, but must be fulfilled before the start of the MSW program if admitted. 

Have at least 1000 hours of meaningful involvement in health, social service, or community-based settings through paid work, volunteer service, internships, or research. These experiences can reflect exposure to or engagement with individuals or communities in a social service setting (Example: hospitals, mental health centers, advocacy programs, and/or community organizing, teaching/classroom experiences, universities, training departments, treatment centers, churches, care facilities, social service agencies, non-profit organizations, etc.). 

Please see the Health and Human Services Experiences Page for examples of common settings where it is possible to gain experience in health and human services, though this list is not exhaustive. 

In your application, you will be required to describe specifically how your experience(s) are related to enhancing or supporting the well-being of individuals, families, and communities in need.  All hours will be reviewed and evaluated by the Admissions Committee.

All admitted MSW students will be required to pass a background check to participate in the required field education component of the program.  This background check will occur via the placing Agencies. 

• At times, criminal history can impact the ability for students to be placed with an internship.
• If you wish to discuss the potential impact of your criminal history on your MSW program, please reach out to Field Director, Professor Amanda Lee via email at [email protected].

The Statement of Purpose is an excellent opportunity to explain why you would be a successful student in our graduate program. This part of your application is a chance for you to make an authentic connection with our faculty and program values. The Statement of Purpose includes a written portion and a video portion.

Submissions generated by AI are not permitted and are not recommended, as they do not demonstrate readiness for graduate study and are generic and impersonal, making it difficult for your application to stand out and showcase your unique experiences and strengths. Getting advice or assistance from others (including software) on readability with minor spell-checking or copy edits is acceptable.

Written Portion:
The statement of purpose- written portion should be independently written and reflect your personal writing style. Our programs focus on strengthening your independent writing skills across coursework and field education, helping you build critical thinking, advocacy, and research skills. 

Please see the Statement of Purpose template wepage. You must use this template as is. Do not add additional headings or sections. Applications will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed if 1) they do not use the provided template or 2) they do not address all of the prompts below.  Statements of Purpose should be double-spaced in 12 pt. font and not exceed 1000 words in length (approximately 3 double-spaced pages). 

1. Interest in Social Work. Describe your interest in pursuing a career in social work that seeks to challenge social injustices. Reflect on your past educational, work, research, volunteer, and/or community service experiences. Describe specific activities or areas of social work that interest you, and how your experiences have shaped those interests.
2. Skills and Strategies for Social Work Practice. Describe specific skills, strategies, or approaches you have developed through your past experiences that you believe will be valuable to the pursuit of social justice through a social work career.  
3. Interpersonal Skills and Working Across Differences. Explain how your experiences have helped you develop interpersonal skills for working effectively with people from different backgrounds. Provide 2-3 concrete examples of leadership roles, teamwork, and/or group-based activities that demonstrate these skills. Describe a time you received feedback that challenged you. How did you respond, and what changed as a result?

Video Portion. As part of the application process, you are required to submit a 1-2-minute video response to the prompt below. This allows us to assess your verbal communication skills, critical thinking, and professional presence- skills that are central to success in social work education and practice. The video also helps ensure that your submission reflects your own voice and authentic engagement with the prompt. 

1. Direct Practice or Administration/Community Development Specialization. Describe why you are interested in the Direct Practice or Administration/Community Development specialization. Explain how this specialization aligns with your career interests and long-term professional goals. In your response, also discuss how the MSW program at San Diego State University (SDSU) supports your goals. Be specific about your interests, career plans, and what aspects of the specialization and program are a good fit for you.

 Video Instructions:

• Authenticity: Applicants are expected to respond authentically and provide genuine responses. Again, the use of AI-generated is not permitted and not recommended, or is reading from scripts, papers, or screens. Responses that rely on these methods will not be considered.
• Time limits: Be succinct. Adhere strictly to the specified time limits (1-2 minutes with a maximum content of 2 minutes). Videos will only be reviewed up to the stated time limit, and any content beyond that point will not be considered.
• Personal Space: Please ensure that your video is recorded in a setting that allows for clear visibility and audibility. Choose a space where you can be easily seen and heard, so that your responses are communicated effectively.
• Professional presence: Present yourself in a professional manner. This includes how you communicate, your body language, your appearance, and how you carry yourself in interactions. Prepare for the video portion as you would for an in-person interview. 

 Submit Your Video:

Slate will provide you with detailed instructions on how to upload your material. Please keep in mind that when preparing to upload your video to Slate, the file size must be 5 GB or less, or if you share a link (such as YouTube or Vimeo), the privacy settings must be set to “public” so reviewers can view it. If using a link upload, we recommend testing the link (e.g., by copying and pasting it into an incognito window) to confirm it will work for anyone who tries to use it.

Please see the Resume/CV template found below:

• Resume/CV template (docx)
• Resume/CV template (pdf)

You must use this template as is. Not using the Resume/CV template will be considered an incomplete submission. Your resume/CV must not exceed three pages. Successful applicants will document all required, relevant information in one to three pages.

The Resume/CV you prepare for your graduate admission application should include: 

• Contact information
• Education (all degrees earned or in process)
• All professional work or volunteer experience (full and part-time) specifically related to health, social, service, or community-based settings.
  • Name and Location of Organization
  • Position Title
  • Start Date to End Date
• Leadership positions held in a formal or informal capacity 
• Abilities and skills
• Multilingual capacity (if applicable)
• Professional associations/affiliations  (if applicable)
• Publications/Presentations (if applicable)
• Any other non-health and human service-related work/volunteer experience (if applicable)
• Any other relevant information to assess your preparedness for graduate studies based on our selection criteria of: (if applicable)
  • Academic preparation
  • Scholarly Potential & Intellectual Curiosity
  • Leadership & Civic Engagement
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Alignment with Program & Social Work Values

You must have three (3) professional references that can speak to your readiness and potential for success in the MSW program. Professional references can include academic references from professors or from individuals who have supervised your paid or volunteer work experience. 

You will need to be prepared to enter your reference’s name and email into Slate. Slate will contact your references with instructions for completing a reference form that involves approximately 12 Likert and two open-ended questions. Please share with your reference that they will be asked to speak about you and provide specific examples of the skills, knowledge, attitudes, and/or behaviors you have demonstrated that show your readiness and potential to succeed in a graduate-level social work program.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to follow up with their references to ensure the form has been completed. Applications without 3 completed professional references will be marked incomplete and will not be reviewed. 

NOTE: Personal references (e.g., friends, colleagues, co-workers, therapists) will not be considered. Personal references, if used, will be considered an incomplete submission.

• Your references will be sent the link directly from Slate after you input their contact information. They must submit their completed reference on your behalf by December 1, 2026.  The sooner you submit your Cal State Apply application and send your references their link, the more time they will have to complete the reference on your behalf.
  

In your application, you will be required to describe specifically how your experience(s) are related to enhancing or supporting the well-being of individuals, families, and communities in need. 

All hours will be reviewed and evaluated by the Admissions Committee.

In addition to sending your official transcripts to the Graduate Admissions office, you are required to also upload your unofficial transcripts (PDF) to your supplemental Slate application. Not uploading your unofficial transcripts will be considered an incomplete submission, and it will not be reviewed.