Program Overview

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Master of Social Work (MSW)

Become a justice-oriented clinical social worker.

Gain skills to excel with a program grounded in social responsibility and respect for human rights.

Prepare for success in the social work profession.

In the MSW program at St. Catherine University, we encourage you to be curious, engage in tough conversations, and advance human and social justice rights. We support our students to be divergent thinkers and to question the status quo.

Advanced Standing (AS) options are available for students with CSWE-accredited bachelor’s degrees in social work; Regular Standing (RS) options are available for all other students.

Our MSW students are placed in more than 200 fieldwork settings at leading regional social work employers and gain valuable hands-on clinical experience – 600 clinical fieldwork hours for AS students, and 1000 hours for RS students (400 foundational and 600 clinical).

As a clinical social worker, you'll join the largest group of mental health service providers in the nation and meet the needs of your clients by:

• Gaining clinical skills to empower individuals, small groups, and families, as well as a range of age groups - from children to adolescents and older adults
• Advocating on issues of poverty, discrimination, mental illness, developmental disabilities, and addressing systems of oppression
• Serving immigrants and refugees, persons with disabilities, and those who have experienced trauma
• Understanding the role of grief and loss, and facilitating healing for diverse populations
• Becoming aware of the larger contexts of clinical care: agency-level policy, supervision, and macro-level systems of change
• Reflecting deeply on your own assumptions, how they intersect with others, and learning to appreciate a variety of spiritual perspectives

In addition to course work, St. Kate's has partnered with agencies that serve diverse and underrepresented communities through our Clinical Social Work Expansion Project (CSWEP) grant funded by the Minnesota Department of Health.

These agencies host students during their fieldwork experiences, and the grant helps offset some of the tuition expenses.

Prepare to use your knowledge, values, and skills to demonstrate the intrinsic value of all humankind in a unified purpose to serve those in need and promote social justice and human rights.

This program is open to students of all genders.

A dual-degree option with our Master of Arts in Holistic Health Studies (MAHS) program is also available for students seeking to integrate holistic healing practices into clinical social work.

To enroll, students apply as dual-degree MSW and MAHS students. Once accepted, students develop a plan for completing both degrees with the support of an advisor from each program. Upon completion, students are awarded two master's degrees.

Program at a Glance

Format: On campus, evenings

Start: Summer (AS-1), Fall (all other options)

Time to completion: 1, 2 or 3 years (Advanced Standing); 2, 3 or 4 years (Regular Standing)

Credits required: 33 (AS), 51 (RS)

Tuition per credit: $760 (rate)

Total tuition: $25,080 (AS), $38,760 (RS)

Rates are subject to change each June 1. Tuition and fee information

All applicants will be reviewed for MSW scholarships

Accreditation

St. Kate's Master of Social Work program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Commission on Accreditation.

Accreditation of a baccalaureate or master’s social work program by the Council on Social Work Education Commission on Accreditation indicates that it meets or exceeds criteria for the assessment of program quality evaluated through a peer review process. An accredited program has sufficient resources to meet its mission and goals and the Commission on Accreditation has verified that it demonstrates compliance with all sections of the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards.

Accreditation applies to all program sites and program delivery methods of an accredited program. Accreditation provides reasonable assurance about the quality of the program and the competence of students graduating from the program.

Plan of Study

Sample plans of study for the full-time tracks are below; extended tracks are also available. For course descriptions and other details, consult the University catalog.

Advanced Standing-1 Year

Year 1

• Summer Session I
  • GRSW 5000 History and Philosophy of Social Work (3cr)
  • GRSW 6810 Social Work Practice Research (3cr)
• Summer Session II
  • GRSW 6250 Social Policy and Advocacy Practice (3cr)
  • GRSW 6450 Clinical Assessment (3cr)
• Fall Semester
  • GRSW 6030 Methods of Clinical Social Work I (3cr)
  • GRSW 6070 Field Practicum and Seminar III (3cr)
  • GRSW 6500 Clinical Supervision and Program Management (3cr)
  • GRSW Elective (3cr)
• Spring Semester
  • GRSW 6040 Methods of Clinical Social Work II (3cr)
  • GRSW 6080 Field Practicum and Seminar IV (3cr)
  • GRSW Electives (3cr)

Regular Standing-2 Year

Year 1

• Fall Semester
  • GRSW 5000 History and Philosophy of Social Work (3cr)
  • GRSW 5010 Theory and Practice of Social Work I (3cr)
  • GRSW 5050 Field Practicum and Seminar I (3cr)
  • GRSW 5400 Human Behavior and the Social Environment (3cr)
  • GRSW 5800 Social Work Research Methods (3cr)
• Spring Semester
  • GRSW 5020 Theory and Practice of Social Work II (3cr)
  • GRSW 5060 Field Practicum and Seminar II (3cr)
  • GRSW 6250 Social Policy and Advocacy Practice (3cr)
  • GRSW 6450 Clinical Assessment (3cr)
  • GRSW 6810 Social Work Practice Research (3cr)

Year 2

• Fall Semester
  • GRSW 6030 Methods of Clinical Social Work I (3cr)
  • GRSW 6070 Field Practicum and Seminar III (3cr)
  • GRSW 6500 Clinical Supervision and Program Management (3cr)
• Spring Semester
  • GRSW 6040 Methods of Clinical Social Work II (3cr)
  • GRSW 6080 Field Practicum and Seminar IV (3cr)
  • GRSW Electives (6cr)

Career Outcomes

Related Programs

• Master of Public Health (MPH)
• Master of Science in Nursing: Entry Level
• Master of Arts in Holistic Health Studies (MAHS)